Question about vomiting

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AmyB

AmyB

Member Since 2019
So it's been a few months since I've been on here since Salem has been OTJ since late August, and I've been keeping track and his BG is still fine. But last night he vomited up all of his food all of a sudden and he's been intermittently vomiting since then and I'm not sure if he needs to go to the vet or not. He does this occasionally and I normally don't worry if it doesn't persist after 24 hours but he ate about an hour ago and just vomited it all up again. Granted, it was a lot of food so I'm wondering if he just ate more than he should have with a sensitive stomach, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth taking him to the vet. Usually they just give an anti-nausea shot and some fluids but I'd rather not spend the money if I don't need to.

Other than the vomiting he's been acting mostly normal, still has an appetite and is using the litter box normally. BG is still fine so it's not that either. I know some cats vomit all the time and are fine but mine usually don't do that and with his history I get worried. Should I wait and see if he still vomits more tonight? I was thinking of waiting a few hours and trying to give him a very small amount of food again and see if he keeps that down. He ate this afternoon and kept it down just fine so I don't know why he's like this again tonight. Cats- what can you do? :cat:
 
Do you have any cerenia or ondansetron at home you could give him for the vomiting?
If not you may be able to ring the vet and ask if you can get some tablets.

I would not let it continue for too long.
Keep checking the BG and if he gets lethargic at all I would go to the vet.
Do you have any Ketostix at home....to test the urine for ketones?
Are his gums slippery or tacky? He may become dehydrated if the vomiting continues.
I think trying small amounts of food is the best approach, but if that fails and you cant get some oral anti-nausea meds, or if he seems more unwell, I would go to the vet.
 
So I’m going to go ahead and take him in and get an anti nausea shot, since he just vomited again. He keeps acting like there’s something in his mouth, but I looked and didn’t see anything. I have ketostix but I didn’t think those would be an issue since his BG is normal? I checked it for several days straight and it’s been fine this past weekend. He’s done this before where he’ll vomit for a day or two until I go get him a shot and then he’s okay. I still don’t know what causes it but it’s frustrating.
 
Thank you! He’s been fine for a few months now so of course it was time for him to throw me for a loop.
 
Has Salem ever had pancreatitis? The couple times Sophie was vomiting a lot, it was due to a pancreatitis flare up, although she also had diarrhea, nausea, and no appetite. But I think it can manifest differently in different cats, so maybe still a possibility?
 
Sorry, I’m just now seeing this. He’s never been diagnosed with pancreatitis but he’s had issues with vomiting like this in the past. The one major time was due to constipation and he has a thickened intestine because of it. I just feel like there’s some underlying issue going on but the vet I’ve been going to can’t figure it out. He’s had an ultrasound and his pancreas looked okay on it at least.

So he got an anti-nausea shot and was fine for 24 hours and then vomited again this morning when I was at work. And then I was dumb and came home and gave him a first dose of an antibiotic the vet gave me thinking that would help and now it’s just made him vomit more and have diarrhea. Which I can’t tell if he’s vomiting due to being sick or due to the medicine. I’m going to give him through tonight and then take him again tomorrow if I need to.

Do I need to give him a smaller amount of food to try and keep him from vomiting? He’s kept some food down just fine and then thrown other food up.
 
did you buy new food recently, even if same brand??
most of our cats started having vomiting and loose stool issues recently and the two cats that didn’t were tux and another cat that get different food.
happens 2 days after i opened a new bag of food (same lamb brand they usually get) and i stopped feeding it and the vomiting stopped and poops back to normal within a couple days with them all.

small amounts of food multiple times a day is best with nauseated, poopy and especially sensitive tummy cats, it lets them digest their food easier.
 
What about IBD or food intolerances? Sophie (queen of GI issues) also has IBD that’s triggered by food intolerances and has thickening of her colon and small intestine because of it. When she has flare ups, they make her very nauseous and cause vomiting, and they would kind of seem to occur randomly. Since switching her to a new food, she hasn’t had any other problems so far other than an incident with turkey lunch meat :rolleyes:

What is the antibiotic? I know some of them can be hard on the stomach. Smaller portions might help, or maybe a “bland” food, although if Salem has a sensitive stomach a new food might be counterproductive

FWIW, a vet we saw insisted she did not have pancreatitis because her pancreas was normal on the ultrasound but I made him send out a spec fPL test anyway and it showed that she does indeed have chronic pancreatitis
 
So he's been eating the same food for a few months now and been fine. He's had various GI issues over the years, including several flare ups of vomiting like this and that one issue with constipation so it makes me think of IBD for him. Is there a particular food that works better for that? He's also a picky eater and refuses to eat certain foods. :rolleyes: I feel like he probably has IBD or something like it just based on his history. And what kind of test is that? I really don't want to do more tests right now bc I really can't afford it but hopefully in the next few months I want to try and get some tests done to get a definite diagnosis of SOMETHING bc this constant not knowing is annoying. That also is probably going to require me finding a new vet bc this one is just not super knowledgeable, especially after I pretty much had to handle his diabetes on my own with FDMB.
 
That’s how Sophie was as well, she did great on chicken fancy feast for a while then started vomiting and refused to eat it anymore, so I switched her to beef, and same thing.

One test is an ultrasound, which you already did. They can also do an endoscopy/colonoscopy? one of those, to determine if it’s IBD vs lymphoma. I chose not to do that because it’s very expensive and invasive, and our vet said that it was possible it would come up inconclusive anyway. So really Sophie has “suspected” IBD or lymphoma based on her symptoms which are the vomiting, nausea, constipation etc.

The best diet for a cat with IBD really depends on what triggers the flare ups, but chicken, beef, and fish are common intolerances I believe, and many cats do well on novel protein diets. Sophie had flare ups on both chicken and beef fancy feast so I just assume she’s intolerant to chicken and beef and avoid those. She eats Instinct original rabbit wet food, which is pricey but does not contain any form of chicken and is also low enough carb for diabetic cats. Their venison option is also a good one as well
 
So I've had him on Fancy Feast, but's a mix of turkey, beef, and chicken lol so that probably doesn't help. I guess I'll go get a different kind of meat and see if that helps? Do her flare ups get better on their own or do you have to do something special for them? I think the vet had thrown out IBD when he got his ultrasound but I know it's kind of difficult to officially diagnose. I'd really rather not do invasive tests but I might bring it up with the vet to see what he thinks about it.
 
Ummm yes and no. When she had the two really bad ones, I took her to the emergency vet and they gave her fluids, anti nausea meds, all that. But when she got sick from the turkey I gave her a few weeks ago, she just felt yucky for about 2 days and then she was fine because it cleared her system and she didn’t have anymore.

But when she was still eating FF, even after all the major symptoms subsided she would still do things like deep swallow after eating and burp, so I think she was still having stomach problems. Another issue with FF is that they just say they contain “meat byproducts” instead of specifying the meat, so I’m not sure if that means they’re possibly from a different protein than the main one, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to avoid a specific meat. Also be sure to check the ingredients of new foods, because even if they say they’re a different protein, nearly EVERYTHING contains some form of chicken when you check the ingredients :rolleyes:
 
Well he seems to be feeling better now but I'm going to wait another hour or two then try and give him a little food. I went and got some Instinct in rabbit, venison, and duck just to see if he'll eat any of them. Is there a place you can order them in bulk if he ends up liking it? The pet store is selling them for like 3 dollars a can. Also he's done this before where he'll either stop eating a certain food or get all vomit-y for two or three days and then I change foods and he's fine again. So it really makes me think it might be something like that. I'd rather just go ahead and try it and see if he gets better than pay money for tests that may or may not tell me anything. Because so far the vet can't figure anything out with it.
 
I order from chewy! Hopefully he starts to feel better, I know always feel so bad when Sophie isn’t feeling well
 
Yeah he's still not feeling great and he won't eat right now but I'm going to give him through the night. The vet is closed now anyways. I think it's the medicine that is making him worse so I'm hoping he'll start feeling better and I'll take him to get another nausea shot in the morning if I need to. I just feel bad since he's feeling so miserable but I know he at least ate a good amount last night so hopefully he can make it until the morning.
 
Anddd he threw up again but there's not much I can do at this point. He's not hiding but he obviously doesn't feel well. I just hope he doesn't get significantly worse tonight. :nailbiting:
 
I will, I'm just starting to panic reading about IBD and I knew I would have to go get him looked at and taken care of but I just wanted a little bit more time because my personal life is crazy right now. I'm just really worried because he went really downhill today after I gave him that antibiotic when he seemed fine this morning.
 
you want an easily ’digestible food’ for kitties with sensitive stomachs/ibs/ibd issues.
if your cat doesn’t do well on them new protein foods you got him, it could be because some cats’ with sensitive stomachs can’t handle dense high protein/high fat foods, especially regularly.. if yours can’t as well, than i highly recommend you try the easily digestible fancy feast creamy delight chicken (minced version only) which is only 2% fat. my so far no longer IBD cat, has done very well on that canned food and hasn't had any symptoms since around mid june of last year (other than throwing up when i try to introduce a new wet food once in a while). today, he can actually also handle a little dry food but, only when fed under 10 grams in one meal.. (we did slow cook him lean turkey with pumpkin or sweet potato for about 2 months before accidentally finding out he could handle FF creamy, the homemade food is actually what i credit with him getting back to near normal so i make sure to always have some ready made in freezer just incase).

i don’t personally do nausea shots with my cats, stress of going to vet doesn’t help them. i use 1/4 of a pepcid AC (original 10mg version only) in AM and 1/4 in PM for regular sized cats and within a couple hours of getting it, they are ready to eat and after a couple days max don’t need it anymore..if you have a walmart or something still open near you, you could give him that tonight if he is that nauseated.
 
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AmyB said:
I will, I'm just starting to panic reading about IBD and I knew I would have to go get him looked at and taken care of but I just wanted a little bit more time because my personal life is crazy right now. I'm just really worried because he went really downhill today after I gave him that antibiotic when he seemed fine this morning.
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antibiotics can upset even our stomachs so no surprise it made him temporarily worse.. try giving him a probiotic like purina’s fortiFlora beforehand next time (good to give every day for cats that have digestive issues really), it should help
 
Yeah I might go out and grab something with gravy or cream to try and entice him to eat. He can handle food for a little while then he all of a sudden gets sick for a few days and then sometimes I end up switching him to a new food.

And I'm hoping it was just the antibiotic that made him worse but I don't know how long that'll take to clear his system. It was not even a full dose of 1 day's dose so he didn't end up getting that much.
 
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