Short Haired Kitty with Hairballs/Shedding Question

[ToddyTiger]

Hi All,


This is about a non diabetic kitty. I'm just curious if anyone thinks I should worry or if ya have any thoughts.

My young girl, Amelia, has thrown up about.. 4-5 times in the last two weeks. Its undigested food mixed with clear or bile colored vomit, almost always in the evening. She is acting fine.. playing, wanting attention. She hasn't gotten into anything dangerous that I am aware of.

Info for her..

3 years old, fixed, indoor only, short hair. Had a tiny amount of crystals in her bladder in late January and was switched to Hills c/d dry. She won't eat the canned.

She did something like this last year and it seemed to be due to shedding. At the time, I didn't notice her shedding and she wasn't throwing up actual hairballs, but when I used the Furminator on her, HUGE clumps of fur was coming off. I don't recall what time of year it was this happened, just that is was last year, but with a week of hairball meds and daily brushing, she was fine. I think I took her to the vet last year about this and was told it was probably hairballs.

Anyway.. its sort of the same thing now. I'm getting huge clumps of fur off of her, but she isn't throwing up hairballs. Though I did see some loose hair in the vomit. Do short haired cats usually start shedding this time of year?.. do they tend to shed a lot? I'm used to long haired, so I don't know what is normal for short haired kitties. Most of my kitties seem to be shedding right now. (I'm in Seattle)

She won't eat the Hills c/d now. I think she doesn't like the taste because of the vomit. I don't blame her. She is eating some canned Fancy Feast and Bonito flakes though. I'm probably gonna have to find some alternative to the c/d.


I'm just a worried pet mom now a days. Everything tends to freak me out when it comes to my kitties.

Thank you for any help/thoughts.

 

[BJM]

Sudden changes always warrant a vet visit. She could be partially obstructed if it is a hairball. It could be something else (IBD, tumor, pancreatitis, etc.). Will she let you massage the abdomen or is it uncomfortable to her?

Note that hepatic lipidosis can come on in as few as 2 days of not eating. Fat breakdown for energy swells the liver cells, blocking the passage of bile to the digestive system. Bile backs up and gets into the blood stream ofter causing jaundice, a yellowing color seen in the whites of the eyes and skin. If you see this, go to the vet asap.

Ps. The Furminator pulls out wads of undercoat if used too enthusiastically. If you're getting bald-ish areas, you've done too much.Use lightly each week.