vomiting foam, frequent litter box visits, but OTJ?

[beccalecca]

It's been awhile since I posted. With two young kids, life has just been full. Star cat has been OTJ almost two years now, but lately she has my DH and I scratching our heads. It's not a great time for health issues...we're selling a house and moving across the country (again) and expecting a baby in 3 weeks and DH is starting a new job soon. But it is what it is.

So I tested her levels, and she was sitting pretty at 81. BUT, here are her suspicious behaviors: she has been drinking more water lately, though not licking the bowl dry like when she was first diagnosed. She throws up every day or two, usually in the late afternoon or early evening (pre-feeding). Sometimes there is a hairball, but more often just foam. Her appetite is fine -- she polishes off her food even after throwing up. And she visits the litter box more often. Sometimes I observe her visiting the litter box and not doing anything, really. Sometimes she visits the litter box 6 times in 15 minutes. Eventually she does something because there are plenty of large clumps to clean out. But jumping in and out over and over has meant more and more sweeping, especially with our house on the market.

Anyone have ideas what we might be facing here? I know back when she was diagnosed with diabetes over two years ago she had a UTI, but she lost her appetite then and she's eating fine right now. Her diabetes seems well in intermission. And those seem to be the main two ideas I can find searching online.

She is 9 years old this month.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

She may have another UTI. You should take her to the vet just to make sure.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

It sounds like it could be a uti? Has she lost weight recently, or have you noticed any crying or howling for no good reason, especially at night? The excess drinking and vomiting foam are two symptoms sometimes seen with hyperthyroid cats. (Along with weight loss and night howls, which is why I asked). Maybe a vet visit for a full blood panel would make sense?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Could be kidneys or thyroid problems.

 

[BJM]

UTI, renal disease, bladder stones, interstitial cystitis, hyperthyroidism.

The inability to urinate, then urinating a lot suggest there might be an intermittant obstruction. I'd get her to the vet asap, because if there is a stone and it were to get permanently lodged in the urethra, she could become very ill and die.

 

[beccalecca]

Guess it's time to see if there's an affordable vet around here. Thanks for the ideas, all.

 

[Aerya]

My cat had a period when he would vomit bile/foam and we determined that it was because he was so hungry about an hour before mealtime that his stomach was creating too much bile and he would vomit it up. What we ended up doing was upping his food intake for a week or so from half a can to 3/4 of a can to help him feel fuller. When the vomiting stopped for a long enough time we went back to his regular quantity of food per feeding.

I've also noticed he sometimes vomits what looks like yellowish water when we take too long to feed him. For example last night we feed him at 6pm instead of 7pm because we had to leave early. This morning he was very hungry by 6am, so he vomited. It could be a simple scheduling issue. Make sure to feed your cat at regular times.

Hope this helps! Good luck!