Vomiting mid cycle - 4th time

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Beck and Philly

Beck and Philly

Member Since 2018
I am now very concerned. It is 3 am and I just woke to hear Grandpa vomiting. The same thing happened at the same time the night before. The day before that I found a large amount of runny brown vomit on the floor. I came home yesterday evening after a day away from home to find the same. Hid BG is 178.

I made excuses the first two times. I started worrying yesterday. Now I'm very concerned. He gets 1 1/2 cans of Fancy Feast for most meals. From the amount of vomit, I don't think much is getting digested. I'l take him to ther vet Monday. In the meantime, any ideas?
 
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It's hard to say. Do you observe any other out of the ordinary symptoms? Vomitting alone could literally be anything.

Maybe it's a bad batch of food? Do you have anything else you can feed him and see if he still vomits it?
Do you have any house plants laying around that he eats? Usually vomiting in my house is because the cats ate a plant they shouldn't have.
Are you positive he didn't get into anything he shouldn't have?

The only thing I can recommend you do until you get to the vet is
1. Make sure he stays hydrated, vomiting can dehydrate any animal
2. Try feeding him something other than what he's been eating before vomiting. See how he reacts to it
 
Hi and thanks for your ideas. I just gave him Friskies instead of FF to see if that helps. The only thing I've changed, food wise, if that I was giving him a can of Tiki cat and half a can of FF at each meal. I only have one can of Tiki left so I have given him a few meals of only FF.

I don't have any plants. I don't have a green thumb so I gave up years ago.

As far as other symptoms, he has been very calm, just wanting to be petted and close to me. I thought maybe that meant he was becoming more regulated since he started charging and terrorizing the other cats soon after being diagnosed.

I'l keep an eye out though
 
I see what someone was talking about with the AlphaTrak 2 last week. Grandpa's AMPS was 178. Since that was the exact number 4 hours earlier, I did another test...193. This was maybe a minute apart.
 
How often are you feeding? It could be meals are to far apart. Here is another thought, I have had 3 previous cats who could not eat food that was shredded, minced or chunky or they vomit. Tiki although good food is shredded. Might want to experiment with it.
 
Could you try some chicken bone broth to prevent dehydration? You could even just cook a couple of pieces of chicken slowly, debone and cook the bones again in the broth to concentrate. He might like the chicken meat, or even baby food meat without any seasonings. When Idjit was sick, he got baby food meat soup, and it helped.
 
Thanks! I'm feeding every 12 hours. I had asked my vet about a mid day meal and she was against it. She feels that food should never be given without insulin. I have no problem trying it anyway if that's what he needs. I already need to tell her that I've cut his prescribed dose in half and stopped using the prescription food. I know that will immediately result in her saying I have caused this by not following her plan.

As far as the Tiki, that was my first thought, too. Then I realized I haven't given him any Tiki for a couple days. I had bought a box of 30 FF Classics and a box of 12 Tiki cat cans. I was giving him meals with both mixed so I went through the Tiki faster than the FF. I started giving him just the FF until my next Chewy order gets here.

I bought some ketone test strips and plan to check that today if we can get him to pee on plastic wrap.

I've never heard of bone broth. I'll try it, though. I'm sure he would love the chicken. I also have some fluids here from the kitty we recently lost to CKD.

Thanks for the ideas!!!!
 
Maybe it is just the Fancy Feast. I know it works well for a lot of people here, but it has some less than ideal ingredients, and when I fed it to my girls, they had issues. Extra vomiting was one.

I feed 4 times a day rather than 2. The AAHA guidelines mention breaking the food up into multiple meals throughout the day (link in my signature). I leave the food out for then to graze on. As long as there is no access to food for two hours prior to the pre-shot test so that it will not be food-impacted, and as long as he will eat some food at shot time, what is the harm in letting him eat more often? If you are giving him high-protein, low-carb food and, if weight is an issue, not giving him more calories in a day than he should have, what is the problem?

I often recommend bone broth. I put it in ice cube trays and freeze it and store the cubes in Ziploc freezer bags. Each time, I feed my girls, I put a cube in a bowl and set it in the refrigerator so that it will at least mostly thaw by the time I feed them again. I mix the broth and a little water with their food and microwave it a few second. I also add a little home-cooked shredded chicken breast to each meal. The broth can also be served alone or with just a little shredded chicken in it as a treat. It is a good way to get a lot of nutrients in a cat that is not eating much or to soothe the digestive system of one that is having tummy issues. https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/12/02/pet-bone-broth.aspx
 
FurBabiesMama said:
Maybe it is just the Fancy Feast. I know it works well for a lot of people here, but it has some less than ideal ingredients, and when I fed it to my girls, they had issues. Extra vomiting was one.

I feed 4 times a day rather than 2. The AAHA guidelines mention breaking the food up into multiple meals throughout the day (link in my signature). I leave the food out for then to graze on. As long as there is no access to food for two hours prior to the pre-shot test so that it will not be food-impacted, and as long as he will eat some food at shot time, what is the harm in letting him eat more often? If you are giving him high-protein, low-carb food and, if weight is an issue, not giving him more calories in a day than he should have, what is the problem?

I often recommend bone broth. I put it in ice cube trays and freeze it and store the cubes in Ziploc freezer bags. Each time, I feed my girls, I put a cube in a bowl and set it in the refrigerator so that it will at least mostly thaw by the time I feed them again. I mix the broth and a little water with their food and microwave it a few second. I also add a little home-cooked shredded chicken breast to each meal. The broth can also be served alone or with just a little shredded chicken in it as a treat. It is a good way to get a lot of nutrients in a cat that is not eating much or to soothe the digestive system of one that is having tummy issues. https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/12/02/pet-bone-broth.aspx
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We are at +6 hrs now so I'm watching to see if ther vomit cycle continues. I am going to cut out FF.

Grandpa is very thin now and the vet agrees that he needs to gain weight. She still thinks food needs to be very strictly controlled and only given with insulin.
 
I am so confused and frustrated! Grandpa once again threw up what looks like everything he ate. It was Friskies this time. This is 5 times now. I just gave him a meal of slow roasted turkey to get some food in him. He always appears hungry and he ate everything quickly.

I just got an AlphaTrak 2 this week. I tested him just now and got another 178 reading. This is three times in a row that I get 178 as my first reading. I tested again immediately using the same blood drop. It was 144. I can't trust a meter that gives a 34 point difference from the same blood droplet.
 
Of course he's hungry. I have to say, I think vet is incorrect, the only time food needs to be removed is 2 hours before testing before insulin dose. He needs to gain weight, so feed him. Don't focus so much on the numbers, high is high, low is low. You can trust the meter, whatever type, to tell you that. Could be just a difference in strips, etc. I think Grandpa could benefit from several small meals throughout the day, easier on his mature tummy and hopefully keep him hydrated. I started Idjit on smaller meals more often, cause he was gobbling and hurling right away. It has solved the problem.
 
I also think vet is mistaken about the food. My previous kitty had to be fed every 3 hrs around the clock to prevent vomiting. He did have other issues besides diabetes.

My current kitty Olive also is fed frequently, not for vomiting but to prevent the sharp drop in glucose so early in the cycle. Her main meals are every 6 hrs. Then she gets smaller snack at +2 & 3 and another +9. Still tweaking it though.

Bone broth-I also froze in ice cube trays and kept in ziplocs. I gave 1 tsp a day to previous kitty . I drizzled it on one of his meals. He loved it.

Unregulated diabetic cats can not metabolize food properly, so they are literally starving. They need to eat. Once they are regulated their appetite will become normal.
 
Beck and Grandpa said:
Thanks! I'm feeding every 12 hours. I had asked my vet about a mid day meal and she was against it. She feels that food should never be given without insulin. I have no problem trying it anyway if that's what he needs. I already need to tell her that I've cut his prescribed dose in half and stopped using the prescription food. I know that will immediately result in her saying I have caused this by not following her plan.

As far as the Tiki, that was my first thought, too. Then I realized I haven't given him any Tiki for a couple days. I had bought a box of 30 FF Classics and a box of 12 Tiki cat cans. I was giving him meals with both mixed so I went through the Tiki faster than the FF. I started giving him just the FF until my next Chewy order gets here.

I bought some ketone test strips and plan to check that today if we can get him to pee on plastic wrap.

I've never heard of bone broth. I'll try it, though. I'm sure he would love the chicken. I also have some fluids here from the kitty we recently lost to CKD.

Thanks for the ideas!!!!
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I think your vet has things backward, or there was a misunderstanding. You never give insulin without food but is ok to give food without insulin. Just don't feed within 2 hours of testing. Many cats do better with a midday snack. My 4 cats do better with a bedtime snack. It cuts down on the nighttime vomiting.
 
Beck and Grandpa said:
Grandpa is very thin now and the vet agrees that he needs to gain weight. She still thinks food needs to be very strictly controlled and only given with insulin.
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There comes a point where it is up to you to decide - do you blindly follow your vets advice, or do you educate yourself and make your own decisions. Time and time again I see cases here of vets giving people bad or at least outdated information. I personally experienced a few vets whose recommendations were out of line with what I had learned, and they were not willing to cooperate with me in managing this, so I moved on.

I know there is hesitancy - rightfully so - in taking advice from strangers on the internet, or as many vets like to say 'listening to Dr Google', but no reasonable vet should have a problem with you pointing to legitimate medical sources. That is the reason I always refer to the AAHA guidelines.

Beck and Grandpa said:
I am so confused and frustrated! Grandpa once again threw up what looks like everything he ate. It was Friskies this time. This is 5 times now. I just gave him a meal of slow roasted turkey to get some food in him. He always appears hungry and he ate everything quickly.
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He is an underweight, unregulated diabetic cat who only gets to eat twice every 24 hours. I am sure he is always hungry and does 'scarf' it down as soon as he gets it!

Beck and Grandpa said:
I just got an AlphaTrak 2 this week. I tested him just now and got another 178 reading. This is three times in a row that I get 178 as my first reading. I tested again immediately using the same blood drop. It was 144. I can't trust a meter that gives a 34 point difference from the same blood droplet
Click to expand...
The AlphaTrak2 is the most accurate meter you can get for a pet. First, 178 and 144 are not really that far apart. No device is going to be perfect, there is always a percentage of variance. Second, If you retested with the same drop, the drop was older for the second test than it was for the first. Any little difference can impact the results. Don't get so hung up on EXACT numbers. 144 and 178 are both within the same, good range. If you really are worried about the strips, do a control solution test and make sure it shows up in the reference range.
 
We are cooking chicken now to make broth. He seems to have kept the turkey down that i gave 6 hours ago so I'm avoiding any cat food again tonight and i gave him canned white chicken and broth with his PM shot just now. I know it isn't the best long term, but there's 0 carbs, high protein, and only 1 ingredient to digest. If he keeps this down, I'll give him something more at bedtime. This chicken is low in calories so i want him to get more.
 
Do you feed him an entire 3 oz can at once?

My diabetic cat won't eat a full 3 oz can in one sitting. I'm sure if he did he might vomit. I have another non-diabetic cat who pounds her food so fast sometimes she'll throw it up. Then be pawing at the food container again in 10 minutes.

So I always feed all my cats half a 3 oz can in the morning, and I'll give my diabetic cat small amounts through the rest of the day. Often times if I give my cats a full serving they won't eat it and walk away. Their appetite seems better when I give them smaller amounts. The only time my diabetic would pound an entire can (and then some) was when he was unregulated before he was diagnosed and a week or so after we started he insulin, for obvious reasons
 
To get back to his pre-diagnosis weight, he needs 250 calories a day on average. I have been giving himone 3 oz can and half of another 3 oz can with each of his two meals. He has attacked his dinner ever since May 7 when he was diagnosed. This vomiting is very new. For 6 weeks or so, he has eaten 1 1/2 or even 2 cans per meal with no issues.

Even yesterday he grabbed my dinner out of my hand and fought me when i pulled it back. Today he doesn't care about much of anything.

Something is going on with him. He just doesn't act like himself. He left the bed earlier when i laid down with him. He went to lay on ther floor by the water bowl. I need to get him to ther doc tomorrow.
 
When glucose are running high cats are ravenous, let him eat. When they are low they are ravenous because they need to get the glucose up.
 
It happened again at 3am Grandpa vomited what looks like everything he ate yesterday. We gave him small meals of shredded chicken with the last not long before bedtime. He is drinking more often at the water bowl.

Vet appt at 11:20.
 
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It's bad. His liver enzymes have gone off the charts. Something doesn't look right on xrays so I left him at vet for an ultrasound. Vet said he is critical. Possible tumor. If no tumor, she wants to send him to critical care hospital.
 
Two vet facilities in two states today. Grandpa has been hospitalized. Still no definite answers, but lots of "this is bad" comments.

Liver enzymes 817. They were 99 in May. He is very jaundiced. Ears and gums yellow. Ultrasound from regular vet inconclusive. Vet hospital where he is will do another tomorrow. May need to transfer him toa hospital with a certified internist. We called two this evening and one doesn't have a radiologist until Friday. The other doesn't know if an internist is available tomorrow. Where he is at least has 24 hour care with an experienced radiologist who can do an ultrasound with video that the docs can see.

Now to take care of the masses here at home. If you have a spare prayer or healing thought for Grandpa, it would be much appreciated . Leaving him tonight in a cage hooked to an IV was hard. He doesn't understand.
 
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So very sorry to read this post. Poor Grandpa and poor you. I'm sure leaving him was very difficult, and even though he doesn't understand, you know that it's what you needed to do. I will be sending many healing thoughts to him, and hoping you get some answers for his treatment and care. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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