Chronic Vomiting

Hi, hope i didn't post this twice.. My cat is about three years old. We got him from a local shelter when he was about 8 months old. He has always had a problem with hairballs, but has changed over to vomiting. He vomits 2-6 times a day. Everyday. We brought him to the vet, where he was treated for mild dehydration, and given an anti-inflamatory. His calcium level is high, which is being monitored. While under observation, he did not vomit because he would not eat or drink while there. We have elevated his bowl, tried every food available, including the prescription diet from the vet. Nothing has worked. He is now eating Iams dry food. I feed him small amounts 4x a day. He does not eat can food. Although I do continue to offer it to him. Does an elevated calcium level indicate anything else beside cancer? Can a cat live long like this? I don't have a ton of money to try to figure this out. But can I do? He is my best buddy. ALso, can drinking out of the toilet cause this?? I do not use chemicals in the tank, just the bowl, and it is rinsed right away. Why do they do this when they have fresh water??? I am grasping at straws here!! Any one?? Thank you!! Michellle

Have you discussed food allergies with your VET.
IAMS is good but maybe not the best for your cat.

Royal Canin has a product line called Sensible Choice which is all natural, no by products, no corn, etc.

here is a website that give info:

http://www.sensiblechoice.com/schccra.htm

and here is a website where you can order from:

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/d...=5&brand_id=18

Talk to your vet and I would also give this a shot since it certainly can not hurt your baby.

PS: This is what stopped my Mom's girl Piper from throwing up 2-3 times a day!

Good luck!


Helen

Thank you for the suggestion. It can't hurt to try. Yes, the vet did mention possible food allergies. That was what all food changes where for. He was put on the different foods, for a three month period (for each food) for trial. Some times he vomited right away, sometimes the vomiting would subside for a day, a week or one week and a couple days, but he would eventually start vomiting all over again. The vomiting is not limited to right after eating. Michelle

Does he eat too fast - I mean shovel it in so that his stomach can't handle it? Does he drink right after eating?

If he is a shovler - that is why he throws up right after. Might want to elevate his food to slow him down also you might need to stay with him and if he eats too quickly you need to somehow slow him down.

If he drinks right after eating and he eats too much at one time the food will expand and up it comes!!! Try moving the water to another spot!

Hope this helps


Helen

Well, the vet has told me that she strongly suspects intestinal cancer
in my kitty. All the food we have tried, he either will not eat and dehydrates before we can actually see if it works, or he does eat, and vomits anyway. They have done another test on his calcium level, and ruled out kidney disease. But of all three calcium tests, this one is still high 12+. So, $500 dollars later, she still is not sure if that is what he has. So we are just going to take care of him the best we can. And if and when the time comes, put him out of his misery. How long can a cat live without cancer treatment? We are not going to prolong it and cause him pain. This is very hard. We all love this little guy very much! Any one else have a similar situation? Thanks. Michelle

I can't answer your questions about cancer, but I would follow the suggestion by Helen to switch foods to a sensitive formula.

Also, again see if he does eat to fast. Does he chew his food? If not, you may want to 'smash' up the dry food to smaller portions. Try only giving him a little portion at a time and see if that helps.

The last think I can recommend is to water his food down a little so it is not so hard. Maybe his stomach is having trouble digesting and the water will make it a little easier. Does he drink enough water? If dry is giving him trouble, maybe a little canned food that is softer may help and give him more moisture. Or you could mix a bit of canned with a bit of dry.

Just a couple of thoughts! Let us know his progress!

Hi Michelle

I am so sorry to hear about your cat. It is very hard to accept a diagnosis like that because it seems as if hope is all that is left.

I recently lost a sweet 10 year old female who was diagnosed with bone cancer. She had suffered horrendous abuse in the hands of her first owner and we were told she would not live past a year! She fooled all of them!

We were told we could keep her *alive* with treatments of chemo and with medication, but her life would be reduced to living in one room versus the whole house, she would of had to endure multiple trips to the vet office for treatment, the taking of blood to monitor her. We went home with her and we cried and prayed, and the next day we took her in and sent her home to the angels. She was literally riddled with cancer and could not eat hardly at all.

It is an individual choice how to proceed in a situation like you are facing. You try and arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can and thanks to the Internet the resources are easy to find. I would contact holistic healers and get their input- we have one that will put articles up on our site Gloria Dodd of Everglo. She is a very kind woman and tops in her field. You will find her listed below in the link I have provided. You will see a lot of different holistic specialists on the page.

I would also talk to your vet, call vet schools, and visit the library- there is UC Davis, Cornell lots of places to get information.

There are ways to help you kitty stop vomiting, you can elevate the food bowl, feed only tiny tiny amounts through the day, feed wet food so the liquid can get into the system slowly.

And you take your cue from you cat, and the day you look in those eyes and you see no glimmer and no life and no interest, is the day you make the most important and painful decision of all and you let your cat go in peace instead of staying in pain.

Hugs and best of luck-


Holistic

Hi everyone, thank you for all the suggestions and help. I really am grateful. It seems impossible to think my "Ed" will eventually be so sick. Of course I am hoping that will NOT be the case. Sometimes he just looks so normal and healthy. It is hard to believe. Today and yesterday he had a few vomiting spells, and that reminds me he is dealing with something awful. I guess we will know when it is time. Thank you all very much. Michelle