Vomiting questions

erinca7821

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I think my cat is a vomiter... He was sick two months ago and vomiting was the big sign, mounds and mounds of food one night and heaving when he was empty... but once a week or so for about a month there's a clump of food in my living room or dining room. This has only started happening since I switched him to a wet/dry diet (Nutro dry and Friskies cans wet) two months ago after he was well again. I measure the dry food, and he only gets about a third of a can a day. Is he just not liking the Nutro, because with the Friskies dry he was not doing this, or is the mix of the ingredients in the foods that's doing this? I should add that he was at the vet again almost two weeks ago to get neutered and his blood work was normal.. so he isn't sick. Any advice?
 

ladydrae

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Some cats are pukers. My male for instance throws up about 3 times a week. He eats too quickly and pukes. He has to be free fed hard food to prevent this from happening constantly. If he is fed dry food in meals he eats it like its going to disappear and gorges himself into puking!

I would try mixing the dry friskies with the nutro to see if that helps. My cats hated the nutro foods, I mean HATED them. As in puked them up or wouldn't eat them period.

I have found that mixing the Friskies dry with the Pro-Plan Sensitive Stomachs formula and/or an indoor formula dry cat food seems to reduce his vomiting. The Sensitive Stomach food has yogurt in it and active cultures to aid in digestion. The indoor formula has greens and more fiber. Mine just plain like the Friskies, so they now get the Friskies Indoor Formula and the Pro-Plan sensitive stomach food. Both are available at Wal-mart and common grocery stores (wal-mart is cheaper for the sensitive stomach food). I use a rubbermaid to store it in so it stays fresh and premixed!

A lot of people will claim that such "cheap" foods are harming or killing your cat. But it's what my family has nearly exclusively fed and nearly every single cat we've ever owned has made it to 18-21 years of age!

I also recommend growing cat grass for him. Every cat I've ever recommended it for has seen a dramatic decrease in vomitting. It helps them when they have tummy aches and also offers additional nutrition that cat foods are mostly lacking (even the pricey ones).

Alternately you could feed him a wet food diet. Many vets recommend this as many obese cats seem to be because they are eating WAY to high a carb diet, cos cats aren't built to eat all that filler. Cats are protein eaters and will also eat grass to aid in digestion. Wet food alone he can live off of. Half a can in the morning and half at night, will do wonders.

Try free feeding dry food (only fill the bowl once a day with the same amount they would get over the course of the day), adding cat grass and switching to a sensitive stomach food mixed with what he likes!

Good luck, I hope my advise helps! If all else fails, talk to your vet, they may also have some suggestions, all of the above have come from my vet over the years!
 

taterbug

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If it were me, I'd trash the Friskies canned and try a different, better brand. I honestly believe that Friskies wet is just too greasy....My cats can eat the dry, but if they eat the wet Friskies, they get sick every time.
 

mikex

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Originally Posted by erinca7821

I think my cat is a vomiter... but once a week or so for about a month there's a clump of food in my living room or dining room.
I must need the same advice 'cause I got the same issues. I think it's just what some cats do.
 

ladydrae

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Try the cat grass! Trust me, it works! Mine only gets really bad when he doesn't have access to greens!
 
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erinca7821

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Thanks for all the suggestions so far! I think step one may be going back to the Friskies dry and seeing if that helps simply because the problems started with the new dry and the problem doesn't occur after his wet meal at night, always the following afternoon with a clump of partially digested dry on my floor... and he's never been one to eat too fast because he knows the bowl will never be completely empty... he goes for a few bites when he feels like it and always gets the refill before the bowl is 100% empty... even with the wet, it takes him 2-3 trips over a short span of time to finish it off...

Maybe I'll try other varieties of wet, but when we started the wet full-time and I tried different brands, the Friskies was all he ate happily and completely. I'll also give the cat grass a shot if the vomiting doesn't subside...

I thought about going all wet, but it's just better on my schedule to have dry out all day because my arrival time home is scattered and wet when I eat dinner at night because that's generally the same time every night.

I'd much rather him eat what he likes happily in good moderation than the 'healthier' options out of necessity... much like me


Again, thanks for all the suggestions! I'm open to as many as I can get!
 

sharky

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Did you do a two -three week switchover??? is there something in the Nutro NOT in the Friskies?? Which Nutro >>??

I would actually say try something very simple like california natural
 
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erinca7821

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Actually, he was off the dry food for two weeks when he was sick and I just started him on the Nutro when he was better... he was good for a couple weeks then started the vomiting in the past two-three weeks or so. I use the Nutro Indoor. I haven't done an ingredient check to know if it's something in the difference, but I will.
 

noey 4

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My Scotchy occasionally had a problem with throwing up. Nothing had changed in the food he was fed, but I realized it happened more frequently when his schedule was off - If I worked late and he ate a few hours later than normal, he would eat too fast and then throw up.
To make up for it I split his feeding to a morning and night schedule. Now he gets 1/4 can in the morning and 1/4 can in the evening. This way he's not as hungry, and has a smaller portion so it isn't so hard on his stomach.
He is doing a lot better with it!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by erinca7821

Actually, he was off the dry food for two weeks when he was sick and I just started him on the Nutro when he was better... he was good for a couple weeks then started the vomiting in the past two-three weeks or so. I use the Nutro Indoor. I haven't done an ingredient check to know if it's something in the difference, but I will.
the ingrediant I suspect in the indoor is the soy protein
 

icklemiss21

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I know sharky asked about the switchover but I am not completely sure of your answer.

When you switch dry foods, you need to switch slowly so their tummys can get used to the new food, mix a little new with old and every few days increase the new and decrease the old over a 2-3 week period - did you do that?

As sharky said, it could be that he can not handle the soy in the indoor formula.

He may be eating too fast (some foods digest easier than others) or may need his bowl raised to aide digestion (usually so the bowls sit at shoulder height to the cat)
 

fenleebe

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

He may be eating too fast (some foods digest easier than others) or may need his bowl raised to aide digestion (usually so the bowls sit at shoulder height to the cat)
I have one that eats too fast and sometimes vomits. I have heard mixed feelings on raising the bowl but haven't tried it yet. Have any of you had success with this?

Also, anyone try the brake-fast bowl? Similar concept to putting golfballs in the dish, etc?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Fenleebe

I have one that eats too fast and sometimes vomits. I have heard mixed feelings on raising the bowl but haven't tried it yet. Have any of you had success with this?

Also, anyone try the brake-fast bowl? Similar concept to putting golfballs in the dish, etc?
LOTS of sucess ... No one is going not raised in this house ( evan got the dog a raised dish...

I have used large rocks like aquarium but it was messier than a raised dish
 

fenleebe

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Maybe I will try that then. Aunt had a dog with bloat, vet recommended a raised dish, but then we found a lot of info. saying NOT to raise the dish, so we've both been weary with all the animals. Argh...you just never know what to do. So frustrating. Saw a super cute personalized raised dish on ebay - very inexpensive - gonna give it a whirl.

Sorry for being a bit off topic, just wanted to ask since it was brought up!
 

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My guy was a puker because he ate to fast, I stopped this behaviour almost completely using all the mentioned suggestions, they do work.
Raised bowl, putting cat toy balls in the food dish to slow him down, cat grass, and I also have a couple food bowls spread out in my apartment so he has to move around to get all his food (helping with his weight as well!)
 

icklemiss21

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My vet didn't mention any bad side effects to a raised bowl, in fact she tells all clients to bend over and try to eat a bowl of cereal on the floor to see how the cat feels if they don't 'get' why the raised bowl will stop the puking.

I haven't tried the brake-fast bowls - we have used small decorative rocks to slow them down and that worked to some extent, but since raising the bowl and allergy testing - they rarely puke
 
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erinca7821

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The raised dish seems to be a popular idea, though I don't think that is the problem with Seamus, he doesn't eat fast ever and he pukes well enough after eating that I don't think height is the issue... how is that accomplished?? I ask because he likes to move his bowls around a lot and even with a mat he manages to move them off and around while and after he eats... and I fear if something heightening the bowl isn't actually mounted to the floor he'll still manage to knock it around, then he'll spill and he won't eat anything on the floor...

With the suggestion before about the soy potentially being the cause of his upset stomach... should I then just try the Nutro non-indoor first? Of course I plan to do a slow transition regardless, but before I go back to the regular Friskies Ocean Fish flavor he was eating and having no problem with before I at least want to give the more natural foods a good try.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by erinca7821

The raised dish seems to be a popular idea, though I don't think that is the problem with Seamus, he doesn't eat fast ever and he pukes well enough after eating that I don't think height is the issue... how is that accomplished?? I ask because he likes to move his bowls around a lot and even with a mat he manages to move them off and around while and after he eats... and I fear if something heightening the bowl isn't actually mounted to the floor he'll still manage to knock it around, then he'll spill and he won't eat anything on the floor...

With the suggestion before about the soy potentially being the cause of his upset stomach... should I then just try the Nutro non-indoor first? Of course I plan to do a slow transition regardless, but before I go back to the regular Friskies Ocean Fish flavor he was eating and having no problem with before I at least want to give the more natural foods a good try.
IMHO try the reg nutro first ....
 
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