Vomiting

Hi,
I have an almost 2 year old male orange tabby cat that I've had since he was 12 weeks old. Since he was 12 weeks old he has vomited daily to every other daily on a pretty regular basis. Before anyone jumps on me, I have taken him to the vet, several times, for just this issue. I have taken him to 3 different vets and they all tell me the same thing: Cats vomit more than other animals. In every other aspect he seems normal. He has not lost any weight and is, in fact, pretty chunky (we're working on it). I weigh him weekly and he has been maintaining.

He is really active and doesn't seem to go through any lethargic stages. The only other thing I'm worried about is he seems to occasionally get this cough (it's a dry, wheezing cough) that only appears when he is going through a vomiting phase. I've tried hairball gel with no results. I thought maybe he was eating his food too fast so I put his food on a plate and feed him several small meals but that also hasn't seemed to make a difference.

I have noticed some improvement when I rotate foods. For example, for awhile they were fed Nutro Indoor formula and he went through a bad vomiting bout so I switched to EVO, vomiting stopped for a couple months and so I switched to another food..etc. I think this may be more of a coincidence than an actual solution. Right now they are getting fed Taste of the Wild dry food with Meow Mix Wet (it's the only wet I can get Tora to eat right now). I'm contemplating trying an elimintation diet with Tigger but it will be pretty difficult because I don't have a good way to seperate him from my other cat or dog and he will eat their food.

I have an appointment with another vet on Monday, but does anyone have any ideas of what I can ask them to look for or tests to run? Perhaps maybe he is really normal, but my other cat sure doesn't vomit this much.

Thanks

Cats do vomit a lot, however he shouldn't be vomiting every day. IMO that is just not normal. I have had a multi-cat household for over 30 years and never had a cat that vomited every day, or even every other day.

There is a difference between vomiting and regurgitating. Please do a google search on "vomiting and regurgitating" so you can determine which your kitty is really doing. Each has different causes.

One thing to look for is megaesophagus, which is fairly common in cats. It will cause regurgitation, especially soon after eating. You will need to have a barium study done and any good vet should have no problem doing this. I had one done on my kitty Pumpkin because he pukes more frequently than the other 6. He does have a mildly enlarged esophagus.

Feeding a homemade ( or wet food) only had reduced his regurgitation to really infrequently.

Another thing to be specific about is what he is vomiting/regurgitating. Is if food, foamy liquid ( which could indicate ulcers or kidney problems), is there any hair in it, does he have access to grass that he vomits?

Food allergy is another possibility. Since you have noticed a difference with certain food, check the ingredient labels for anything that is left out of the one he doesn't get sick on and are in the ones he does get sick on.
Hopefully the vet is one that is really interested in cats, some just are not so really are not up on the latest information. Doesn't mean they are not good vets but I have found a major difference in treatment from a vet that really likes cats even if they are not in a cat only practice.


Good luck and let us know how the vet appointment goes.

Coco does that when her Asthma acts up and when she eats something she is Allergic too.

EVO is grain free so he could have problems with the grains that are also causing allergy induced asthma. Try going back to EVO and seeing if it clears up.

This is a lot of good info and has really helped me out as well. I have a cat that also throws up a lot. Not every day but she could throw up a few times a week or some weeks not at all. We've had her to the vet and they say that she is just eating her food too fast. We feed her in small portions to help with this but next I'll try the trick the of elevating her dish or feeding on a flat, larger plate. I had never thought about it being a food allergy before though. I had been considering changing her food to grain-free and now I definitely think I will. I could have been overlooking that the entire time! How has your cat done on Taste of the Wild? That's one of my top choices so I'd love to know if it's helped with your cat getting sick.

Hi, I have had probs. with my cat vomiting intermittently for 2 1/2 years (she is about 3 yrs old). Changing food occasionally did seem to work, until recently when she began vomiting prescription cat food, and was also on Pepcid a/c (1/4 of a 10 mg tab) once per day. She began the vomit every other day, so the vet gave her a shot of depo medril 20 mg. He said he has many customers that bring their cat to him every 6 weeks to get this $38.00 (steroid) shot. I am going to ask a question about this in this blog next, so check on those answers if you would like more info.
(My cat doesn't have any other symptoms except vomiting and I guess they can have IBS wihout diahrrea) I'm really not happy if this is what I have to have done to my cat and hope there may be a better answer.