White Foamy Vomit - please help...

grayfluffy

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I have a cat that has been vomiting for a few days now, right after he eats he throws up. I've taken him to the vet and I am supposed to take him back on Tuesday. I'm really worried, is there anything I can do in the meantime. I'm worried he won't make it, he has gotten dehydrated again. What kinds of things would cause this? What can I do to ease the nausea? He eats, but doesn't drink, so I was using a syringe to give him fluids. My vet told me not to give fluids that way, because it can get into his lungs. I need some advice, and can someone tell me if this could be a life or death situation for my cat?
 

mrblanche

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I am sorry that no experts have answered you question. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert, but I do know that dehydration is a serious problem. Have you been feeding the cat any soft food? If so, he's getting water that way.
 
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grayfluffy

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I can take him in tomorrow to be watched and taken care and IV fluids, but my vet is out until Tuesday. What else can I do until then? It's a holiday weekend and there's no getting a hold of any vets this weekend.
 
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grayfluffy

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There isn't a ER vet anywhere close, and he can't even keep soft food down. I've even tried baby food, and that came back up too. The only way I can get liquids down is to use a syringe, the vet says no, that if I confine him he will drink, but I don't think he will, he has been confined. He is hungry, but not thirsty. Then he can't keep his food down.
 

pookie-poo

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Has your vet done any blood work to rule out things like kidney failure or liver disease? Clear or white foamy vomit is a common symptom of Feline Chronic Renal Failure (CRF.) If your cat likes canned food, you can mix water into it, to make kind of a slurry. Also, most cats love baby food meats (make sure it contains NO onion.) You can also add water to that to help increase his fluids. You can also try giving your cat 1/4 of a 10 mg Pepcid tablet (famotadine) to see if that will control the nausea. Do not use Pepcid Complete, because this contains other ingredients that your cat doesn't need.

On Tuesday, talk to your vet about anti-nausea drugs, such as the Pepcid, or Reglan, or even Zofran (Zofran is quite expensive, so it probably wouldn't be the first choice.) My Angel kitty, Spooky, was a chronic vomiter, due to chronic renal failure. I gave her 1cc of Reglan syrup, twice a day, for the last 4 years of her life. It controlled her vomiting very well. My parent's Angel kitty, Samson, was also on Reglan syrup for nausea/vomiting caused by CRF. He successfully took it for at least 3 years, before he finally succumbed to other complications caused by his renal failure.

Also talk to your vet about learning how to do sub-Q fluids. I've been doing them for over 6 years for my CRF girl, Cleo, and I did them for about 4 years for my parent's Samson. They are very easy to do, and they are a God-send for preventing dehydration that can be caused by CRF, chronic diarrhea, or chronic vomiting.

Good luck! Please let us know what you find out on Tuesday. I will keep you and your kitty in my prayers.
 

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Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d like to ask you, does he throw up each and every time after he eats something?

Are you feeding scheduled meals, or are you free feeding?

And a very important question: what are you feeding? Canned food or dry? Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the food? Please let us know.

For the time being my vet would advise you to get some all-meat baby food (no onions and other ingredients) and offer that instead of cat food. She would also advise you not to offer any dry food.

(You can safely feed baby food for two or three days.)
 
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grayfluffy

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My cat is only a year old, can a cat this young get CRF? I just gave him tuna water, he drank that. Sometimes if he's going to vomit he will get wheezy too. What would cause him to get wheezy? He drank the tuna water, then got wheezy in his lungs, and acted like he was going to vomit, but he never did. He was also purring at the same time, because I was holding him.
 
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grayfluffy

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I've been feeding canned food for a couple of days now. He was keeping it down since I brought him home from the vet, until he got a couple of bites of hard food, before I caught him from eating it. Since then he's been vomiting everytime he eats something.
 

pookie-poo

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Originally Posted by GrayFluffy

My cat is only a year old, can a cat this young get CRF? I just gave him tuna water, he drank that. Sometimes if he's going to vomit he will get wheezy too. What would cause him to get wheezy? He drank the tuna water, then got wheezy in his lungs, and acted like he was going to vomit, but he never did. He was also purring at the same time, because I was holding him.
Unfortunately, yes, a one year old can have CRF, but thankfully, it's not very common. Cleo was diagnosed with CRF at 6 months old, when my vet did pre-op blood work for her spay surgery.

Could he have gotten into any household poisons, or poisonous plants? Asthma can cause wheezy symptoms, but doesn't usually cause vomiting. Try the Pepcid. If it doesn't help, you should probably try to get him to the Emergency Vet tomorrow, instead of waiting for your regular vet Tuesday.

Good luck.
 
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grayfluffy

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I have plants, to my knowledge he has never eaten them, although it was strange today when I cleaned up some of his white foamy vomit, there were little green things in it like grass. There is no where, where he would have gotten grass, and if he ate a poisonous plant several days ago, would it be coming up now? Wouldn't it have been digested by now? I suppose there could have been some grass stuck to my shoe today that got on the carpet that he ate, I don't know...

Could it be possible that the wheezing and the vomiting are two separate things, that they are not related to each other?
 

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I've been feeding canned food for a couple of days now. He was keeping it down since I brought him home from the vet, until he got a couple of bites of hard food, before I caught him from eating it. Since then he's been vomiting everytime he eats something.
Well, since this is the situation PLEASE, get him to an ER vet as soon as possible. He desperately needs fluids, and medication to control the nausea, etc.

In the meantime PLEASE do NOT offer ANY food. Canned or dry. NO FOOD.
Do NOT encourage him to drink either, just in case he has pancreatitis.
You need to find out what's wrong, why he is throwing up like this, without delay.
 

mews2much

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I dont want to scare you but the day before Stormy was Pts she was throwing up white foam. Her Kidneys were gone. She would throw up once and awhile and drool sometimes. She was only 5. Kidney problems can come at any age.
 

pookie-poo

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Originally Posted by GrayFluffy

I have plants, to my knowledge he has never eaten them, although it was strange today when I cleaned up some of his white foamy vomit, there were little green things in it like grass. There is no where, where he would have gotten grass, and if he ate a poisonous plant several days ago, would it be coming up now? Wouldn't it have been digested by now? I suppose there could have been some grass stuck to my shoe today that got on the carpet that he ate, I don't know...

Could it be possible that the wheezing and the vomiting are two separate things, that they are not related to each other?
The green bits in the vomit is very worrisome, indeed. I think that a trip to the E-vet is probably the best idea. If he has eaten something like a lily plant (lily plants are nephrotoxic and nearly always cause renal failure) quick treatment is essential to prevent severe illness, or even death. I don't think waiting until Tuesday is an option anymore.
 

violet

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I have plants, to my knowledge he has never eaten them, although it was strange today when I cleaned up some of his white foamy vomit, there were little green things in it like grass. There is no where, where he would have gotten grass, and if he ate a poisonous plant several days ago, would it be coming up now? Wouldn't it have been digested by now? I suppose there could have been some grass stuck to my shoe today that got on the carpet that he ate, I don't know...

Could it be possible that the wheezing and the vomiting are two separate things, that they are not related to each other?
Have you checked whether any of the plants you have are toxic to cats?
(Plants can cause vomiting, kidney damage, respiratory symptoms, just to name a few.)
It would be extremely important for you to check how safe your plants are for cats.
One list you can quickly look at:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html
 

violet

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Originally posted by Pookie-poo:
I don't think waiting until Tuesday is an option anymore.
I wholeheartedly agree. PLEASE go to the ER vet NOW.
 
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grayfluffy

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None of those plants sound familiar to me. I mostly have succulents, actally that's all I have are succulent plants.

If he ate a plant several days ago, would it even be possible that he would be vomiting it up today?

I can't go to an ER vet, they don't exsist where I live.
 
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