Both my cats are vomiting, won't eat, diarrhea

Hi, both of my 7.5 month old kittens, Link and Gir, are not doing well. They are littermates. They are strictly indoor cats, and haven't been in contact with any other animals.

I appologize in advance for this being a REALLY long post. I just need to tell everything that's happened. I am wondering if someone else has gone through a similar situation?

Yesterday morning I saw Link throw up a clear liquid. I didn't think too much of it, so I decided to wait and see if it would happen again. Then later in the afternoon I saw Gir throw up a similar clear liquid. This got me worried. The vet was closed so I was still going to wait but then later yesterday night (around 8pm) Link through up again, this time it was more yellow than clear. I was really worried. My boyfriend was cleaning out the litterbox last night and found some soft stool. Then, Link jumped in and went to the bathroom, a light brown/yellow diarrhea All the while this is happening neither kitty is eating at all. They wouldn't eat their normal canned food on Thursday or Friday, but i didn't think too much of it, sometimes they like to eat dry instead of wet, or don't like the flavor, etc... Both my boyfriend and I refill the dry food dishes, so it is hard to monitor if they are eating or not. To the best of my knowledge the last time I am positive they ate was sometime on Thursday, maybe the morning/afternoon. Neither of them was as active as they normally are.

I didn't know what to do... I took them to the emergency vet. They were both give Sub Q fluids and had a fecal test done. The fecal test came back negative for everything, so no parasites. They temperatures were normal, as were their heart rates. They told us to try and feed them a bland diet, boiled beef, rice, cottage cheese, etc... They wouldn't eat any of it.

I called our vet today, and she gave me some Metronidazole, an antibiotic, in case they have a bacterial infection. She also gave me some science diet i/d to try. I tried to feed it to them, but they wouldn't even try it. Link vomitted after giving him the metronidazole this morning, and i found a little bit more diarrhea in the litter box. I tried feeding them everything again. They haven't done anything all day except sleep and walk around the room a few times. I don't think they drank any water at all. I was worried about them not eating, so I tried all of the stuff listed above again, they wouldn't eat any of it. To see if they would eat anything else, i tried giving them a few treats, which they did eat and kept down (no throwing up right after). I called the vet again about the not eating, and this time brought in the kitties. She gave them Sub Q fluids again.

The possible causes are:
-foreign body like eating a string or something (but this would be unlikely to happen in both of them at the exact same time)
-toxin (maybe they got into something they shouldn't have? I can't think of anything they would have eaten... We do have asian lady beetles though, and the vet said those could be toxic, so maybe they each ate some?)
-viral infection
-bacterial infection
-pancreatis

I can't remember if that covered everything she said it could be. I forgot to write it all down when I was there, and I'm too worried to remember it all. After the Sub Q fluids I took them home and tried to feed them a few times, nothing doing. I gave them the metronidazole again this evening, it was quite a struggle doing it by myself, I'll tell you that!! (the vet sure didn't lie when she said that it tasted nasty) Anyways, I got the meds in both of them, and Gir started foaming at the mouth, which the vet said could happen. Link foamed a bit and then threw up right away. And, that is where I am now. I don't know what else to do. I am so worried about them.

The vet said to call her tomorrow to check in. She said she wants to see them tomorrow if they are throwing up and not eating, and that she will see them on Monday if they stop throwing up tomorrow.

I'm sorry for the long post, thanks for reading if you got that far. I just needed a place to vent and ask for advice. And, to make everything more frustrating, my boyfriend had to travel 3 hours away today for a family thing, so I had to deal with this all alone. Sigh, I hope things go better tomorrow.

Can anyone think of anything else it could possibly be that we aren't thinking of? It seems odd that both of them have the exact same symptoms at the exact same time... Has anyone had two cats develop similar symptoms together?

So sorry you and your kittens are going through this. I have not had a situation where both had the same illness like that.

Has the vet done any blood tests yet? I would think they would look at the liver and kidney functions soon.

What about the food they are on, did you open a new bag, a different canned food maybe?

Do you have any house plants? There are many that will cause vomiting.

Have you tried warming some chicken broth? I mixed chicken broth with clear pedialyte when mine were kittens with digestive issues. (per my vets instructions)

I hope they get better very soon.

I'm sure you are very worried; I would be, too. If I had to guess, I'd say they either got into something or ate tainted food. Good luck, I hope they get better soon!

I wouldn't be force feeding them until u know whats wrong...if the vet thinks its pancreatis..then food is the worst thing you can give them right now....the pancreas...needs time to rest ..I had a cat that had got ill from pancreastis every few months and she would go off her food from 5 to 7 days....and then she would be fine....If she tried to eat or drink she would vomit...I did the sub Q fluids during her attacks....However your cats are young to get this..I also have had cats vomit for 2 or 3 days and be fine ...and no one knew what was the problem...I sure hope they are better today...
I wanted to add that metronidazole can cause vomiting and diarrhea...and with them not eating...thats most likely going to happen

Thanks for all the good vibes!

Update:
They seemed to be doing better yesterday morning, they were more active and not vomiting, so when the vet called me to check in on them, I told her they seemed better than before. Well, I guess I shouldn't have said that in front of the cats because like an hour after I talked to the vet, they both puked, and we couldn't get their medicine in them, and then Gir puked twice more. They still wouldn't eat anything we tried giving them.

I dropped them off at the vet this morning... she is going to do abdominal x-rays and some blood work on both of them, and give them some more sub-Q fluids.

Originally Posted by swooshbug

Thanks for all the good vibes!

Update:
They seemed to be doing better yesterday morning, they were more active and not vomiting, so when the vet called me to check in on them, I told her they seemed better than before. Well, I guess I shouldn't have said that in front of the cats

because like an hour after I talked to the vet, they both puked, and we couldn't get their medicine in them, and then Gir puked twice more. They still wouldn't eat anything we tried giving them.

I dropped them off at the vet this morning... she is going to do abdominal x-rays and some blood work on both of them, and give them some more sub-Q fluids.

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I'm glad the vet is doing tests. I would have thought she would do them earlier, but some vets are different I guess...

It does sound like they both ate something toxic or tainted food possibly, for them both to be sick. Last fall my cat Riley got sick like that and we never did figure out why. All his tests were normal. After a few days on the meds (same yours are taking) and a few days of syringe feeding, he was fine. Hopefully yours will recover just as quickly.

Just good wishes for you and your little ones.

Originally Posted by Nance

I wouldn't be force feeding them until u know whats wrong...if the vet thinks its pancreatis..then food is the worst thing you can give them right now....the pancreas...needs time to rest ..I had a cat that had got ill from pancreastis every few months and she would go off her food from 5 to 7 days....and then she would be fine....If she tried to eat or drink she would vomit...I did the sub Q fluids during her attacks....However your cats are young to get this.

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I don't mean to sound harsh, but this information is completely wrong, or at the very least out-dated. You should never withhold food from a cat for pancreatitis. Numerous studies have shown this to be an ineffective treatment for cats, and is only recommended for dogs. Cats are also very prone to hepatic lipidosis if they don't eat for more than 24-48 hours.

I have a cat with suspected pancreatitis since 8 months of age so it can definitely happen in younger kitties. I say suspected because her fPLI tests have come back negative, but she has all of the symptoms and as such I've put off having the ultrasound done. Still, I don't think that's what is going on with these kittens since it's highly unlikely that they would both have a pancreatic attack at the exact same time.

Please let us know what your vet finds out today!

tamgil99 this is the way the vets treated my cat ...she suffered with it for 7 yrs... I was told NOT to forced feed her..cause when I did she would just vomit even water during her attacks would make her vomit....I was told her pancreas need to rest....so many times she would just be admitted into the hospital ...near the end I just did sub q fuilds myself at home....til the end....this was 4 yrs ago...so maybe its out dated ...I would really hate to think I was doing harm following my vets advice...I went back to look thur my notes....and I would write down what I was told so I'd not do anything wrong....She did however have a feeding tube one time while on her "hunger strike"...They changed her food would give her pain meds when she had a flare up and she wouldn't eat for days...she was off and on meds but none seem to stop the attacks....I didn't even think to look online for advice back then...not sure why cause maybe this site would have had better advice in dealing with her...poor Kitty

Originally Posted by Nance

well tamgil99 this is the way the vets treated my cat ...she suffered with it for 7 yrs... I was told NOT to forced feed her..cause when I did she would just vomit even water during her attacks would make her vomit....I was told her pancreas need to rest....so many times she would just be admitted into the hospital ...near the end I just did sub q fuilds myself at home....til the end....this was 4 yrs ago...so maybe its out dated ...I would really hate to think I was doing harm following my vets advice

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Hi Nance. I assume this was your vet giving the advice so it definitely wasn't referring to the way you cared for your kitty. But yes, I do believe this potentially causes more harm from what I've been researching, although you would have known if you were causing more harm so it sounds like your kitty was just fine with it. No worries about the past.

However, things like this are just another reason I have so much distrust in vets these days, especially some of the older schooled vets. You'll also find that most vets prescribe metacam to cats and the FDA has specifically warned against using it in cats as it is known to cause kidney failure. I know this because I now have a cat in renal failure from being on it for a month. This is why I have vowed to do all of the research I can on my cats going forward and the treatments options out there.

Thanks for all the replies!

We just got home from the vet. She gave them some more subQ fluids. All there blood levels are normal, and their kidney and liver functions look good. She also did a barium x-ray series, and that all looked good, no blockages or anything. She said they didn't throw up at all today.

The only causes she thinks it could be is bacterial/viral gasteroenteritis or some of their food was tainted or bad, or they got into something. She said that it is good that whatever is causing their problems isn't screwing up their kidney/liver, and she said the levels looked good, so we don't have to worry about hepatic lipidosis yet. She said that if they don't eat by Wednesday then it becomes a major concern, but as of right now, their liver functions look good.

She said to continue with the Metronidazole for now.

We tried feeding them some baby food when we got home, and Link ate a tiny bit!!!! I was never so happy to see a cat eat before. However, Gir wouldn't eat any and she threw up a few minutes later... I think whatever is cause their vomiting/not eating hit Link first because he was the one to start throwing up first, start having diarrhea first, etc... so, I am hoping that he is just a little bit ahead of her in the recovery process too and that she will be feeling better tomorrow. I'm going to try feeding them small bits of food every so often tonight and see if they eat and if they keep the food down. She said don't try syringe feeding them yet, because they just might not be ready to eat right now.

The vet wants me to call and update her on their condition in the morning. I am going to work from home tomorrow so I can keep an eye on them and (hopefully) get them to eat small amounts throughout the day.

THanks again for all your good vibes, maybe the worked! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that whatever they had is on its way out. It's just frustrating to not know what it is...

OH, i forgot to mention LInk is acting like he is feeling a lot better to. He is currently walking all over the keyboard wanting attention And, he even started to play with a toy on his own for a bit. Gir on the other hand just went to sleep.

I'm glad to hear their test results were all normal. Poor babies. Hopefully the get a lot better by tomorrow.

How are the babies today?

Thanks for asking tamgirl!

Link is doing a lot better... He hasn't thrown up at all since last night (the vet said he probably threw up last night right after the medicine b/c it taste so bad). He's been eating small amounts of baby food and a bit of canned food. The vet gave me some probiotics to put on his food and he seemed to like the taste of that. He woke us up at 5 this morning wanting food and to be played with, so I think he is feeling a lot better. He pulled his favorite toy out of the closet and started playing with it on top of us

Gir threw up twice while we were sleeping, so the vet had me bring her in the morning for an anti-nausea injection, she hasn't thrown up since. Gir still hasn't eaten anything though. The vet said she didn't seem dehydrated so that is one good thing.

Link was the one who started acting sick first, so I'm hoping it is just run it's course on him and that Gir will be soon to follow!

Gir is now eating/drinking too! They were running around playing with each other last night

Vet thinks it could have possibly been the food they were eating or otherwise would have had to be a bacterial/viral infection. I'm going to keep giving them the Metronidazole until their stools are totally back to normal.

I'm sooo glad they are feeling better. I was very worried for a while. Still, it is very distressing not to know what caused this!

I'm so glad they're both eating again! That's the hardest part but once they start eating things should dramatically improve from there.

I hate to say it but I can relate to your situation, my two male cats yesterday started throwing up a white and yellow foam. they would not eat, they have or had diarrhea. well my female did it and she was ok after a day or two. but my males are not so lucky. one has I am sad to say has died he only lived a few hours after he got sick and the other one I have been force feeding him can cat food mixed with milk threw a syringe he has improved some and I do hope he makes it. unfortunately, no one no's why this is happening or what to really do to fix it, because there environment nor the diet has changed I do have a wax begonia in my bathroom they ate but they said its so mildly toxic that some people don't consider them toxic at all, but just a few minutes ago I discovered my female eating a acorn I quickly took it away from her and looked it up on the ASPCA web site an it fights a pretty large amount of there symptoms but I still don't understand why my one cat died.    

Oh Masheal, I'm so sorry to hear that How is your female cat doing now? I hope better and I hope you're feeling ok after losing one of your fluffy friends. I'm so sad for you both