cats keep vomting from dry food

kittiekuddles

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Hi my cats have been on dry food their whole lives and the past few years they have been throwing up more and more. Ive had them on every dry food brand out there, im on my last brand, which is Natural balance (van patten) pea and duck no grain formula and now after a month of doing fine they are throwing up again.
Its funny because brands that didn't make them throw up gave them diarhea instead, but at least that's in the box, vomit they do anywhere, on the rug, sofa, my sons teddy bear even. They are indoor cats only, four of them are pedigree persians and one is an obese DSH that i believe has IBS, she usually has diarhea/soft stools with a trace of blood at the end.
The vet said they just have sensative stomaches, but all five of them? The sensitive stomache foods stopped the vomiting but gave them the runs instead (never went away even after 6 weeks of use)
So now im at my last straw, canned food, its the only thing left that i didn't try. Do you think adding canned to their diet will help?
The reason ive been avoiding canned is because feeding canned foods only to five cats is expensive, so i can only get cheaper brands. How many cans do i need to put out daily for five cats? The brand i was looking at was either friskies or 9 lives because they are the most affordable.
Dry food cost me around 30 dollars every three to four weeks, id like to stick within that price range for wet foods.
All their lives they have been free feeding dry food, its always out 24/7, could that be the problem? are they just over eating?
Sometimes its hair balls which is fine they are nice and dry and normal, but most of the time its wet vomit with some bits of food and sometimes either all yellow or all white foam.
The have been tested for various cat diseases all neg, they did go through giardia when they were kittens that was pretty hard to get rid of but they are neg now. Cats ages are 3, 5, 5, 8, 11. The three year old never had giaria, we got him way after the other cats were cured. He is a persian.
Brands of dry they have been on are...
science diet sensative, caused diarhea
authority sensative, terrible diarhea but stopped the vomiting
iams (origional and hairball) did good for a year, then diarhea and vomiting
blue buffalo wilderness, they did great on this for 6 months then they started vomiting like all the rest of the foods
van patten natural balance, vomiting
solid gold, they just got really skinny on this one and looked sickly so i took them off of it
ive even tried a few store bought cheapy brands that gave them either diarhea of vomiting or both.
nutro max, green bag with stripes, they were fine on for a year then they started vomiting bad from it, i think they changed the formula, because it was off the shelves for awhile then came back and made them sick.
the only dry i didnt try is royal canin
and whats worse is that what works for one cats messes up another..i cant reach a balance
 

sharky

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Okay all of this started about 2 yrs ago( about the time max changed formula?)

Has anyone has stool and blood tests done?? if not I would start with the older ones and get a senior panel...

WET food is actually very good for kitty....


Do you have access to a grain free dry food?? examples EVO , Taste of the wild , Wellness core
 

~*regina*~

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I'm not an expert at all but let me tell you. I switched my cat from all sorts of food because she almost always thru up after eating. I even tried to give her 2 meals a day instead of free feeding hoping that would help and it didn't. I was told by a couple people on here to switched to EVO and since I have there is no more throwing up after eating and no hair balls. She is much healthier now and her weight is slowly going down
(she was a little on the chunky side).
 
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kittiekuddles

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Originally Posted by sharky

Okay all of this started about 2 yrs ago( about the time max changed formula?)

Has anyone has stool and blood tests done?? if not I would start with the older ones and get a senior panel...

WET food is actually very good for kitty....


Do you have access to a grain free dry food?? examples EVO , Taste of the wild , Wellness core
yes it did get alot worse after max changed its formula. before then they would get sick from other brands but it wasnt as often as it was after the Max.
now they cant stomach anything for long.
the stools were checked, blood was done but it was for diseases like leuk, fiv or corona virus? and something else fip?
whats a senior panel?
my 11 yr old dsh is the worst of the bunch, shes quite over weight, but she gets the sickest, soft/ semi diarhea with some blood in stools and vomiting. shes active though and is in very good spirits, she still runs through the house like a kitten lol. but her head is always in the food bowl..and if it gets empty she cries hesterical.
its hard to keep track of whos doing what with five cats. i often find the vomit (or diarhea) but cant link each cat whos doing it.
i blamed my 5 yr old persian for one vomiting incedent and it wasnt even him, i brought him to the vet, they did a painful urinary exam to check for crystals and he was totally fine.
do you think that by adding maybe a few cans to their diet a couple of times per week would help?

the food they are on now is totally grain free, its just basically duck and peas, stools are great but i am finding vomit daily, not sure whos doing it, its not that much but someone is still getting sick
 
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kittiekuddles

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Originally Posted by ~*Regina*~

I'm not an expert at all but let me tell you. I switched my cat from all sorts of food because she almost always thru up after eating. I even tried to give her 2 meals a day instead of free feeding hoping that would help and it didn't. I was told by a couple people on here to switched to EVO and since I have there is no more throwing up after eating and no hair balls. She is much healthier now and her weight is slowly going down
(she was a little on the chunky side).
EVO is one on never tried yet thanks

should i try evo canned?
 

sharky

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senior panels check organ function... ie cats with kidney and liver issues often throw up....

I would NOT recommend EVO dry due to ages .. the wet may be an option but in my area it would cost you 3-4$ a day to feed it
 

carolina

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Have them been tested for Giardia? Please ask your vet if it does make sense - if they do have it, it can be easily treated with antibiotics.
Also, there is a brand of dry food called Holistic Select (by Eagle Pack) that seems to be great for sensitive GI tracts, as it has pre and pro biotics, as well as digestive enzymes added to it. If you don't want to change their diet, consider adding a pre-biotic to it. Holistic Solution has been very helpful with Bugsy, who seems to have a very sensitive GI tract (easily gets diarrhea). It has prebiotics, probiotics and enzymes.
Try also raising their food plates, which will help them to eat slower.
How is the vomit - do you see the kibbles in it, or it is a paste? If you see the kibbles, it can be that they are eating too fast and regurgitating...
 

misskalamata

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Originally Posted by sharky

senior panels check organ function... ie cats with kidney and liver issues often throw up....

I would NOT recommend EVO dry due to ages .. the wet may be an option but in my area it would cost you 3-4$ a day to feed it
Just curious, what does age have to do with this? Would it be okay if you mixed the Evo with a grainier, less rich dry food (say a 50-50 mix)?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by MissKalamata

Just curious, what does age have to do with this? Would it be okay if you mixed the Evo with a grainier, less rich dry food (say a 50-50 mix)?
IMHO 7-8 yrs and older

yes you could mix
 

momofmany

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A cat should have a baseline senior panel starting about 8 years old (10 at the latest). As cats age, they can often develop health issues that show up in their bloodwork. The baseline is to see what they are like when they are younger and healthier. You should have annual senior blood panels every year after that to monitor any changes to their health. Certain foods are harder on different internal organs (e.g. fish flavors can be very hard on their bladders), so combine the type of food with their age and you can accelerate health problems in an older cat.

Does this make sense?
 

hypancistrus

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My former-feral/stray cat Sterling has a tendency to eat ALL the food in the dish in one setting. I think this may be because there was a time in his life where food wasn't just always there, so he feels compelled to eat as much as he can "just in case." I have found that if I feed smaller portion sizes, more often, it cuts down on or eliminates the vomiting. Is it a pain? Yes. But it keeps the chunky brown cat-food puke from appearing on my rugs and couch, like you said.

I also do feed him 1/4 can of wet food each evening. He seems to really like Purina Natural (I think that is the name of it). It is expensive at nearly $1 per small can, but he likes it better than other brands.
 
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