Genever's tummy. Again. (long, sorry)

darkmavis

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A week or so ago I posted about Genever vomiting a lot in a short amount of time. I took her to the vet 2 Tuesdays ago, Aug 25, and they gave her a shot of Cerenia, a motion sickness thing. No more kitty pukes!

...Until this Wednesday, I went home for lunch, she ate a bit (TOTW) and then puked- half food, half good-sized hairball. Great. She had an appointment to get her shots (rabies, felv, fchrpsomething (i can't think of the initials right now)) that day, but I didn't have an actual dr. appt. since she just had an exam the week before when i took her for the vomiting. So when the vet tech brought her back out and told me how good she is (i'm so proud of my baby!) I mentioned the puking and the history of it, she thought it could be just hairball related and I asked if I should try a hairball remedy and she went and asked the vet if she'd recommend trying Laxatone and she did so I got some. I asked how often is too often for cats to puke and she said more than once a week, so I should maybe call if it happens again.

I also want to add, she drinks and eats a good amount, and the litterbox is always full, even on puking days, and I scoop every day so I'd notice, so some stuff goes through her system at least.

Well, long story longer, I gave her the Laxatone, which she ran away from til I put some on her nose like the instructions say, and then she went nuts licking it off my finger. Yesterday afternoon I came home from work early because the maintenance guy came to fix our bedroom ceiling fan. As usual, Genever ran to her bowl to eat some when I got home (she is what the vet called a 'social eater', she doesn't eat much at all when we're not home. it makes me sad!) and she was in the bedroom when the maintenance man came and he went in and said 'Oh she made a poo', I looked on the bed and no, she threw up on the bed spread. Lovely.

So, after a week and a day of not puking after the Cerenia shot, she puked 2 days in a row. I think I should call the vet, should I call today or see how she does over the weekend and call next week? Something's definitely not right in her little tum-tum.
 
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darkmavis

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No puking today as of 11:37 pm.
Hope it was just a weird fluke the past 2 days and that the Laxatone is starting to take effect, if the problem is indeed hairball related...
 

farleyv

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pukers too. Only I have 7 cats together and sometimes it's hard to know who did it! When I do hear it happening, I race to see who it is. I do have a cat who had to be taken off EVO ancestrial diet because she threw up after each feeding. Maybe its the food?
 
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darkmavis

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If it's the food though, wouldn't she throw up after every time she eats? Maybe I'm wrong on that though..


We had no puke Friday or Saturday, but then she puked around 10PM last night (Sunday). It was mostly tan mush(wet food?) and a bit of dry food pieces and it looked like hairball too. It wasn't immediately after eating though. And we gave ger Pepcid everyday and Laxatone Wed, Thu, and Sunday. Guess I shouldn't have skipped Friday and Saturday?
So that makes it 3 times since Wednesday/past 6 days.

I think I will call this week so we can try to get to the bottom of it. How do you begin to isolate food ingredients though, if it is food related?
 

otto

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If food allergy is suspected kitty has to be put on a special food that contains no known allergens to cats. this means no chicken, beef, fish, turkey, grains. If the condition improves, known allergens are slowly reintroduced to try to narrow down what the trouble is.

Hair ball problems are rampant this year. My vet agrees. Perhaps the wildly fluctuating weather (around here anyway) don't know why. I'm having a terrible time with vomiting, in spite of daily grooming and regular hairball remedy use.

Keep us posted on Genever
 
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darkmavis

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No puking at all yesterday, and she ate the same food as Sunday when she did puke. As in from the same can (beef & chicken Wellness), since she won't eat a lot of wet so I usually get 3 meals out of a 3 oz can. If she cleans her plate I give her more but she rarely does.
She likes her dry food. Luckily she drinks a good amount too.


She got the Pepcid and Laxatone again, so since skipping laxatone Friday and Saturday, she's now had it again 2 days in a row. The tube says to give it 2-3 days , then 2-3 times a week but I'm afraid to skip days now! Is it ok to give that everyday or will it mess with her system?
 
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darkmavis

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Genever puked after eating some TOTW this morning around 7:50AM. She ate a few bites, then threw up, just a few bites' worth.

I guess I just don't understand, if she is vomiting because of something in her food, why does she sometimes go days without vomiting, even though she is still eating? Wouldn't a food allergy always make her vomit?
 

otto

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Originally Posted by DarkMavis

No puking at all yesterday, and she ate the same food as Sunday when she did puke. As in from the same can (beef & chicken Wellness), since she won't eat a lot of wet so I usually get 3 meals out of a 3 oz can. If she cleans her plate I give her more but she rarely does.
She likes her dry food. Luckily she drinks a good amount too.


She got the Pepcid and Laxatone again, so since skipping laxatone Friday and Saturday, she's now had it again 2 days in a row. The tube says to give it 2-3 days , then 2-3 times a week but I'm afraid to skip days now! Is it ok to give that everyday or will it mess with her system?
The laxatone can be used frequently for a short time, and under veterinary supervision. When shedding season ends, the frequency of the doses must be reduced very gradually because the body becomes dependent on the medicine.

Originally Posted by DarkMavis

Genever puked after eating some TOTW this morning around 7:50AM. She ate a few bites, then threw up, just a few bites' worth.

I guess I just don't understand, if she is vomiting because of something in her food, why does she sometimes go days without vomiting, even though she is still eating? Wouldn't a food allergy always make her vomit?
From what I am reading she is vomiting when she eats the Taste of the Wild Kibble, but not the Wellness canned.

This makes me think that it is either the Taste of the Wild kibble causing the vomiting, or the amount of kibble she is eating at one time. She may be scarf and barfing the food. that is..gobbling it all too fast, and then a few minutes later when she realizes she's too full, heaving it all. Cats can vomit at will, it's something to do with their tonsils.

So you can start giving her smaller amounts of kibble at a time, or stop feeding the TOTW, or do both of those things.

A big problem with a frequent vomiter can be dental problems. The acid coming back up destroys the teeth.
 
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darkmavis

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Sometimes I think maybe she eats too much and that's what makes her vomit.

This morning for sure I know that isn't the case. I got up to feed her (she almost always has dry food left from the previous day, but is into her routine of me giving her breakfast, as if there isn't anything in the bowl
), I was still with her, didn't go to the bathroom to get ready for work yet, and she ate a few bites, really, just a few bites, and then walked away and proceded to heave and I actually got a piece of paper under her to catch the vomit this time. I could've counted the pieces of food she puked up.

So if it is the TOTW that's upsetting her, again, why not ALL THE TIME? And also, what other food should I try? The pet food store I go to actually will buy back any bag no matter how much is gone already if you're not satisfied with it for any reason. So at least it's good to know I won't be spending an entire paycheck trying out cat foods.

Thanks for your help, btw.
 

otto

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You're welcome!


It may be that the TOTW turns rancid fairly quickly.

All dry food forms bacteria on it as it sits, and the longer it sits and the more times she nibbles on it, the ickier it gets.

Think about it. Every time she has a snack on that dry food left sitting out, she leaves saliva on it. When dry food gets wet it forms bacteria very quickly. Even sitting dry it will become rancid after a few hours.

For some cats this may not be a problem. But if Genever has a sensitive stomach to begin with, the free feeding method may not be a good option for her anymore.
 
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darkmavis

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OK, next question then- how do you not freefeed a cat who is a nibbler?

Here is what I am currently doing- OK, let's say I start with a clean bowl. Admittedly I wash out the dry food bowl only on the weekends, including just tossing what's left in there. So it's Sunday, I wash the bowl. It's a 2 cup dish, I fill it half way with TOTW, so about 1 cup of dry food (keep in mind she eats only about 1 oz. of wet). She will eat some when I put it down in the morning, but only a little. She does this throughout the day. Next morning, there's maybe 1/3 of the food left, sometimes more, sometimes less, so again I add more food to make it half full. etc.

How do I regulate that? Or do I just reduce the dry to a half cup and hope she finishes it sooner?

By the way, after puking yesterday morning, she ate really well the rest of the day, actually ate most of her dry food and scarfed her wet. I gave her a bit more wet then, but the 2nd helping was snubbed.
 

otto

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A cat can be trained to eat on a schedule (mine do) but if you don't want to do that this is what I advise.

Never put new food over old. I've already mentioned how the bacteria can build up. When replacing food throw away uneaten food, and clean the dish before putting in new food. The bottom of the dish is live with bacteria, and has a rancid coating at that point!

Clean the dish by scrubbing it with a brush under scalding hot water (no soap is needed, just very hot water) and let air dry. Have two dishes. This way while one is drying, you have another to use.

Put only enough for half a day's worth. For instance if she eats 1/2 cup of food a day, put 1/4 cup in the morning. After 12 hours, if there is any left, throw it away, get the fresh dish, and put in another 1/4 cup.

This will keep the food fresh and cut down on the bacteria and rancid food she is eating.
 
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darkmavis

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OK. I went home for lunch like always, and took her food dish, dumped the food, washed it out good and dried it and gave her a little bit. She ate some, about 10 minutes later puked half food, half hair. So then I just took her food bowl and put it on the counter. I think it's no good for her. (hey, with no food this afternoon she'll probably eat her wet food real good!)

So I called the vet, this is too much for me now, even with your advice, I just wanted to ask her advice too, if she thinks it's the food or what. I told her she's been on TOTW for a few months, and before that Purina ONE Natural Blends or whatever it was called. Vet's response was that TOTW might be too rich for Genever's system. She said she had to take her one of her own cats off Evo because it started puking a lot.

She recommended trying Natural Balance and said it's also byproduct-free, good sources of protein but not grain-free, which might be gentler on her system. We'll see. I'll get some after work today and start. I asked how long to try this before calling back if I do have to call back, and she said to give it a few weeks. If there's no improvement then she'll want to get into xrays and all that stuff.

Wish us luck!
I will be posting updates.....
 

otto

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Good luck with the new food. Remember to make the food transition gradually, adding a little more of the new, and less of the old every day.

You might also put her on a probiotic during the transition too, since she's already shown to be sensitive to food issues.

And I do hope you take my advice about keeping the food and dishes fresh for free feeding. It sounds like a lot of work, I know, but after a few days it will just be part of your meal routine.
 
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darkmavis

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OK, Since Friday when I got the Natural Balance food, Genever hasn't puked at all during the transition. I have been washing out the food bowl everyday too. So that's 3+ days now. A good start.

I cannot, however, 'train' her to eat dry food on a schedule. I tried giving her just a little bit of dry, and she hardly ate all day. I think she thinks if she finishes her food then she won't get any more? Kind of like the theory I have on why she hardly eats while no one is home, does she think no one will come back home to feed her ever again, so she saves her food? I feel bad for her if that's what goes through her head. Makes me feel bad for being out for long periods of time.

We're going away on Thursday-Sunday, having friends come over to catsit, so I hope she does well while we're gone too. It's funny, everytime they watch Genever, I have different food instructions for them..
 

otto

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Thanks for the update. I'm sure you will do whatever you think is best for Genever as far as feeding free or on schedule, you know her best.

Just remember to never put new food over old. Throw away uneaten food when feeding fresh. Change out the food and dish at least every 12 hours, every 8 would be better.


Did you just switch completley to the NB or are you doing it gradually? Be sure to alert the cat sitter to watch for diarrhea. Maybe have a probiotic available, if needed, or just start her on it as a preventative.

Keep us posted!
 
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darkmavis

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Doing the switch to NB gradually. It's mostly NB today and hardly any TOTW. I think I will hold off on a probiotic because I don't want to change too many things at once, then I won't know if the new food is helping or if it's the probiotic and she's got some other problem. I actually might put premeasured amounts of food in containers for the days we're gone for our friend to use. Then we won't have the problem of old and stale food.

It's gotten to the point where every time she eats, I get nervous that she'll puke. Not since Friday though. And hopefully she won't when I go home for lunch today... i keep feeling like whenever I get confident that we're past it, then she does it again.
 

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I agree with Otto. Great idea about the bacteria building up. I never thought of that. Also, you might want to try using a digestive enzyme to help prevent vomitting. I use Soothing Digestive Relief and it has stopped the kitty puking!
 
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darkmavis

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So at about 90% Natural Balance to 10% Taste of the Wild dry food mix... Genever puked around mdnight and then 5AM Thursday, before we left for Tennessee. (we get back tomorrow) Heard from our friends/catsitters that she puked Thursday night after eating some WET food. That's a new one. So I don't know. Could it be a stress thing? Or an ingredient thing? I really see no patterns, except that when she pukes, it's shortly after eating. Usually. But not everytime she eats. Arrgh! I think I may just try a probiotic again, she was on Fortiflora which i got from the vet a while ago, or I could try buying something from a pet store. Couldn't hurt to try I suppose. Maybe she's just a puker. Or maybe she needs some big bad pricey testing done at the vet.
 

otto

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Well darn. I'm sorry to see this. I forget...has a special diet (a prescription food specifically for sensitive stomach) been tried?

I'm thinking you're looking at a specific sensitivity. To a grain or grains, or a particular protein source. As for vomiting the wet food, it may be that she just gets to feeling so sick she vomits everything.

A prescription food, or a food that does not contain anything that is in the foods you have fed so far may be needed.
 
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