Cat can't hold down food, constant vomiting

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thrasymachus

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Originally Posted by Gary Null

Natural Pet Care: Chapter 7 - Common Dog and Cat Concerns

Vomiting
Vomiting is one way the body cleanses itself. Through vomiting the body gets rid of toxins and creates time to rest and heal. Overeating, and the absence of fasting, are two culprits that weaken an animal's stomach and intestines. Then when your animal meets a trigger, such as grass or food on the street, or even stress, its digestive system will react violently, usually in the form of vomiting.

Sometimes vomiting can be indicative of serious problems, so it is important to monitor your animal carefully. Watch out for persistent vomiting, blood in the vomit, and the presence of fever or pain. If any of these symptoms occur, take your pet to an animal hospital or holistic veterinarian as soon as possible, as your animal will require blood tests and quite possibly x-rays. In extreme cases, exploratory surgery may be indicated.

If serious problems are not involved, you may be able to treat vomiting with a simple herbal cleanse. Do not feed your animal any solid foods for a few days. Instead, give it water and broth for up to three days (see Chapter 6, on detoxifying). On day two of the fast, give your pet a dose of Gentle Dragon.

Once the fast has ended, you will want to restructure your animal's diet. Start by adding more fiber to the diet. Fruit, vegetables, rice, and oatmeal are examples of foods high in fiber. You will also want to add green foods, such as grated salads, to your pet's diet. Greens are rich in cleansing chlorophyll. Introducing regular fasting is another component in restructuring your animal's diet, so incorporate that into your plan as well. The long-term goal is to build up the digestive system while sustaining it, and proper diet, inclusive of appropriate food volumes and frequency of feedings, will ensure that this occurs.
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The last few days my cat has been constantly vomiting. I am gonna try to let her fast for all of Sunday and maybe even a bit of Monday to clean out her system. It is not like she can hold it down anyway, the more I feed her the more I have to clean up her vomit. If after Monday morning she cannot hold down food I will have to consult the vet, which will take alot of trial, error, time and money.

My last cat had a similar problem and it turned out to be cancer but this one has no palpable tumors. Has anyone else had a similar health problem with their cat?
 
violet

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Please, forget about what Gary Null says. Do NOT wait, take your cat to the vet without delay. When cats can't stop vomiting it's not about cleaning out their system. It's about a very serious, potentially life-threatening health problem. The vomiting itself can be the indication of a life-threatening health problem (blockage, severe pancreatitis, gastritis, liver disease, etc, etc, etc, many, many very serious different things) and the fluid loss and electrolyte imbalance caused by the vomiting can also become life-threatening.
The fluid loss after just one episode of vomiting can amount to 8 ounces (of weight) when you put a cat on the scale at a time like that. The dehydration and electrolyte imbalance makes the cat feel even sicker, more nauseous, the situation can very quickly become extremely serious.
Constant vomiting, a cat unable to hold down food, calls for immediate veterinary attention. And fluids - either subcutaneous or intravenous.

Hepatic lipidosis is always a dreadful possibility when a cat is unable to eat. Some cats have such a sensitive liver that they develop hepatic lipidosis after just one day of not eating.

I cannot emphasize it strongly enough, your cat needs to be taken to the vet NOW.
 
xocats

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I agree with the above post....
I urge you to not have your cat fast....
cats who go without food can quickly develop liver failure & die.

If your cat has not been able to hold down food for several days, your cat needs an exam and lab work (blood and urine) to see if something serious is going on.

Your kitty might be suffering, please get your sweetie to a vet.
 
farleyv

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Oh my goodness, get your cat to the vet....dehydration is a very serious problem. Your cats system can start to shut down.

Take it from us, not Gary Null.

His advice on feeding fruits and veggies????

Please, your cat is ill. What are you waiting for????
 
farleyv

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I just googled Gary Null.. Good grief, he isn't even a veterinarian. Why would you take advice from someone like that?

We are not vets either..but you will note the difference. We tell you to take your animal to the doctor. The article I saw used the word "dubious" refering to his credentials.

If you want to take his advice for yourself, well that is your right. But please don't subject your animal to this mans extremely questionable expertise.
 
xocats

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If everyone sounds concerned, it is because we do not want you to try something that might make a potential problem worse.

Please see a vet....
remember, we are on your side.
 
carolina

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Please please take your kitty to the vet - it sounds like it might be a blockage case, and that is VERY VERY serious.... whatever it is, you do NOT want to have a cat without nutrition for long... Very dangerous.... And a week can be a long time - enough for liver damage. Please go ASAP - I would not even wait for tomorrow if it was my cat... Dehydration is also very serious... You want to give some fluids to that cat....
 
sharky

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I am hoping for a update from you taking this very ill cat to the vet....
 
xocats

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No updates yet...

How is your kitty doing?
 
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thrasymachus

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I think the people on this site are exaggerating about how bad fasting is given the circumstances. I took the cat to the vet on Monday. The vet said that fasting her was a good idea and recommend me to continue the fast and feed her Tuesday morning when her medications should be in her system. He prescribed:
Metoclopramide (to prevent vomitting)
and Clavamox (anti-biotic)

The vet injected her with nutrients and electrolytes to help with the depletion from not being able to absorb food. She also got X-rays and bloodwork. The X-rays showed no problems. The bloodwork results the vet tried to phone in Tuesday when I was outside biking.

Unfortunately the cat still vomited at least three times Tuesday after feeding her about 1/4 of a can of catfood. Twice while I was outside biking when my mom was home and once later at night when I came back. When I was there the vomit consisted of mostly bile. When the vet phones in the bloodwork I will inform of the situation.

I don't really know what to do at this point. Should I feed her so she at least maybe absorbs something or not?
 
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Deffinatly feed this cat.

I am going to be brutally blunt: I don't care what your vet says, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard from a vet. You are risking your cats life. Cats can get Hepatic Lipidosis (major, potintially FATAL liver issue) from not eating in as little as 2 days. Here is a little bit about it: http://www.healthypet.com/petcare/Pe...8-6635beba55c4

Please read the link, I beg you. My cat almost died from a similar liver illness (not from not eating though) and he is still critically sick. Like... he has to be fed with a syringe, I have to give him an IV every day, and he is on soooo many meds that it is ridiculous.

How is your kitty now? Please don't take my comments the wrong way, it is obvious that you care about your cat. You just got some bad info. The website you qouted sounds like it is written for dogs. Dogs will not die if they go without food for a couple days, cats can Also, have you ever tried to get a cat to eat fruits/veggies? Ha.

Many for your kitty, I hope its nothing serious at all.
 
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Maude died from not eating. Her liver failed and she had to be put to sleep.

Fasting a puking dog can be ok, it is never ever good for cats because it can cause liver damage or failure and kill them.

I am not exaggerating, I have a dead cat to prove what happens when a cat doesn't eat.

The site is correct for dogs but not for cats. Cats have to have meat on a daily basis, a vegetarian diet can cause heart failure, vision loss and death.

Taryn
 
jeffrey dean

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I just put my sweet kitty cat down last week.  

She was an indoor/ outdoor cat we had for 6 years.  She rarely left the yard and I would sit on the front porch with her continually throughout the day and night and bring her in when it was too cold or hot.  

I did not see her for about 6 days.  I was baffled.  Every night I walked the property and the surrounding area calling for her (she came when she was called like a puppy).

On the evening of the 6th day she came walking to me very slowly, seeming to come from nowhere.  She looked very weak and actually, I thought, gaunt.  I rushed her to the front porch and gave her some food.  She ate like a starving animal then immediately puked it up, then tried to eat what she puked up.  It was heart breaking.

This went on for a few days (I had to wait for my monthly check to come in to afford a vet).

She couldn't keep food down.  I took her to the vet after a few days and they gave some de-worming meds and some medicine to help with any blockages.  I could not afford the tests they said they needed to take to make sure what was wrong with her.

I took her home, but after 4 days she was still puking and eating the puke then puking it back up.

I knew she was a goner.  I took her to the vet and we put her down.

You'll never know how badly that hurt me and my 15 year old son.  She was our best friend.

I don't know what happened to her, but I'm guessing she was trapped or imprisoned somewhere where she couldn't eat.  She had ALL her shots and I even had her microchipped so she wasn't neglected.

I will never know what happened to her because I'm too poor for the tests they needed to do.  

If you have the money to take your cat to a vet in this situation I would not recommend waiting even ONE day!

Really, you shouldn't even have a cat if you can't afford these things, (let's be honest) but we took Lizzie in when she was a stray kitten and I did what I could for her, her whole life.  

I'm a disabled, retired vet living on a small fixed income with a kid.  I blame myself for not being able to help Lizzie.

If you have the means to help your cat when they are puking like this, SHAME on you for not rushing them right to the vet.  Think of poor Lizzie.  All she wanted to do was roam the yard and love on us.  We let her down.

Yours truly
A big burly cat lover...
 
catwoman707

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Jeffrey Dean said:
 
I just put my sweet kitty cat down last week.  

She was an indoor/ outdoor cat we had for 6 years.  She rarely left the yard and I would sit on the front porch with her continually throughout the day and night and bring her in when it was too cold or hot.  

I did not see her for about 6 days.  I was baffled.  Every night I walked the property and the surrounding area calling for her (she came when she was called like a puppy).

On the evening of the 6th day she came walking to me very slowly, seeming to come from nowhere.  She looked very weak and actually, I thought, gaunt.  I rushed her to the front porch and gave her some food.  She ate like a starving animal then immediately puked it up, then tried to eat what she puked up.  It was heart breaking.

This went on for a few days (I had to wait for my monthly check to come in to afford a vet).

She couldn't keep food down.  I took her to the vet after a few days and they gave some de-worming meds and some medicine to help with any blockages.  I could not afford the tests they said they needed to take to make sure what was wrong with her.

I took her home, but after 4 days she was still puking and eating the puke then puking it back up.

I knew she was a goner.  I took her to the vet and we put her down.

You'll never know how badly that hurt me and my 15 year old son.  She was our best friend.

I don't know what happened to her, but I'm guessing she was trapped or imprisoned somewhere where she couldn't eat.  She had ALL her shots and I even had her microchipped so she wasn't neglected.

I will never know what happened to her because I'm too poor for the tests they needed to do.  

If you have the money to take your cat to a vet in this situation I would not recommend waiting even ONE day!

Really, you shouldn't even have a cat if you can't afford these things, (let's be honest) but we took Lizzie in when she was a stray kitten and I did what I could for her, her whole life.  

I'm a disabled, retired vet living on a small fixed income with a kid.  I blame myself for not being able to help Lizzie.

If you have the means to help your cat when they are puking like this, SHAME on you for not rushing them right to the vet.  Think of poor Lizzie.  All she wanted to do was roam the yard and love on us.  We let her down.

Yours truly
A big burly cat lover...
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How very sad about your cat :(

This is an old thread, so I doubt the person is still around here, but don't beat yourself up, you gave her love and a sense of belonging, she knew she was wanted, and loved.

We do the best we can, not always ideal, but I do understand your guilt and thinking you let her down.

Very, very sad, so sorry.
 
hmckinney

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there is some cat food especially for kitties' digestive tracts:

http://www.petsmart.com/featured-sh...zid36-1748/cat-36-catid-800100?var_id=36-1748

it's a little pricy per can, but some vets offer it cheaper in bulk.

my madonna got pretty sick once, she was vomiting, had diarrhea, and wasn't eating. she lost weight pretty quickly. the vet prescribed some medicine to control the vomiting and diarrhea and this cat food and said it was pretty urgent that she got something on her stomach. it's high calorie but easy on the stomach so your cat will get the nutrients she needs quickly. vets can give your cat something to increase their appetite, too.

it wouldn't hurt to give your baby some unflavored pedialyte, either, with a syringe without a needle. you can get that from your vet too.

edit i did not see how old this thread is. nvm
 
 
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I bought hairball treats and within 10mins she threw up. She is a Maine coon who does not like the brush or comb. She has been vomiting maybe 3 times every few weeks. Is this normal?
 
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