Ongoing allergy/nausea issues

My cat went off of her food yesterday (after weeks and weeks of on-off vomiting, presumably due to food intolerances - dealing with a Hill's Rx diet formula change and trying to find a replacement), so off to the vet she went today.

I quickly discovered that she was, indeed, hungry, but refused her normal foods.. even threw up at the smell of them TWICE last evening. When I offered her treats this morning, she took them quickly.

The plan WAS to get blood work, but after squirming her way out of three people's grips AND giving me some nasty bites on both of my thumbs (perhaps in protest of the fact that I was using my opposable digits to hold her? lol), the vet gave up for the day. Because she was dehydrated and hadn't eaten, I guess he didn't want to sedate her today. They did give her sub-Q's to re-hydrate her (he said she was a "little dry").

The plan now to figure out what the problem is is to use anti-nausea pills, 1/4 tablet once a day, for about a week to see if that clears up the issue. He also requested a urine sample, which I will get to him as soon as she passes some. He told me she NEEDS to eat - even if it means trying a new food - so I introduced EVO 95% Duck to her tonight and she ate it heartily. Now, I'm super glad she ate, but I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't have a skin or respiratory reaction from the food (hopefully not, since it's the same protein source).

Any experience with something like this? I know nausea/lack of appetite can both be signs for CRF and hyperthyroid (hence the desired blood work), but these issues only came on during this whole process of trying to find a new food.

Nobody? Nothing?

Layla has not vomited since going to the vet and being on the medication, and a urine sample was dropped off to them this afternoon. Will post the results when I get them. She seems like she's in pretty high spirits. She's hungry yet still a bit hesitant to eat (prefers to eat off my fingers than from her bowl).. but she IS eating, she IS hydrated, so I guess these are good signs. Still waiting for a bowel movement.. she hasn't pooped in almost 48 hrs (the vet is aware of this).

I feel your pain I went through two years of vomiting and diarrhea. First we thought it was food allergies, then tritrichomonas, then helio bacter. Turns out it was IBD, inflammatory bowel disease. This is easily managed but not curable. Franklin is better than he's ever been!

Stay vigilant! Ask questions! The duck is a good idea, especially since she's eating it Her issues may go dormant and then resurface. Don't hesitate to go back to the vet. If the vet doesn't seem to be giving you answers that make sense change vets. I went through 3. Keep us posted and ask lots of questions.

Thanks, kwarendorf. I've thought about IBD.. I am sure she has food allergies because of her skin/respiratory reactions to certain foods, but there's no reason why she can't have both. Forgot to ask the vet about that yesterday. I was always under the impression that it's treated the same way, by managing their diet, but I don't know much about it at all..

LaylaCat, I just stopped giving my cat hills Z/D too because it was making her throw up, I would call Hills and tell them that's what I did, they should know that cats are getting sick from there food. We are going to try Royal Canin green pea and rabbit next I really hope this helps her allergies and her stomach. I hope your kitty feels better too.

Z/d is nasty stuff. I have a closet full of it. I'm almost glad that it wasn't allergies cuz that stuff is evil IBD is managed with prednisolone. He's on a maintenance dose of 5mg every other day. He hasn't thrown up since May 23! Finding the right cause can be a long process. Unless you find the real cause the symptoms will recur, even after months of remission. That's why I advised diligence. Piling on an empty stomach and lack of appetite are what made me thing of IBD. Franklin was very itchy too. But once we got his gut fixed those symptoms have resolved.

Yeah.. I only fed Hill's Rx Diet (it was actually d/d) because it was the only food she'd hold down appreciably. Back in '05/'06, I was just a teen, too, and had NO idea about grain-free diets and high-end brands. Now that it doesn't work any more, goodbye Hill's.. hopefully for good! I did call Hill's and let them know what was going on. If only they hadn't tampered with the dang ingredients...

My vet just called me with the urinalysis. He does not suspect kidney problems based on the results (said "her ___ numbers look good" -- missed the word!), thank goodness, but did see some white blood cells.. very possible that her UTI from June has not cleared up. Originally, he was going to make me put her on antibiotics, but he said to hold off until we see that her appetite/digestion is back in order. I agree with that - he said her urinalysis this month looks tons better than the one from June, so I don't think it's a terribly urgent thing.

I am giving Pepcid 1-2 times a day as needed, and 1/4 tablet of an appetite stimulant at night. He said to test her in a couple of days to see if she's still hungry without the prescription pill. He said I could continue the Pepcid as long as needed, it wouldn't even hurt for her to be on it for the rest of her life. Thoughts on that?

I am giving her roughly 1/4 can EVO 95% Duck twice a day and free-feeding her very small amounts of Natural Balance Kibble mixed with tiny bits of her old d/d food (the last bit I have before the formula change took place). She ate really well this morning and seems to be in very good spirits.

He and I will touch base again during the week.

Any comments/suggestions/help are SO appreciated. Thank you for all of your help!

She's still holding down the food and getting Pepcid 1-2 times a day, but I noticed that one of her nostrils is inflamed and seems to have the beginning of a sore on it.. exactly what she got when I fed her Wellness CORE and her body reacted. She also seems just a little bit sniffly while she's breathing - she doesn't have a runny nose, she just sounds stuffed up.

There is Carrageenan in the EVO Duck she's been eating. I've been reading, and apparently it's a common allergen.

I guess I'm going to call the vet again tomorrow. I'm totally at a loss here. I really am not sure if it's possible to find a food that produces no digestive, skin, or respiratory problems. What am I gonna do?

Originally Posted by LaylaCat

She's still holding down the food and getting Pepcid 1-2 times a day, but I noticed that one of her nostrils is inflamed and seems to have the beginning of a sore on it.. exactly what she got when I fed her Wellness CORE and her body reacted. She also seems just a little bit sniffly while she's breathing - she doesn't have a runny nose, she just sounds stuffed up.

There is Carrageenan in the EVO Duck she's been eating. I've been reading, and apparently it's a common allergen.

I guess I'm going to call the vet again tomorrow. I'm totally at a loss here. I really am not sure if it's possible to find a food that produces no digestive, skin, or respiratory problems. What am I gonna do?

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Allergen I would not call it ... item that is often sensitive or intolerant , yes there is some data pointing that was... note it , cassia gum , guar gum are in nearly Every canned food

Has it been known to cause inflammation (ie. her nose)? She's not reacting to it from a digestive point of view (no puking), but one side of her nose is swelled and red AND she seems to have some respiratory stuff going on too.

I fed her some d/d canned this morning.. that's what she was eating up until one week ago. It does not have Carrageenan in it and has not produced these skin/respiratory responses in her. Perhaps taking Pepcid before eating will curb the vomiting. Vet will get back to me this evening.

Another update - feeding the d/d canned led to two episodes of vomiting yesterday, even with Pepcid. So d/d is OUT. Goodbye, Hill's.

Now I'm looking in to Royal Canin Green Pea and Duck, but it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get it until Tuesday of next week. I've called all the vet practices in my area, and no one has it in stock.

This is SO frustrating. I'm not really sure what the heck I should be feeding her from now until then. The vet tech said to start weaning her off the EVO wet food, but the problem is that her appetite isn't the greatest and I'm really not sure how much of the dry food she's going to eat.

Are there any other all-Duck canned foods out there? I WISH someone would make a 100% Duck canned food just for supplemental feeding.. there's a company that makes one for dogs, but none for cats as far as I know..

most of the 95% and 100% meats are for dogs...

EVO , Wellness , Evangers have lines

EVO is what she's eating now.

I saw this (http://www.evangersdogfood.com/dog/30102.html) on the Evanger's website, but it's for dogs.

Didn't know Wellness has a 100% meat.

Originally Posted by KyleW

Z/d is nasty stuff. I have a closet full of it. I'm almost glad that it wasn't allergies cuz that stuff is evil

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No No NO! Z/D has pretty much saved my cat's life, so just because it hasn't worked for some cats, it doesn't mean it is nasty and Evil... No, absolutely not. My cat also has IBD, and she can not tolerate anything but Z/D - and I am saying ANYTHING. I tried it all. From RC, other Hills, NB, Baby foods, Raw, cooked, etc. At the moment she got on Z/D, she started getting better.
In cat's diet, it is not one bill fits all.... not at all. What works for your cat is what is best for your cat, but not necessarily THE best solution for all.

To the O.P., if you haven't tried Z/D, I would give it some thought... cats do generally love it, they have it both in wet and dry, and I have great results here with two of my cats - as I said above, for one it was a miracle, a true life saver. For the other, who has a combo of Chicken allergy/IBS, it is great too, as it is the only wet food he likes, and he has absolutely no reaction to it.

We tried z/d back in '05 or '06. It worked, until they changed the formula on it and we went through basically the same thing that we're going through now.

I can definitely revisit it if need be, but I really don't see any of the Hill's foods working for us anymore.

I wound up finding a bag of RC Green Pea and Duck after making about a dozen phone calls. She LOVES it - I've never seen her respond to kibble so happily before. I gave her just a little bit over the course of the evening. A couple hours later, she vomited a small amount of what looked like mostly mucus with some food mixed in. Discouraging, but it could just be that there are so many things in her system right now and because the switch in food was rather sudden. It's also good that she didn't vomit up everything that she ate. She also does not seem uncomfortable and is looking to eat.

She does have runny poo, but that was the case before I gave her the Royal Canin. Her nose really doesn't look great (one nostril very swollen/red), and there seems to be the beginnings of yet another allergic reaction lesion between her eyes and nose (she had this back in '06 and it took nearly a year for it to go away).

I'm taking away food for the remainder of the night. In the morning, I will give her Pepcid again and feed her. Will give the appetite stimulant if necessary. I want to get her on a set schedule of feeding (she has been a free feeder her whole life) but I am also concerned that set meals = bigger portions = more likely to throw up. I'm thinking maybe an early morning (around 8 AM), early afternoon (around 1 PM), and evening (5 PM) thing could work.

Thanks again for all of you who are giving advice and/or moral support... I really need it.

I know this is a really old post... but did you ever find an answer to her nausea? I am experiencing the exact same things with my kitty Crash and it seems to be that he is not eating 3 weeks after his steroid shot.

mandalynn said:

I know this is a really old post... but did you ever find an answer to her nausea? I am experiencing the exact same things with my kitty Crash and it seems to be that he is not eating 3 weeks after his steroid shot.

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Hi Mandalynn, yes, this is a really old post, so I'm not sure you'll get many answers. It would be best to start your own thread describing the issues that Crash is having.