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Cat throwing up food? Help!

post #1 of 7
1/19/11 at 12:57am
Thread Starter 
Hello, We have an older Persian Mixed cat, maybe some Norweigan forest cat in him... hes older around 13 years old we think. Starting to have some trouble jumping. Very very vocal. Often meows around and growls in a playful way. He has had stones before so is on a special diet but that seems fine as well. At least I think so. Occasionally has a hair ball but not very often. Hes very playful and affectionate.

This is just to give you a picture of his health as we see it.

He seems to be throwing up 1-2 a week his food. There is no other change in his behavior except before he is sick he sits quietly by himself. After he is sick he is hungry again.

The vet, this time had the same food but only a lower calorie version. We had to take it because we were out and he would need to order more...He seems to like it.

Any ideas? Like I said he seems okay otherwise. Is this an old-cat issue only?
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post #2 of 7
1/19/11 at 3:40am
Thread Starter 
A short update. He spent this morning hanging out by his water dishes. I always keep two with full fresh water because he drinks alot due to the renal issues.

The vomit has peices of food in it always. Sometimes its with clear liquid.

He seems like he happy though, he just went to his pillow, as is now doing the cat dance and playing with a toy and purring.
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post #3 of 7
1/19/11 at 4:21am
What did the vet say was wrong with him? Maybe they changed some ingredient in the food? What if you tried a different brand?
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post #4 of 7
1/19/11 at 8:21am
Is he smacking his lips? Does he try to eat, but ends up walking away or only eats a few morsels? It could be he's got gas on his tummy or something similar to heartburn. This is common with kitties who have renal issues. Ask your vet about giving him Cerenia (I think that's the name), a shot to help settle his tummy. You might also want to talk to your vet about giving Zantac as needed for this. If he's not had bloodwork recently, you might want to have that done as well as a urine culture to rule out any type of infection or advancement of the renal issues.
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post #5 of 7
1/19/11 at 10:24am
Do you give him treats a couple times a week? My cat was throwing up consistently every 2 or 3 days, and I found out it corresponded with me giving him whiska's temptation treats. I switched treats and he stopped vomiting. Your cat could have developed an allergy to something in the food you're feeding or the treats you're giving.
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post #6 of 7
1/20/11 at 5:09am
Thread Starter 
Thanks! You all are great! A good tip, im starting to think it is food related, and you guys gave great advice on all issues. 1) He has never been a big eater, but always eats small amounts. 2) He has been getting picky over his food, sometimes smelling and walking away, other times eating more voraciously.

Other notes

I switched him to his old food that was also for renal issues and he has been eating all of it.

This morning he had an empty bowl. I put his food in and he ate pretty excitedly. After about 5 minutes he regurgitated all of it. After using the bathroom he went in and ate again and he is fine.

When I cleaned his litter box last night there was a bit of thrown up food in there as well. He is not constipated because he does use the bathroom.

Another note: His urine is unsually strong in ammonia smelling. But when he is in our other apartment (in another country The Netherlands) his urine is not so strong. The food is the same in both places so we wondered if it was the water. In Berlin the water is high in calcium.

Good forum! As of right now he is affectionate and happy.

I think you might be right, I need a vet, but being freelancers money is tight, and since he is not acting strange any other way we are getting feedback here and if we cannot solve it we will certainly take him in.
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post #7 of 7
1/20/11 at 7:46am
The increased odor in the urine could indicate that his kidneys are in stress. That definitely needs to be checked out. He could be smelling the food and walking away without eating if his stomach is upset. The desire to eat is there, but doesn't because of the stomach issue. I noticed with my renal cat that if she hadn't pooped for a day, she wouldn't want to eat as much. Once she pooped, she'd eat again like normal.

If he's not eaten in awhile, start off with just a few pieces of food in his bowl. Let that settle in his stomach for 10-15 mins, then feed him a bit more. Let that settle and then offer him his normal amount. If they eat too much too fast, it'll all come back up. It's called "scarf and barf".
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