Vomiting Cat

My 12yro cat vomits excessively.  Mostly after she eats or at least within a half an hour.  I have taken her to the vet numerous times and they just give her a steroid shot.  I have also changed her food to vet prescribed food but she will still puke. I love my baby but I'm almost at my wits end. My husband is ready to just put her down after ruining the carpet in the home we rent.  I've read about giving her antacids so I guess I'm just looking for advice from other pet owners with the same issues...

I'm sorry your kitty isn't feeling well hon. Throwing up that often is not a good symptom in cats. I would take your cat to another vet for a second opinion, if that is possible. There could be something really wrong. Don't put her to sleep unless her quality of life is bad and you know she is terminally ill. I had my baby Candy put to sleep because she was diagnosed with lymphoma of the kidneys, and I still often feel guilty about that. You should get her to another vet ASAP.

Vet prescribed foods often aren't good. They contain byproducts, fillers, corn...which brand and kind of prescribed food is it?

Hope everything is okay.
Jen.

It's Prescription Diet d/d Feline Skin Support because she over grooms as well. I've tried about a zillion different foods and 2 different vets. I would feel terrible if I had to put her down because of something she can't control! I feel like she's a happy cat until she starts puking. But even after she doesnt act any different.
Thanks for your words of encouragement Jen!!

Awwwwww.

Have you tried her on an all canned diet? It may be easier on her tummy, as some kitties can have allergies to different foods (especially dry foods). Canned food also contains more moisture, which is good especially for older cats because cats have a lower thirst drive than humans and dogs and they get most of their daily moisture from food.

To be honest, when my cats aren't feeling too good I spoil them with baby food or kitten canned food, because I'd rather them eat unhealthier things than eat nothing at all. :lol3: You should also ask your vet for an oral steriod, such as prednisone (to stimulate appetite) and/or an anti-nauseant. Grass (particularly cat grass) is good for a cat's upset stomach, it might help her to bring up whatever is irritating her (such as a hair ball) or just settle her tummy.

How long has the getting sick been happening?

Jen.

Could there be a blockage or something?  I would insist on additional tests. 

I agree too about putting her down.  Don't do it unless there is not other solution.  I put my kitty down even when I knew there was no other solution and I'm still haunted by it today.

Bless you and your dear kitty.

Aw, I'm so sorry! I have to agree with the others. It's time for more diagnostics and a new vet. As the others have pointed out, it could be so many things that are treatable.

Have X-rays been done? Blood work? An ultrasound?

It could be allergies, IBD, a blockage, cancer... and all of these are potentially treatable.


In the meantime, I agree with Jen (Kittylover23). :nod: I think it may really help your kitty to start feeding her a grain-free canned food, preferably with just one protein. By Nature 95% meat canned or Before Grain have no grains or vegetables (cats are carnivores) both have meat-only formulas that are single-source proteins.

Vibes for you and your girl.

Thank you all for the help!! I'll be checking out vets tomorrow and maybe spoil her in the meantime!

Any advice about the over grooming??

Yes, actually. That is often taken as a sign of stress, but it can also be allergies. Instead of the prescription food, try using a salmon oil supplement on her food (if you're going to try wet food). I buy a 1,000mg salmon oil supplement (from Costco, Pure Alaska Omega), poke the capsule with a knife and put 4-5 drops on each meal (I feed 3 meals a day).

In our kitty, he was overgrooming and had chronic diarrhea. We work with several traditional vets, and they weren't able to help him with regular treatments or hypoallergenic food. So I found a holistic D.V.M., trained in Chinese Medicine. In our kitty, the Chinese diagnosis was "an extreme spleen Qi deficiency." It meant his energy was out of balance in such a way that he was "too hot," so he constantly groomed and had bald spots as he was trying to cool down (basically). Not "too hot" as in a fever - but as re: chinese energy meridians. :dk: But whatever herbal pill she prescribed for him worked (it was something I was able to order off the internet). She had him fixed up in a couple of weeks (his diarrhea was solved within 4 days). And this was after the other vets hadn't been able to help him over a period of six months.

So I don't know where you live, but if you're in the United States, you might want to consider searching for a holistic vet: http://www.ahvma.org

your cat isn't old enough to put down!  well, unless she had an incurable illness but you aren't there yet. (hopefully ever).  my 15 year-old cat was doing the same thing, and my vet said it could be IBD and told me to read up on it.  i did, and since food allergies are a big culprit, i switched her to an all-canned, grain-free diet only and it completely stopped.  he told me not to, to use science diet z/d but i think it's horrible food, plus it has grain in it as well.  he also told me there is no other "novel protein" but there is: addiction cat food.  you might have to look a little to find it if only feeding grain free doesn't work, but it's worth it.  they use new zealand lamb, nz brushtail (possum lol), and you can use rabbit or pheasant, any protein she has never had.  blasting food with hydrogen to make the molecules tiny is all they do to science diet, plus it still has a lot of terrible additives in it and i would never feed it to my cats.  i think vets are inundated with hill's to the point that they don't really know what a bad food it is, and it's just as expensive as a lot of alternatives that are much better.

i like weruva and b.f.f., fussie cat and tiki cat, and hound & gatos.  you can try EVO or innova, but it was bought by proctor & gamble a couple of years ago and i won't be buying any of it.  they probably haven't changed the formula yet, but i'm sure they will, as profit-driven as they are.  i don't think their interests lie with pets.

cats don't eat grain, they don't even really need carbs in their food.  if they were in the wild, the only vegetable matter they'd be eating would be in the stomachs of whatever animal they killed (like a mouse or a rabbit) and maybe a little grass.  don't give her any dry food at all and see how grain-free works.

also, if you're using clumping litter, have her x-rayed for a blockage if she continues to vomit.  cats ingest clumping litter in small amounts that can build up over time.  i like pine wood pellets but not every cat will use them.  it would be great for you if you could get her to switch.  it completely kills urine odor, and when they're on 100% canned, their poo hardly smells.  and if you're using pine, you can just flush it because it's biodegradable.  (or if you don't want to because of possible toxoplasmosis, you can just toss it in a sandwich bag,  it won't stink up your whole house.)  and please read, "food pets die for," by ann n. martin.  it will open your eyes about all the supposedly "good" cat foods.  i was horrified.  pet food companies make a lot of money from consumers who don't have any idea what goes into the food, and the pets are the ones who suffer.

i hope your kitty gets better.  i use my vet for lab tests and bloodwork i can't do at home, but i read a lot about different conditions and solutions.  steroids may not even be necessary.  he wanted to do that for my cat and i said i wanted to wait and see if i could get diet to work. (i'm glad i did, steroids have a lot of side effects.)  good luck!

Hi
How long has this been going on? If a long time.... I suspect you are probably dealing with Ibd.... Short.... Hairballs....
Raw food works miracles for Ibd..... Really does.... It is pretty much saving my cat; although his problem was chronic diarrhea. We do have a member here whose kitty used to vomit 5-10 times a day, and the problem vanished by her simply changing to a raw diet.... A good compromise is a simple formula, grain free canned; but for my Bugsy, nothing worked besides raw.
Anyways, I hope this resolves quickly, throwing up that much is not good on her.... Poor baby

How's your kitty mollyC?