Overwhelmed with the puking

ckovacs

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Please, someone just talk me out of throwing myself off the balcony. 

So, here's the deal...

Zoe eats everything. I have been very, very good about making sure all elastics are put away. Especially putting my hair elastics in my drawer every single time I take it off my head. My fiancee however decided it was safe to put one under a cloth in the bathroom. Which makes no sense to me considering Zoe finds stuff EVERYWHERE. 

Zoe did in fact eat the hair elastic. I am honestly up to my head in vet bills lately as there's always something going on. Guess it's what happens when you have 4 cats.

We feed them Wellness Core, they are on a good regimen and I got them all down in weight like the vet asked. Vet was even surprised Phoenix was able to get down 5lbs in a year. I'm an awesome Mom when it comes to taking care of them.

So, Zoe was throwing up, we took her to the vet. The vet said we 'could' do an ultrasound. She didn't make it seem very much a necessity since Zoe was still eating just fine, and not throwing up every day.

A few days ago Zoe threw up the cover to the hair elastic. It was the black material that goes around it. I thought, okay great! This is good. She is getting it out. Couple of days go by, last night she threw up at 11:30pm. I see more black elastic. It has to be the same one (unless she somehow has multiple in her). I am guessing the elasticy part must still be in her. 

I honestly am not sure what to do. I realize everyone says 'take her to the vet' and I've done that. I'm amazing about that.

Phoenix went with her because he's licking his fur off. He's on meds now. Zoe is on meds because her platelet count was low. Etc, etc. 

As I said, it's always something.

So, has anyone dealt with this? If so, did your cat throw up for weeks? Or did it pass quickly? Would you recommend a cat laxative? Or recommend my jumping off my 3rd story? 

Any bit of advice would help more than you will know.
 

ritz

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Is Zoe keeping down food she is eating?  If so, I would keep on checking to see if/how much of the elastic she vomits. 

Is Zoe hiding?  acting different (for her)?  If so, watch her even more carefully.

I'd be concerned about a blockage, the elastic part wrapping around her intestine.

And make your fiance clean up any more vomit.
 
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ckovacs

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She is keeping down some food. She seems to puke every few days. I've decided to make the appointment for the ultrasound. I just can't take any risks. She's my baby. I'm waiting for a call back from the vet.

Zoe is still playful and active. She stopped eating dry food but still eats the wet food like it's candy or chocolate for us. At least that's something.

Anyways. At least the ultrasound will give us some answers. If there is no blockage, then good. If they see some elastic in there, they can hopefully pull it out with an endoscopy. If it's more serious, then it will be surgery. It's been stressful because we want to buy a house this year. Probably not going to happen with these fees. We've already pushed it back a couple of times. :(
 

ritz

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I always opt for the vet if I'm at all worried; Ritz picks up my anxiety and reacts accordingly.
 
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ckovacs

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She was at the vet a couple of days ago. I just think it's time to escalate the problem.
 
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ckovacs

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Just found out that Zoe has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. YAY. :( Poor kid.

It means a lot of changes for our poor baby girl. As long as she stays healthy, I'm happy. Apparently this is very rare to see in a kitten. The vet says it happens when cats are a few years old, and older. Zoe is a rare case and well, I'm just glad there's a reason behind it all and we can now do what it takes to ensure her health. 
 

ritz

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Well, at least you have a diagnosis.

How was IBS diagnosed?

If you search in the Nutrition forum, you'll get lots of adice about how to treat IBS.

Carolina has a kitty/cat with IBD.
 
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ckovacs

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She was diagnose with the ultrasound. Something about lining. It was a lot to take in and I felt terrible. I've done nothing but research about it. I just ordered her 2 cases of Wellness and set it to ship every month. So at least I know that's coming. She's on prednisolone as well. Just gonna do what the vet told me to for now. If there are no changes, biopsy will be next.
 

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One if my guys no doubt has IBS, the other 2 weren't as bad. Raw cleared the diarrhea up, then after about a year the puking started. I added egg yolks and the hairballs/puking is now properly dealt with.
 
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ckovacs

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Okay, you are not going to believe this, honestly. I think Zoe was getting really sick, and Phoenix was getting allergies from a new food.

We swapped them from Purina (over a year ago) to Wellness. Well, we fed them Wellness dry, and some wet here and there. To keep it a tad cheaper and give them a little extra goodies (which I know isn't always nice) I would split a can of Fancy Feast between each of them. I honestly think that is what is starting this whole mess. 

Phoenix is now wearing a soft cone around his head to keep him from licking his fur out, and he is getting an ointment. Zoe hasn't thrown up in days since she has been off the FF and strictly back on the Wellness wet. 

They will never get another brand again. I honestly think being on a healthier diet for a while has kept their bodies healthy. Giving them that FF dessert (if you will) has obviously not been good for them.

Rid of it we are!

I am seeing much improvement already!! 
 
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ckovacs

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One if my guys no doubt has IBS, the other 2 weren't as bad. Raw cleared the diarrhea up, then after about a year the puking started. I added egg yolks and the hairballs/puking is now properly dealt with.
Happy to hear that the egg yolks are helping.
 
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ckovacs

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Well, she has good days, and she has bad days. She went 3 days without trouble, and then she had a bad morning. Doc put her back on a more frequent dose of Prednisolone. Poor kid. 

And Phoenix is still wanting to lick out all of his fur. This is a rough time around here.
 

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Well, she has good days, and she has bad days. She went 3 days without trouble, and then she had a bad morning. Doc put her back on a more frequent dose of Prednisolone. Poor kid. 

And Phoenix is still wanting to lick out all of his fur. This is a rough time around here.
It sounds like a different diet or something needs to be in place for your kitties. What does their most recent lab work say?
 

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My IBD kitty will have good days and a bad day here and there...he'll have a "flare up" which lasts about 12-24 hours, but will be good again for two weeks. This is good for him. Before I got it under control, it was daily vomiting, diarrhea, and very little eating. Seems to me like an IBD and allergy kitty would both benefit from a grain-free limited ingredient wet diet, perhaps experimenting with different novel proteins.
 
 
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ckovacs

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 Zoë is back on pepcid 2x daily as well as Prednisolone. My vet was hoping to taper her off but it's not going to work.

She vomited last night at 4am. Technically this morning I guess. She ate chicken wet food and today will give her just turkey to see if there are changes. 

[font=arial, sans-serif]I love this cat, and I will do everything for her that I can. If she could go two weeks without vomiting, that would be bearable. However, she doesn't always go one full day. [/font]
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Have they prescribed any anti-emetic for Zoe, to actually keep her from throwing up?  Also, what DID they say you need to do, besides eliminate stress...I'm guessing that's why the Prednisone?  You said the diagnosis of IBS means lots of changes for her, but didn't say what they were.  I'm familiar,somewhat, with IBD, but not so much with IBS, and everything I have read about IBS indicates diarrhea vs vomiting
.

How old is she?  (just curious...don't think you said in this thread...only that she is a kitten)
 

goholistic

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I have heard IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and IBS used interchangeably when IBS stands for irritable bowel disease. But there is a difference between IBD and IBS when IBS stands for irritable bowel syndrome, with IBD being inflammation of the intestinal organs and IBS being caused by stress or occasional sensitivities to foods - kind of like when I regrettably treat myself to a lunch at Chick-Fil-A and can barely make it home in time.


I have read that IBD can cause problems in the upper digestive tract (vomiting) or lower digestive tract (diarrhea) or both. The first paragraph on this site describes it well:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_inflammatory_bowel_disease.html

I have to tell you. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown when my "special child" Caesar would not stop vomiting. I had just bought a new place, fixed it up, and immediately went to the shelter to adopt him and Sebastian (pictured) to keep my Boo company while I worked during the day. All senior cats. The shelter told me Caesar had stopped eating and he was deteriorating fast...all the more reason I wanted to bring him home or they would probably put him down. The shelter sent me home with Science Diet (yuck!). I gradually switched him to a grain-free food, but no luck. I was constantly cleaning up after him. He wouldn't keep anything down. Diarrhea, too, but at least that was in the litter box...oh, wait, sometimes he would step in it and walk all over the house. I'd be up until 3:00 a.m. during the work week scrubbing my floors and carpets. To make a long story short, after many many trials with so many foods (including raw), I finally found something he likes and could keep down. He has gained weight, is on a good multi-strain probiotic indefinitely, along with a nighttime "concoction" of immune system and digestive support supplements. He sees the vet regularly for blood work and check ups and is currently doing pretty well. A long, bumpy ride, but well worth it.
 
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ckovacs

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Zoë has been doing much better. She is now on a hypo allergenic diet. She is down to 1x prednisolone, and next month well be able to drop to every other day. She hasn't been vomiting on this new diet. We are so happy.
 
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