My kitty's throwing up--what can I do to help?

Poor Honey Pie has been throwing up this morning and can't keep anything down. He threw up early before breakfast and then again about 2 and a half hours after he ate. I didn't witness the first episode, but right before the second he was making strange meows and repeatedly licking his nose; and after he'd thrown up he started drinking water like crazy. I thought perhaps something hadn't agreed with him, so for lunch we cooked him some beef (don't have chicken on hand right now) and rice thinking that it would settle his stomach. He ate a few bites, but shortly afterward started throwing up a third time and it was clear that he was in pain.

We immediately called the vet, who told us to not let him have anything until tomorrow morning, not even water, and if he is still sick tomorrow to bring him in and the vet will give him a shot. We suspect that he ingested something inedible, so we carefully swept the house to see if we could find a clue. Sure enough, under one of the beds we found scraps of cardboard and a chunk of hard foam that had been chewed on. There's no way to know it he actually ate pieces of either of those, but we can't rule it out either.

I don't know if this is related or not, but on Saturday afternoon he threw up a hairball for the first time.

Right now, he's curled up on the couch with Tiramisu and seems to be resting. I've never been through anything like this before and was hoping that the good folks here with experience would let me know if I could be doing more to make him feel better, or what to expect if I have to take him to the vet tomorrow. lt feels awful to not be able to do anything to help, and it's even worse to think that he could have been eating cardboard and foam without us having a clue about it!

ETA: Almost as soon as I posted this, he hopped off the couch and threw up a little bit more! What can I do???

Sorry to hear about Honey Pie. I think the biggest concern would be a possible obstruction. I would recommend an x-ray although I am not sure if cardboard/form would show up. It might just show gas from the stomach upset. Is he peeing and pooping normally?

I am really not sure what you can do to help him at home. Normally, I would recommend an anti-nausea med like Cerenia, but maybe it's better to get it all out??? Is he vomiting mostly clear liquid, food, bile, or foreign matter?

My first thought even before I got to the part about cardboard and foam was "obstruction". I would call the vet again.

I asked my husband; he thinks he saw him peeing this morning. If it's an obstruction, what will the vet do?

Aside from chunks of food, the liquid he throws up is clearish, foamy and brownish yellowish.

Going to call the vet asap. He's at it again...

Vet said to bring him in; we're leaving right now. I hope everything is OK!

Crossing fingers for you!

And the obstruction I meant was intestinal.

Just got back; the vet took his temp and said he has a fever (39.4C=102.9F; he said that it's not a high fever for a cat-is that true?) so he gave him a shot of antibiotics, a shot for the fever, and a third shot that I don't remember what it's for. He thinks it is most likely an obstruction and even though he didn't feel any lumps in his tummy he could tell that there was a painful spot. He told us to not give him anything to eat, to keep him separate from Tiramisu, and to watch and see if he goes to the bathroom.  Right now Honey Pie is laying on the guest bed; he looks mostly OK except that he keeps licking his nose. Does that mean anything? If there's anything else I should be doing or need to be aware of, I welcome any advice.

A cat's normal temp is about 101.5, so I would agree it isn't a high fever.

The licking of the nose is probably a sign of nausea. Was the third shot for that? I am also curious as to what the shot for the fever was since normally the antibiotics are given in case there's a bacterial infection that's responsible for the fever.

Many vibes that Honey Pie recovers soon.

Thank you vball and peaches for responding.

Yes, I think the third shot was for nausea. I probably should have questioned why the vet was giving antibiotics, but in the stress of the moment and for lack of experience with emergency vet visits, I let the vet do what he thought was best.

And I just cleaned out the litter box; both cats have been using it so there's no way to know what is from which cat, but the amount of waste seemed like the usual amount. Whatever the case, the cats are now in separate rooms with separate boxes, so we'll know soon enough if Honey Pie is going or not.

I don't know much about blockages. I imagine that a worst-case scenario has no good outcome... but are blockages always serious, or are they in some cases serious (say, life-threatening) and in other cases not too serious (say, painful but not life-threatening)?

We're to bring Honey Pie back to the vet tomorrow morning. If he's not better, what options are there?

He will need an x-ray to see if there's any kind of blockage and he might need to have surgery to remove it.
 

Wow, I really hope it doesn't come to that!

He's been laying quietly on the couch for a couple of hours now. His fever seems to be down since his ears aren't hot to the touch anymore. I can tell he's still feeling yucky though. He meowed when we came out to see him and was purring a little. I think he was happy for a little sympathy, but I wish he could tell me if he was purring because he was happy we were there with him, or if he was doing it to soothe himself.

Thanks for everyone's good wishes.

It's possible that he just has a kitty cold or something upset his tummy, too.  Keep an eye on him and the litter box for output. 

Just got back from the vet again. Honey Pie threw up another time and was acting very lethargic so we called the vet, who told us that basically our only option was to bring HP to his office and he'd give him IV fluids and leave him overnight. Nothing is open this time of night anyway so any further treatment will have to wait for tomorrow (our vet did us a favor by being there after hours). So the poor little guy endured another trip in his carrier and found himself again at the vet's office, and when it came time to shave his arm and put in the IV, he didn't have the strength to resist or struggle. He just sat there and took it all as I held him. We brought a towel of his from home and placed it in his little cage, and he snuggled up on it and looked like he would be able to finally sleep (I don't think he slept at all today, he was feeling so miserable).

Tomorrow morning we go back to see if he's doing better.

Poor guy. I hope they find out what's wrong soon.

My Sebastian's acute onset of vomiting turned out to be pancreatitis. Frequent vomiting and anorexia were the only two symptoms observed at home and I immediately took him in the next morning. Upon a physical exam, he also had severe abdominal pain and hardness upon palpitation. He was hospitalized for three days. Yes, it could be an obstruction and an x-ray would help determine that, but I also think some blood work might help. Blook work was done first with Sebastian and showed a huge spike in WBC (specifically neutrophils). Then he had an x-ray, and then an ultrasound.

Just wondering how the little guy is this morning

Still at the vet's. We went to see him first thing this morning, and while I think the IV helped, he's still in a lot of pain but he didn't throw up over night and he did pee this morning. And his fever is gone, too. It's frustrating because the vet wanted him to have an x-ray done but the only place for it is the local university's animal hospital. Sounds like an acceptable place to get it done, right? But classes are out and there's no one there who will do it for us. (I can't believe that there is no one who can x-ray a sick animal in our city for the next two weeks!) Our vet called someone he knows to see if maybe we can have it done at a laboratory for humans, but we won't know anything until later this afternoon.

The vet said he can now feel a soft lump in his intestine, and he was going to try giving him a light laxative to see if that helps to pass it. I sure hope it does; I'm trying to keep my hopes up but my husband is already playing out the worst-case scenarios in his mind, and I can't keep thinking positively for the both of us for much longer. We're trying to rest a little before we go back this afternoon to check on him (neither of us slept well last night) but I just feel sick to my stomach with worry. Another issue is eating--he refused any breakfast this morning; we're going to try again in a short while, but I'm afraid he might need a feeding tube and that (if he does) it'll just be another fiasco like getting an x-ray was this morning.

He's only 8 months old. I know things can happen at any age, but we've tried so hard to take good care of our kitties that I can't believe we'd be facing something so scary after only 6 months with him.

Oh, I'm so sorry, but don't panic. If it is an obstruction in the intestine, surgery should be possible to remove it with no lasting ill effects. He's healthy and young, so if surgery is needed, he should be able to recover quickly. In fact, given how difficult it seems to be to line up good vet care where you are, I would maybe start researching good vet surgeons just in case. Many vibes for you and Honey Pie.

Good point about veterinary surgeons, vball91. Still hoping he gets better soon!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

We went to see him twice this afternoon and he seems to be slowly improving. He's peed a couple of times and the vet said that once or twice he tried to poop and also that when he palpates Honey Pie's tummy he doesn't feel whatever he was feeling before and that it's not as sensitive, so I think whatever it is is moving through his system. He's not meowing in pain or sitting in the "meatloaf position" any more, and overall he seems more at ease, if not entirely his normal self. Oh, and when I held him so the vet could hook him up to another IV, he gave a good struggle this time and all three of us had to hold him. So yeah, he's got some energy back. Still hasn't eaten, though. The plan is to leave him there another night with an IV and see if he keeps improving. Depending on how he is in the morning, we can go to a nearby clinic to see if they'll help us with x-rays (the vet says that it's not unheard of, that that particular clinic has taken animal x-rays before, but that it depends on what the doctors say and, I'm guessing, how busy they are with human patients).

So I think both my husband and I are feeling relieved, especially after this discouraging morning.

Vball, thanks for the suggestion about looking into vet surgeons. You're right, it's good to have someone in mind for just in case, and I think we'd have some peace of mind knowing who we could call if needed at any time in the future.