Vomit & Constipation

billchamb

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Had 13 y.o. Striker at the Vet last week for general un-wellness, abnormal vocalizing, clingy-ness, etc.

He was down a little over 2 lbs since July.  Blood work and exam revealed nothing obvious, but gave (3) doses of liquid/oral pain reliever.

Between last evening and this morning he has vomited 4x and is straining very hard to barely produce any stool.

He has been on Prescription Z/D food for a few years, but recently we tried to scale back to Science Diet "Sensitive Stomach."

Water intake/urine output seem normal, still.


Vet opens at 8a, hoping to get him in ASAP, but wondering what might be other indicators to observe?

 
 
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billchamb

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Back from the vet.

No significant diagnosis of problem (no blockage, no tenderness, etc.)

Recommended to switch back 100% to Z/D, with adding a powdered additive to help with motility (probably chronically, now).

That is all, for now.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Wht's the powdered additive?  And GoHolistic asks a good questions...is the Z/D dry or canned.  Older cats are prone to constipation anyway, and dry food just makes it worse.  Why is he on Z/D anyway.  Chronic issues with sensitive stomach?  I had a cat that used to throw up frequently (on dry food) and I fed him sensitive stomach kibble, but once we transitioned him to canned, no more throwing up
.  

Oh, and the reason your guy might have been throwing up last night could have been from straining to poop. My old guy used to have constipation issues and would do the same thing.  Believe me, I have learned a TON of stuff since those days
 

Anyway, I would suggest getting him on grain free canned food, adding water to it for extra moisture, and if he continues to have problems in the pooping department, adding in a little pumpkin to the canned food.  If that doesn't do it, then you could add in a little bit of Miralax (or the generic of it).  Works great!  My guy was on it twice a day, every day, and there are quite a few cats here who are on it. 
 
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billchamb

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Thanks for the Replies.

Yes, Striker is on all-dry diet.  Z/D was introduced maybe 5 years ago after a severe vomiting episode.  At the time he was eating one of the OTC Purina blends.  The vet, at the time, suspected either sudden onset food allergy or Inflammatory Bowel.  He's been mostly fine with it.  We have tried Prescription Diet wet varieties at that onset, but Striker did not really go for them.  None of the vets we have seen have expressed concern about his all-dry diet.

Powder = Polyethylene Glycol, approx. 1/8 tsp. 1x day sprinkled over food; vet said it works similar to Miralax for humans, turns into some type of sugar that will help ease motility.

The vet's hands-on clinical exam detected no abnormalities, no masses, etc.  He said he could feel a couple of pieces of stool in the bowel, but it didn't feel like anything worrisome.  He thought that if it was somehow linked to switching to the "Sensitive Stomach" food, it may take up to a week to get his system back on track.

A week prior, Striker had been to the vet and some bloodwork was done.  No indicators for thyroid or any other problems.

The poor little guy just doesn't feel well.  He's mopey and a little moody.  He IS eating and drinking, and he IS passing urine well.  There appeared to be some small stool from him in the pan yesterday.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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OK, the "powder" is basically generic Miralax, so that's good.  The only issue with sprinkling it on kibble is that they don't necessarily eat it all, and they still don't necessarily take in enough water.  Did you know that an average sized cat on kibble needs to drink a minimum of 8 oz of water per day to offset the kibble?  I only learned that recently and was shocked.  I know mine never drank that much when they were on kibble, and that may be why 3 of them ended up with kidney disease
  (OK, I'll get off my soapbox now)

I hope he gets to feeling better soon
 
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billchamb

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Thanks, @mrsgreenjeens.

He does seem to be feeling a bit better today, and there was already more solid stool in the box this evening than in the past days combined.  He's a little perkier, but still seems a little "off," but I think that's to be expected.

No, I did not know that about water/food intake ratios.  Thanks!

He had thrown up again sometime yesterday morning while my wife and I were away.  Hoping to avoid any vet trips as we head for the Thanksgiving holiday.
 
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