Quick solution for vomiting? No vet access until tomorrow.

Hello all,
My cat is vomiting clear liquid. He has not eaten since last night. Is there anything I can do to curb the vomiting until the morning? We can't see the vet until then.

Back story: he seemed to be starting a mild herpes outbreak. We started him on azithromycin. Everything cleared up within a couple of days. Vet asked me to discontinue and start an immunostimulant - Polyprenyl, which he considers a longer-term solution. Yesterday was the first day of the Polyprenyl. He had two doses, yet ate and eliminated as usual. We have not changed his food from the usual homemade raw. We found that he had vomited a hairball early in the morning. He had never vomited in the eight months we have had him. He is ten months old. I gave him some coconut oil, thinking the hairball was the problem. He lapped it up. Did not eat any of his food though. After a few hours, he vomited again. All he had in his stomach was the single tiny treat I had given him a bit earlier. He seemed to have been frightened by the vomiting and made some unusual noises that sounded like crying. I calmed him down. He vomited and cried again (very briefly) a few minutes ago. He has no symptoms other than the vomiting and not eating.

All I want to do is hold him over until we can see our vet in the morning. Any ideas for curbing what must be nausea? Does all of this sound like something scary?

Thanks so much for your help. I am worried.

It sounds like he may have been vomiting as a result of this new medication.  You may want to hold off on further does until you can talk to your vet, hopefully on Monday.

I am sorry your kitty is feeling poorly. It is obvious from your post that you are taking wonderful care of him.

A couple of my cats make that awful distress cry right before they vomit, so I think that is normal. It just sounds so horrible. When they have a hairball, sometimes they will vomit a little clear liquid or yellow bile a couple times after the hairball is out, but usually their appetite is not affected by hairballs. It sounds like your guy is adjusting to his new medicine, which can take a few days. It is good you are going to the vet tomorrow, just to be sure it is nothing more serious. Nauseousness from a new medicine is common, so try to not worry too much (which is easier said than done).

Since he hasn't really eaten anything since last night, I would keep trying to get him to eat. Offer tiny amounts of food, a Tablespoon or two, with a little water added, every few hours. If he does eat right away, wait an hour or two before offering the same amount again. Keep on doing it every 2-3 hours. A bland diet of cooked white rice and shredded, boiled chicken breast may be easier on his stomach than his usual food. Something different than his usual diet may be appealing to him, also. If he still cannot hold anything down by the time of your appointment, the vet will probably give him a shot to help with nauseousness. He may not be able to hold anything down until after that treatment. Hydration is important, so if he is not drinking, try offering him some water drained off of a can of tuna. I know when my stomach is totally empty, I feel nauseous, too, but do not want to eat. Hopefully, if he can keep a little something in his stomach, his appetite will start to return.

I hope he is feeling better soon. Please let us know how his appointment goes!

I would not give the medicine until you see the vet.  My first thought is that stimulating the immune system might have caused an inflammatory response in the digestive tract.

Thank you very much for responding. Your suggestions are very logical and helpful.

We did not continue the medication after learning that he had vomited early in the morning. He ate about a tablespoon of food out of my hand a few hours ago. He vomited what seemed like all of it after about two hours.

I too am worried about dehydration and will try the tuna suggestion right away. He has not urinated since all of this began, which worries me.

Thanks again. This little guy is usually a feisty little furball, so it is hard to see him so down and out

silverpersian said:

He has not urinated since all of this began, which worries me.

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When, exactly, is "since all of this began?" Because not urinating for 24 hours is very dangerous. Life-threatening dangerous. On the other hand, he's not actually kept anything down, so there isn't much to pass through his body. This is a very difficult call. Having had male cats block, I'd be on the way to the emergency vet if I had a cat that hadn't peed for 24 hours, no matter the circumstances.

Vibes for you and your boy.

Thanks for the good vibes!
 

It hasn't been 24 hours.  He has never had any trouble with blocking, so I hope that the lack of urination is a consequence of the vomiting and not an independent problem. At happybird's suggestion, I gave him some tuna water. He drank it. My fingers are crossed. The closest emergency vet of which I am aware is two hours away, otherwise I would have gone by now.

Good it hasn't been that long. :cross: Hope he keeps the tuna water down! Let us now how it goes tomorrow. :heart2: More !!!!!

Tuna water came back up too :-(

I would certainly get him to the vet as soon as possible.  I have been in this position, not eating can cause liver issues but a kitty at the point where nothing will stay down.  He will need fluids given at the vet and a shot of something, usually cerenia, to get the nausea to a point where he can keep something down.

My kitty has IBD flares which is caused by inflammation from an immune response gone haywire and he would get like this.  That is why I made the connection between the immuno stimulant and the vomiting.

I plan to be there when the vet opens in the morning. Thanks.

I'm so sorry about your boy being sick, @silverpersian.  Poor guy.

Sending LOTS of vibes.... 

Please let us know the results of the vet visit.

Hello all,

Kitty woke up looking much more energetic than yesterday. He ate and kept down a teaspoon of his food. We spent the morning at the vet's office. He was examined very thoroughly (as far as I could tell) and received a clean bill of health. Our vet said that he did not seem dehydrated or blocked. He had urinated last night, so I had already ruled out the blockage.

The verdict was that the immunostimulant caused intestinal distress. The vet asked that I try it again, at a quarter of the original dose, in two to three weeks. I was told that kitty will probably eat and drink today, gradually. If he doesn't, I was asked to give him Pepcid AC to ease the nausea.

Thanks for all the advice, support, and kindness!

Ok let us know if you have more updates!

silverpersian said:

 
Hello all,

Kitty woke up looking much more energetic than yesterday. He ate and kept down a teaspoon of his food. We spent the morning at the vet's office. He was examined very thoroughly (as far as I could tell) and received a clean bill of health. Our vet said that he did not seem dehydrated or blocked. He had urinated last night, so I had already ruled out the blockage.

The verdict was that the immunostimulant caused intestinal distress. The vet asked that I try it again, at a quarter of the original dose, in two to three weeks. I was told that kitty will probably eat and drink today, gradually. If he doesn't, I was asked to give him Pepcid AC to ease the nausea.

Thanks for all the advice, support, and kindness!

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i've been following this thread, but hadn't replied until now.

my snick has IBD as well as CKD, so she takes pepcid on a regular basis (1/4 tablet every 10th day currently). pepcid can really help calm upset kitty tummies.

something that might be worth discussing with your vet is giving your boy L-lysine to help boost his immune system. i do that with my snick (under our vet's care, and at the dose recommended by the vet). snick gets 1/2 tablet of prednisone each day which suppresses her immune system. the L-lysine supplement helps boost my girl's immune system.

Sounds good! We've used Pecid A/C for our cats also and it really helps. I'm glad he is starting to feel better.

So glad it was most likely just the med. Hope the reintroduction goes well!

Thank you so much for the warm wishes!

GoHolistic, your advice is sound - I have had him on lysine and lactoferrin (which I learned about on this forum).

On a funny note, the little eight-pound, sweet-looking furball was making all sorts of lion and tiger noises and baring his teeth the entire time that we were at our vet's office. He made his distaste for the veterinary establishment very well-known. It's really funny because he is so friendly and social everywhere else. He is friendly with delivery people, repairmen, and anyone else who shows up at our house  

silverpersian said:

 
GoHolistic, your advice is sound...

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Wait...what advice did I give?  LOL.  Just want to make sure you're not getting me mixed up with someone else who should get the credit!