9 year old cat vomits in the mornings

My 9 year old female, spayed, cat vomits only in the morning.  She was vomiting undigested food, but now it is a phlem, bright yellow with some digested food particals.  She usually does this from 5-8 Am, and may go a month without doing it. Then it will start again and she will do it for a week or more every morning, on the bed, floor, etc.  I feed Purina digestive formula for spayed and neutered cats for weight control, as my Manx weighs over 20 pounds.  Their feeder is left out with food available at all times, so gorging is not a factor.  I only fill it a couple of times a week for them. The food is 46% protein, I tried using a different food and she threw up even more and cried until I went and got her regular food. They have been eating this foodfor a couple of years.  They have water available at all times and there are no plants they can reach to eat on.  They are never outside or exposed to any other animals except a neighbors inside dog.  The vet found nothing wrong with her on the last visit, wormed both cats, and treated them for fleas. ( they do not have any fleas) and she is so sensitive to the flea medication, it leaves a big raw sore on her shoulders when used. So I do not put it on her.  She is mainly white with a few spots of color.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Usually this is a sign of their stomachs being empty for too long, but if you are "free feeding", then this doesn't sound likely

When was her last Vet visit?  You said she was fine at her last visit, but if it was some time again, maybe it's time to go again, or at least give them a call.

Have you ever thought about feeding canned food vs kibble?  That would also help keep your big guy from gaining weight, actually help him lose because you could definitely monitor how much he eats.  Canned is usually much better for cats with sensitive tummies (well, if you get the RIGHT canned food )

If you're at all interested in learning more about canned vs kibble, we can certainly help with that.  Just head over to the Nutrition Forum and start up another thread there.

Time for a vet visit. There are numerous causes of vomiting such as inflammatory bowel disease, constipation, food sensitivity, asthma and others.

Cats are not cows and should not be fed free choice. That is why your cat is obese. I'm sure my ten pound cat would be twenty lbs if I gave him free choice food.

mrsgreenjeens said:

Have you ever thought about feeding canned food vs kibble?  That would also help keep your big guy from gaining weight, actually help him lose because you could definitely monitor how much he eats.  Canned is usually much better for cats with sensitive tummies (well, if you get the RIGHT canned food

)

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Sarah Ann said:

Time for a vet visit. There are numerous causes of vomiting such as inflammatory bowel disease, constipation, food sensitivity, asthma and others.
 

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I agree with both mrsgreenjeens and Sarah Ann! We had similar experiences with our previous cat, who we fed dry food for weight control... she never lost weight, though, probably because of the corn and wheat in the food. She also developed food sensitivities that gave her all sorts of digestive problems, including vomiting and regurgitation. I learned lot about cat food and nutrition from her problems. My favorite source is Catinfo.org, written by vet Lisa Pierson; here's the page on feline obesity. I wish it had existed when our cat was so big.

Wet food is definitely easier to monitor and a low-carb, high-protein wet diet can be great for weight loss. If you're dealing with a food sensitivity, you may need to try several options before you find something that consistently agrees with your cat. In any case, it's definitely worth discussing a food change with your vet -- the vet we see with our new cats has methods for timed feedings of wet food. It worked great for a friend's cat.

We have an appointment with a new vet that has a reputation of being more specialized with cats, today.  I have tried wet food and neither cat would touch it.  I feed PURINA dry food, but have tried IAMS, a food called BLUE something that consisted of venison and fish, no grains or dyes, they would not touch that one and I gave away a 20 LB bag of that expensive food to feed feral cats in the neighborhood, as I just did with Purina Naturals.  I am at my wits end, I washed bedding 4 times yesterday and have my bedding ready to wash already this morning.  I will update this space when I see the Dr. Today.  Thank you for the imput. I have 2 very weird cats, Lol, possibly because they are very spoiled cats.

Good luck with today's vet appointment -- it's great that you found a vet who's more cat specialized. We're finding that makes a huge difference. It can be hard to transition cats to wet food... we switched ours over in about a month. There are tips on a page that's linked here.

I hope today's appointment goes well!

Girly Cat is a very unhappy cat this afternoon. We saw the vet and he gave her an injection of a steriod that is supposed to help with the vomiting for the next 2 weeks, put her on Metronidazole (Flagyl) which he warned me she would not like.  That was putting it mildly, and I have to give it 2 X per day.  She seems to  have irritable bowel syndrome,  she had no fever, etc and everything was good, but the symptoms we discussed fit her perfectly.  He said  irritable bowel syndrome is not uncommon in cats.   The medication made her run to the basement and she had spittle drooling from her mouth after the medication.  II have a feeling giving her this medication again is not going to be easy.  He also put her on a prescribed food, that should be in his office tomorrow.  I dont know the name of it, I just hope it is not overly expensive . 

You can try putting the pill inside a clear gel capsule since it appears it's a very bitter pill.  That way she won't taste it.  You can order them on Amazon, or possibly buy them at a local pharmacy.  Depending on the size of the pill you are giving, you buy the emply gel capsules to fit.  Or if she is a gulper, try putting it inside a pill pocket or something tasty.  It all just depends on the cat. 

Hopefully the new food will help.  It's probably a hypoallergenic/single protein source type food.

It is a liquid and has to be refrigerated and shook up really good each time.  However, I could do that and then put it in a capsule.

Oh, sorry, I didn't realize it was a liquid.  Perhaps you could have it compounded into a fish or chicken flavor?  We did that with one of our little one's prescriptions, and then we mixed it in with his wet food...just a tiny bit of his food to make sure he got all of his medicine before we fed him the rest of his food.  If you don't have a compounding pharmacy locally, there are internet ones.  Even some of our local Walgreens do compounding.

I'd thought it sounded like your kitty had IBD, @girlycat... at least now you know what you're dealing with. I hope the new food helps.

We just finished three weeks of once-daily antibiotics for our cats so I can sympathize! I figure you're probably using a syringe... here's an old thread I found before we started with our cats. (Link here) We found that having one of us pick up and hold the cat, and then having the other give the medicine worked better than the method they suggested at the vet's office. We tried to get them when they were sleepy/relaxed and we waited a couple hours after they'd eaten in the morning so one of them wouldn't vomit. (For the record, the vet's method was to have one hold the cat on the lap and cradle its head. It did not work for us at all.) Our cats hated getting their medicine, despite the fish-flavored stuff they added at the compounding pharmacy. They would not touch their food if I added even a tiny bit. This was azithromycin, not Flagyl.

Good luck!

thank you. The flagyl must be really nasty stuff and the vet said she would hate it. She was mad at me all day and night, would not even lay by me in bed without hissing and growling. Who says cats dont think or remember? Lol  She vomited first thing again this morning, I hope the meds kick in soon.

She wont touch wet foods.  She needs the medicine to badly right now to delay treatment.  She vomited again first thing this morning.

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear it's not going well, @girlycat. Maybe the capsules that @mrsgreenjeens mentioned would be helpful?

If it's any consolation, our cats did get better about taking their syringe medicine... though it took about a week. It's taken them about a week since we finished the medicine for them to want to be held or jump in our laps, though. I think they associate being picked up and held with having to take their medicine. I don't think theirs tasted very good, either. I hope this gets easier for you soon!

Kitty girl seems much improved this morning, no vomiting since yesterday morning.  The vet recommended a food from Purina that is 25.74 for a 4 lb bag. As a retired person, that is impossible for me to afford. Any alternative suggestions?  Purina makes a sensitive system food that can be purchased at Wallmart and I am going to compare the ingredients on line.

So glad she's better today.  What exactly is that food your Vet is recommending?  In order to suggest an alternative, it would be helpful to know what they are recommending .

I still think that from all I've heard she would be better off being switched to canned food.  Now I understand that you've tried this before and not had any luck.  You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that, and I used to feed kibble myself, but I persevered and was able to switch mine to wet food, even my 12 year old.  Now she won't touch kibble  .  We've got articles here that might help you, which in turn, might really help out Kitty girl.  Here are a couple of them:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

Additionally, if you do a search on this side under IBS, you'll find lots of threads about it.  Here's just one:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/277890/cat-just-recently-diagnosed-with-ibs

I have to report that Kitty Girl has not vomited for 2 days now.  I am not her friend right now, she knows what is in the syringe.  I am feeding her Purina Sensitive System food and she is eating and drinking normally again.  She is also out of her bed and roaming the house again.  So I am feeling very optimistic.  The vet recommended Purina EN.  I compared the ingredients in the veterinary food and the purina sensitive system, there was not much difference in the ingredients.  7 lbs of sensitive system is 12.97 and the Purina EN is 27.00 for 4 lbs.  Thats a huge difference for someone on a fixed income. I can afford to feed both cats the Purina Sensitive System, but not the Purina EN.  

How's she doing?  Still ok?  It's hard to know if it's the medicine or the food that's making her feel better, IF she's still doing well. 

Just as an FYI, Purina, Hills and Royal Canin ALL make a gastrointestinal prescription food (dry), but they are all pretty expensive.  I think Royal Canin might be the least expensive.  Around $38 for a 7.7 lb bag. (depending on where you get it), and, IMHO, it has much better ingredients than the Purina EN.

The flagyl apparently has worked. Kitty Girl has not vomited this week.  Cross your fingers that all goes well and she continues.

That's great news! I hope Kitty Girl continues to improve!