Both cats vomited foam, won't eat for days.

Hello. My two cats, 2 yr old and 8 month old are sick. Older cat threw up foam Friday and would not eat and sat hunched over in what I call, the meat loaf rotisserie chicken position, for most of the night. Saturday, 5.am., he ate some food, and threw up few more times that day. Sunday morning, the younger one vomited undigested wet food and threw up again sometime later, but the white foam slightly yellow (bile?) like my older cat. They both vomited a few times until I took them to the vet on Monday morning and they were given anti nausea injections and subq fluids. Saw vet again today. They took xrays and bloodwork. Bloodwork was ok. Xray showed some inflmmation of the younger cats intestines and gas from not eating. The older cats xray showed his intestines were scrunched up, possibly due to string or something he ate. But for them to have the same symptoms at the same time is weird. They would have both had to eaten something foreign or tainted food maybe, or toxins? They are going onto their 4th and 5th day with no eating. Well, they had a few temptations treats but thats it. Their tummys seem to be very upset. I almost think they ate a batch of tainted food. Any advice is welcome! I am sp worried because they are not eating. I probably left out details as I am in a panic. But will answer and spare more details soon. Spent almost 1.5k total at the vets. Thank you for any information!

Sorry, 4th and 3rd day of no eating. They sit hunched over a lot.

You need to syringe feed! Search that term here to get info on how, what, and when.

So is there a string or not? How long will you wait to find out? If so, surgery will be your option.

I am so sorry you are going through this crisis! What is the vet going to do?

Hang in there and know you are not alone.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. Since you've already been to the vet and back again for X-rays the only other thing I can advise is a second opinion. I agree it is very troublesome for your kitties to not be eating for so long.
What did the vet say?

They sent thr xrays to the radiologist to for anything that might look suspicious, I'm waiting on a stool sample report as well. They are going to call me on Wed. Thank you for the syringe suggestion. I actually did attempt a little before 10:00. Its a very small ml syringe from when i had to give medicine to my cat for diarrhea. I mixed some wet pate food with water and nutri cal paste. Got about 3 full squirts in my little girl. I felt so bad, my mom wrapped her in a blanket and she struggled and yelled. I don't think i gave her enough food. She did drink from the fountain on her own right after though!

If my older one doesn't eat again, which he hasnt now for day 4. The vet would like an ultra sound on the older one. But what if I can get enough in by syringe feeding? They seem like they want to, but find the smell of food nauseating.

I forgot to mention, they got an appetite stimulant pill. Another anti nausea injection and an antibiotic injection on the second visit.

How are your kitties?

LotsofFur said:

How are your kitties?

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Since Wednesday and Friday they have been back to themselves 100%! I have never been so happy to see my furbabies drink water and eat on their own. Feeding them via syringe I think jump started their appetites. Thank you!

Oh that is WONDERFUL NEWS! Glad they are feeling better.

I just had something similar happen with one of my 13-yr olds. I have four cats total, and this one is the sister to another. She was the only one vomiting. I do not think this is related, but she does have melanoma in one eye, and we are going to schedule her for another check-up to see if it's spreading. Also, arthritis from senior years, which I already knew.

When she was six years old, she had some sort of growth in her intestine, which we had removed, and she was fine after that. When this started happening (about three weeks ago), it freaked me out in case it was a repeat of that trauma. At the time she started vomiting, she was 14 pounds, and now she's down to 11, but survived so far. We had x-rays, ultrasounds done, and left her at a diagnostic clinic for a week.

There was so much confusion between my regular vet and the diagnostic clinic, it scared me a bit, honestly. Basically, from the first x-rays, they thought her kidneys were misshapen, then that she had some liver problems, or perhaps a lump in her GI tract that should not be there. Ultrasound came back to say no, and her blood work was fine. However, I still had a very sick kitty, and no solutions. The only thing they agreed on was that she had a bladder infection. Giving her antibiotics now, and she has only vomited twice since I got her back home. She is not eating very well yet, although she tries maybe three or so times a day (and only about a teaspoonful at a time). She purrs when I pet her and loves to cuddle with me like before, but she is a little lethargic and not herself quite yet. I've also noticed some trembling/tremors, as though she is in pain, and after a brief exam (yes, one more!), the vet said it's probably arthritis pain acting up with the cooler and cloudy autumn weather we've had lately. I'm still not 100% convinced of that, but she is enjoying the electric blanket that her (possibly paranoid) mom put out for her just in case.

Now, my question is what happened? Was it something with her food? I have not drastically changed their diet, nor does she go outside in the back yard (only when we actually have mild weather). The other cats seem fine. I read elsewhere that some cat food brands now buy food sources from other countries, and I'm beginning to wonder about that. After spending over 3k on her for both vets' bills, I'm REALLY wondering. Did you find out what happened with yours in the first place?

You have a complex situation there. Here is where I'd start:

1. ask if at the vet if she was dehydrated, and if so, if she was given sub-Q fluids. If they didn't notice, say very sweetly you're sure it was an oversight, and you'd like to have a technician finish what the vet started asap; ask also for a stomach settling prescription and/or appetite stimulant as appropriate.

2. I seem to remember that foam happens when there is nothing left in the belly to throw up anymore. Eating is important - if one way of getting food in doesn't work, just move on to another. If she is nauseous, she may 'go off' a food that didn't sit well, so go for the next thing. A treat. Maybe laxatone (check with vet just in case). My best trick is to offer single kibbles or a pea-size ball of food, one by one (a whole bowl can smell too much). I keep powdered KMR on hand; they often will take some. Many cats will eat Medical's "recovery" for convelescence; pick up some of the "gastro hi energy" and "sensitivity VR" and rotate through them. Some say baby food with no onions is good; at any rate you can dilute that or the recovery and force-feed with a large syringe just a bit at a time; sometimes just a little in the tummy will lead to eating. Bake some chicken skin on @ 325 so it's nice and steamy and moist and a little slippery; our cats almost always go for that, especially warm.

3. Liquids: I keep low sodium tuna, and dilute the juice 50/50 with water. A little of this can really perk them up for more. My vet swears this is ok to do (all of them do, in fact). KMR is mentioned above, also helpful as a fluid. I've heard of people giving 'pedialytes' (pediatric hydration); you could use this to cut the low sodium tuna juice or just drink as water or gently syringe.

4. Vet concerns: if you can calmly state why you are confused with the vet care, a good vet will explain why they are doing what they are. There are many times I felt that things weren't making sense, but whenever I asked, I ALWAYS got it explained so I understood. You should do this too. People do make mistakes, so you are being proactive by asking for clarification.

I am with you. Ask any questions; we'll get you through this the best we can! Give her warmth, and a place to cool off. Let us know what the vet thinks is happening.

oh, and p.s. no, you rarley find out the cause. Cats are notoriously hard to diagnose, so the vet usually just follows the symptoms.

Thanks, 101.

Yes. She was dehydrated, and had an IV at both vets. I will definitely try your suggestions for appetite. I did get some of the i/d easy to digest from my vet, and at first she loved it, but now, after vomiting it up (like you said) she won't touch it and physically recoils. I had no idea cats could make that face!

As for liquids, she likes the gravy packs of food, but not tuna juice. Still, I may try it on her since I have another cat who will drink it if my sick one does not.

The vet confusion: I wasn't confused, but the communication between the vets could have been dangerous misinterpretations on both sides that happened when I switched her between the two. I had her boarded at my regular vet first, and the diagnostic clinic somehow had false information about if she threw up, was eating, what was in the IV, etc. Finally, they worked it out, but when the diagnostic clinic asked me about things that the other vet did not tell us, I was worried about what might have been dropped or added in the conversations. Turns out it was just a transcribed error that someone didn't understand what someone else was telling them.

Update: After I've had her home for almost two weeks, she started vomiting again, so I'm definitely going to keep her fed no matter what. Her check-up is in a week, so I'm hoping she will get back to normal again soon.

Could the vomiting have returned after whatever tummy-tamer pills have ended? I would notify the vet and say things have turned back to where they were. Also -NOT TO ALARM YOU< THIS IS UNUSUAL- but my senior cat has an auto-immune problem that - after it showed up externally, went internally into the gut. We manage it fine, but I believe the ultrasound would show this; my point being if the irritation is systemic, nausea tamers will not make it go away. We use a combo of prednilsone (sp? there are other drug options) and extremely high hypoallergenic diet.

Just my .02, as they said in the 'olden days'!