Cat Puking and Diarrhea?

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missingone123

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My cat is a male 11 year old. He's been having issues with UTIs lately, but they seemed to clear up with a new food(mostly wet food, with some dry food. We gave him Hills Urinary health food at first, but he refused to eat it, so we switched to Purina Urinary health wet food and just bought some of the dry formula as well before he got sick. Haven't had a chance to give it to him yet). 

He was fine for a long time, but then yesterday night something switched in him and he was having wet but still solid poop, but in and and out of the litter box all night. I thought maybe he was constipated. 

Then this morning, after his breakfast of a can of wet food that he ate as usual, he puked it all up while in the litter box. 

He's a beggar usually, and will follow you around looking for scraps no matter what you eat. I don't give him anything but chicken ever, but he does it anyways.

Yesterday, he was particularly hungry I guess, and was scrounging around the house and gnawing on stuff. I picked up a little piece of plastic wrap that I found him trying to eat and threw it away immediately. He might have eaten something else, but I don't think there was anything he could get into that would be so bad for him like this. 

When he walks, he moves very slowly, like there's something wrong. Usually he doesn't show pain, so for him to act this way is very scary for me. 

I know I should take him in to the vet, but I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on what they'll find so I can prepare myself for how much money it'll be. I've already got 500 dollars in vet bills due to his UTIs and don't have the financial means right now to make it a thousand, even if I love him. 

He only really reacts or has any sort of movement when I try to move him. He'll yelp and try to bite me, which isn't so out of the ordinary, but it's not usually this bad. 

He's been throwing up what I assume is bile as well, after all the food got out of him. It's white and foamy. 
 
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catlover73

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There is an edit button which looks like a pencil.  If you need to change something after you have submitted the post then click on the pencil at the bottom of the box.  Once you are done making changes click submit again.  Hope this helps.

By the way you are not doing anything wrong.  Your posts are easy to follow since they are in one place.
 
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missingone123

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There is an edit button which looks like a pencil.  If you need to change something after you have submitted the post then click on the pencil at the bottom of the box.  Once you are done making changes click submit again.  Hope this helps.

By the way you are not doing anything wrong.  Your posts are easy to follow since they are in one place.
Thank you. I was looking on the wrong side(with the multi, quote, reply). Oops.
 
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missingone123

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Update on my cat:

He is moving around a bit more, but still very slowly. He'll start towards where he wants to go, stop and lay down for a few seconds, get up and try again, sit down, ect.  I also just found him sitting in the litter box. I had to pick him up and move him, which he wasn't happy about, but I just couldn't stand to look at him like that.  He also is still throwing up foamy clear liquid(bile? spit? I'm not sure). I have scheduled a vet appointment for tomorrow, but I'm getting more and more worried as the night goes on. If anyone has any suggestions as to what might be wrong with him, I'm all ears. I've prepared myself for the worse. 
 

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The only thing I can think of is that he managed to get into something since the symptoms developed after you caught him scrounging around looking for stuff to eat. I know you said it's unlikely, but cats can always surprise you. However, maybe someone else will have more ideas.

Best of luck at the vet! [emoji]127808[/emoji]
 
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missingone123

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The only thing I can think of is that he managed to get into something since the symptoms developed after you caught him scrounging around looking for stuff to eat. I know you said it's unlikely, but cats can always surprise you. However, maybe someone else will have more ideas.

Best of luck at the vet! [emoji]127808[/emoji]
Thank you for the response. He's so lethargic I've had a couple of scares every time I go to check on him. He just lays on his side and stares at the wall. Start of the day, he had enough energy to push me away and bite, but now he just kinda kicks me with his back leg, and that's just not the cat I know. It makes me very sad to see him like this, and I'm very scared. 

He's puked up everything I think, and I don't have any chemicals where he would have been(The bleach is under the bathroom sink, and he doesn't go in there ever- that's about as bad as chemicals get at my house). 

I would take him to the emergency vet, but I'm 17 and don't have a way there :/ I just hope he makes it until tomorrow afternoon. 
 

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Is the ER vet close enough that a cab ride wouldn't break the bank? What about Uber or offering to pay a friend to drive? It very much sounds like he needs to go as soon as you can get him there. This is very difficult, I know. You obviously care very much for your boy.
 

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Another consideration is 'where are you?.  Are you in the area that is supposed to get hit with the storm in the east?

The vet will need to do an x-ray to look for an obstruction.  It there is something then it will be surgery unless the vet thinks it will pass through the cat's system.  with the way he is acting I don't think it will be good news.  Getting to the vet sooner is better.
 
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missingone123

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I'm going to try to go first thing in the morning now. My mom has gotten worried. Im not in the storm, just young and cant drive myself.

Hes getting worse and I'd take him to the ER but my previous experiences with them haven't turned out well(not actually examining him, giving him antibiotics without running any actual tests, ect). I don't think they'd do much help.

I dont know if i should let him sleep or make sure he stays with his eyes open. I know he hasn't actually slept all day, and since he won't eat hs must be exhausted and weak but I don't want him to slip away while he's resting. He won't move much and his ears are colder than they were. Not ice cold, but not hot anymore. He also seems to be breathing funny, kinda labored.

I'm so scared :( I don't know what to do if he dies overnight and research is making me cry too much.

Here's pictures of him. He doesn't look good.

At this point, I'm just venting. I need to get out these worries somehow. Thank you guys for the support.
 
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catlover73

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It is good to keep venting it helps keep the mind busy.  How is your baby this morning?    I am really hoping you get some answers from the vet soon. My senior kitty went through something very similar without the labored breathing. When I took her to the vet they were not able to figure out the cause of the vomiting but they did give her an injection for nausea. The best the vet could come up with was something similar to the flu.  I am hoping  things work out just as easily for your baby as they did for mine.  She was lethargic from the vomiting and not eating too but she did not have labored breathing.  I am going to be home almost all day today and I would be more than willing to listen to you vent as much as you need.  Please update as soon as you can.  I can tell how much you lover your baby and I remember how scared I was when my cat was puking up bile and refusing to eat.

I too was in a difficult position due to transit issues.  I made the vet appointment for the evening when I could get there and the vomiting got worse before the appointment.  I did call cab companies but no one was available to pick me up before hubby was home from work anyway.  Uber did not exist yet in my area so that was not an option.

I wish I had seen this when you posted last night.  I would have been willing to stay up and keep you company if you were not able to sleep since today is a day off for me.
 
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missingone123

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It is good to keep venting it helps keep the mind busy.  How is your baby this morning?
I got as much sleep as I could when waking up every hour to check on him. Hes been drinking more water which I'm taking as a good sign and hasn't seemed to thrown it up. He is still very lethargic and won't eat though, so I don't think we're through the woods yet. Thank you very much for your concern and support.

Right now I'm sitting with him on the couch. I couldn't make it earlier to the vet as my appointment was made for later and my mom has to work to pay for the visit and couldn't take me anyways.

Hes been wiggling his nose a lot and occasionally makes a weird grumble/puffing noise out of his nose and mouth and other times his whole body will kinda move and he'll "burp" I guess. As I'm typing his breathing seems to be getting harder. Maybe I'm stressing him out by petting him. I'm worried he might have some throw up in his lungs or nose too :(

I think be has a gastrointestinal problem due to some pain meds he was on for his UTIs. I'm not too pleased about this because last night I was researching everything I've been giving him to see if anything comes up and all of his symptoms are "side effects" of the buprenorphine he was given. I was also reading that it's pretty heavy duty stuff(stronger than morphine) and don't understand why I was given it for a UTI discomfort, and I had been giving him two .1 ml doses a day for awhile. I stopped once he cleared up, but would give him some when he seemed to be uncomfortable in the few weeks after. He was all better for about two weeks after the last dose I have him, showing no signs of how he is now, but its all I can think of.
 

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I have never dealt with a cat having throw up in their nose or lungs.  Does the labored breathing stop when he is not being petted?  How long has it been since the last time he threw up?   I am wondering if his tummy is starting to settle.  If he has  stopped throwing up completely and is now drinking maybe the nausea has let up too.  Do you have any plain chicken in your house?  Perhaps you could try feeding a very small amount of cooked  plain chicken to him and see if he will try to eat it.   I used cooked plain chicken and put it in the food processor to create tiny pieces.  This was how I got my cat to eat again after her illness.  She would not touch cat food for 24 hours after the nausea injection. I chopped up a chicken breast and cooked it up plain in a skillet.

Do you have any friends in the area that could take you to the vet over the weekend. Most of the vets in my area have appointments on Saturday.

I am going to be away from my computer for a little while since I am going to have coffee with a friend.  I will check on this thread again when I get back.
 
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Just letting you know that I'm hoping for the best for your cat. I'm suspecting an abdominal obstruction, but who really knows until you get him to the vet. :cross: :vibes:
 
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missingone123

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I have an appointment for 3:30 today. Its 10 right now. We were just going to try to go early in the morning, but because of money and our appointment time we couldn't. 

I tried to give him rice with a little of his wet food he usually goes crazy over yesterday. He didn't really eat much of it, just licked a little. I don't have any chicken right now, though I wish I did because it's his favorite. I have chicken fingers I could pick the breading off of, but I'm afraid of what it might be marinated or something in(they're cheap, though, so I cant imagine it's got much of anything).

The breathing doesn't stop after petting. He got up off the couch and wandered around some just now, before plopping over in the bathroom on the floor again. I just went to look at him in the bathroom, and although he's sitting up, his breathing is more labored than before. Could be because he was walking around. I hope its just because he's uncomfortable. He gets upset when I touch his stomach as well. 

He tried to drink some more water a few minutes ago, but stopped and left it. 

Do you think I should let him rest? He wont close his eyes, but he seems very tired and out of it. Although, he doesn't look so pathetic anymore. Before, he'd just lie on his side with his paws out, though now he resting his head on them like he usually does more. Sometimes I'll see him look lifeless, though, and I have to go prod him to see if his ear twitches or nose to make sure he's still alive. Im worried that all this poking is keeping him awake, though, and I'm making it worse. 

Edit: @pushylady Thank you. 

Edit again: Im unsure about blockage. His throw up just food when he was actually throwing stuff up, and now its clear. I read that if it was blockage, it would smell like fecal matter and be brown. He does have a slight odor, though I thought it might be because he hasn't eaten and keeps throwing up, but I also worry about kidney/renal failure, as I saw that smell was a symptom to that. 
 
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catlover73

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I would let him rest but you can keep checking on him. Instead of prodding him if you are worried I would try gently petting him.  I would not pick him up or move him around right now if he is showing signs of pain.  Is there any coughing or sneezing going on with the labored breathing?  I would not feed him chicken nuggets without the breading because those are seasoned so they are not safe for him.
 
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I hope he's ok!  Thanks for taking care of him until you can get to the vet, it sounds like you're doing a great job.
 
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missingone123

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I had to pick him up and move him when he decided to lay down in the litter box again, but other than that I haven't much. He isn't sneezing or coughing, just huffing. I don't know how to explain it. His sides with expand and then he'll make a noise and theyll deflate. It's fast. Maybe it is a cough. 
 

catlover73

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If you are thinking he is coughing then maybe there is some congestion issues. The only other thing I can think of to try if he is coughing is to steam your bathroom up by running the shower as hot as you can get it.  You could try taking him into the steamy bathroom and just sitting with him.  You can let him lie down on a rug or on the floor if he is uncomfortable being in your lap right now.  This may be a long shot but I am wondering if the steam would help him breathe easier.  If you are comfortable trying this then sit in the bathroom with him for about 15-20 minutes.  I does not sound like he has a cold or URI but this has helped my cat breathe easier when she had a really bad cough due to a URI.  I did this while I was waiting for the vet appointment on the advice of the vet because of how severe the cough and breathing issues were.  My cat turned out just fine after treatment.
 
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missingone123

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Ill try it out. Right now he just came out from under one of the beds and then laid down on the floor again. His head was kinda bobbing and I'm not sure why, before he decided to just lay it on the ground again. 
 
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