Hairballs or Worse?

Hello everyone, 

Hope you are doing well.

My beloved tuxedo kitty Peanut has recently been treated for constipation problems. He had a few episodes of constipation where he would not eat, vomit and couldn't poop. An enema cleared it up each time. To figure out the cause, he had blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, exams and an ultrasound. All came back normal. The ultrasound showed a tiny bit of mineralization in his kidney but I was told this is common and it was not a problem.

The vet diagnosed him with chronic constipation due to low gut motility. Lactulose alone didn't seem to help, so he was placed on a combination of lactulose and cisapride. He was also switched to a new food. This has worked really well and he is pooping every 24-48 hrs. He has healthy poops and a good appetite.

However, he now has another issue: he frequently regurgitates his food while eating.

Peanut has always eaten fast and regurgitated, so I have kept his bowl raised up. However, in the last few days his regurgitation has increased in frequency and now often includes a small clump of fur.

I would say he regurgitates 1 out of every 5 meals. He isn't constipated and the regurgitation can happen even just a couple hours after a big healthy poop. The vet says because it happens immediately when eating or getting medicine that it is regurgitation and not vomiting.

He can eat at 3pm and be fine, eat at 8pm and regurgitate with fur and then eat again at 9pm and be fine.

The vet thinks he is maybe eating too fast and also may have a hairball in his belly that is causing this. I know that when they did the ultra sound a few weeks ago they did see a hairball in there, so I know he can get them. I'm just a little shocked by the frequency of the regurgitation. I tried giving Peanut hairball treats but he didn't eat them. The vet wants me to try giving him a hairball gel. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

I don't have experience with it but you can get special dishes (go slow dishes) that will slow his eating down.

My cat doesn't do well on furball formula's, they tend to cause him to vomit. They can also be constipating because they work by adding fibre to the diet. The gel is pretty good. Cats are supposed to like the taste (but of course my fussy boy doesn't). It just helps lubricate things and make them move through.

Thank you, everyone!

Peanut had another vomiting episode today. He got his lactulose, then ate, then drank A LOT of water and then vomited. There wasn't fur in this one, so maybe he just overate/drank. The vet thinks he has one in there causing trouble because one did show up on the ultra sound before and he has had hair come up. So, he started the hairball paste today. It's replacing one of his lactulose doses, so hopefully things don't get backed up. Fingers crossed. I just feel like the last 3 months have been a nightmare. My life revolves around medicine schedules lol. I just hope he gets back to full health soon. The vet thinks he will have to permanently be on lactulose and cisapride, but that's ok... as long as he is healthy!

Anyone else have experience with hairball treatment?

Thanks!

Just a couple of links for people around natural hairball remedies - and the fact that frequent hairballs/vomiting shouldn't be passed off as normal. I have a kitty who used to be what I thought was just a "pukey cat", used to vomit bile when he was hungry, as well as regurgitated food after eating. He was diagnosed with IBD a few months ago. At that point he was started on prednisolone, and I changed to an all-wet diet, and he hasn't vomited once since. Not once. I've now transitioned both my cats to raw (did home cooked first), with EZ Complete supplement. They absolutely love their food (I'm serious it's crazy, the stuff is like kitty crack) and are both doing very well.

http://catcentric.org/care-and-health/hairballs-species-appropriate-treatment/

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/Chronic-Vomiting-in-Cats-isnt-Normal-After-All/

The best all natural treatment for hairballs is raw egg yolk. Or you can get powdered egg yolk lecithin. One or two yolks a week should do it

Another thing, has he been checked for IBD? It can be fairly common in kitties and often starts with bowel issues and/or vomiting. I had an IBD kitty who had diarrhea and vomiting, now have one that has food sensitivities and another who has allergies and doesn't gain weight so I know what it's like to be constantly on alert and worrying. I hope you get it sorted soon x