Joni throwing up bile 4x in a couple hours, before and after feeding

Hey TCS,

We get occasional hairballs but otherwise don't have a big issue with vomit in my house, so Joni's behavior tonight is a little worrying. She vomited bile twice before I fed them - it was getting on towards 10-11 hours since their first meal so I assumed it was related to that. However, about an hour after dinner she vomited again, just bile, no food. I gave some treats which she happily ate, and about five minutes later vomited them up with more yellow bile. 

I don't think there is any hair in the vomit, and she got up a hairball about 2-3 nights ago anyway, so I wouldn't think anything would be ready right now.

I've been trying to go to bed for an hour but am now fairly anxious about her. She cried before she vomited on two of the four occasions. In between times, she is mostly fine, she's been cuddling with me and purring. A few minutes before she vomits she will start licking repeatedly which I know is a sign of nausea and imminent vomiting, but other than that and the cries, no symptoms.

Any ideas? Thank you! 

Joni is still vomiting this morning. Anyone know if this is normal, something I can do at home to make her feel better? Or should we go to the vet - right now to the e-vet, or can wait until tomorrow for the regular vet? 

Can she hold down food at all? If not, I think it might be an emergency vet situation.

You could try feeding her just plain boiled chicken and rice and see if that settles her stomach until tomorrow.

She refused breakfast Sunday morning so I took her into the e-vet. I am not very experienced with cat health issues so I get spooked easily. Her belly x-ray was negative for any kind of obstruction. They gave her Cerenia and fluids and told me to give her 5mg pepcid for a few days along with chicken baby food. Since then, she has been better and she eats, but has continued to vomit occasionally (none on Sunday after 9am, none on Monday, once yesterday, and two times today). I have been doing baby food/wet food combo until tonight when she got just wet food for the first time.

Today she brought up a very large hairball... it was maybe 3-4 inches long. Then, just now, about 1.5 hours after dinner, she projectile vomited out her dinner food. She was coughing and then literally coughed out her entire stomach contents. It was... very strange and gross. It was a LOT of content. I have photos of both the hairball and the projectile vomit if anyone needs to see them.

She has been taking her pepcid in a treat with no issues and she also got a couple Greenies hairball control treats today.

I can't take her back to the vet until Monday at the earliest due to issues with my husband's health and traveling. She has been eating, drinking from the fountain, and has been in good spirits other than the vomiting. She also hasn't been vomiting bile anymore, just hairball/food. 

I think it must be related to chewing her fur... we have to figure out a way to get her to STOP chewing... I have taken her to vet 4-6 times in the last 4 years about it and no one ever says anything, "Could be allergies, could be fleas, could be stress..." but no tests or treatments other than flea treatments like normal. 

Please help!

 Does Joni like chewing on plastic? 

parsleysage said:

 
 I have photos of both the hairball and the projectile vomit if anyone needs to see them.

Click to expand...

 Please do show.

MJandClyde said:

 Does Joni like chewing on plastic? 

Click to expand...

She likes to lick plastic bags occasionally (as does Garfunkel) but doesn't eat them.

Here are the photos -

Hairball


Projectile

   I am terribly sorry to say that this exceeds my current education on felines. However, I have one more thing to suggest. Apple Cider Vinegar has been used to perform miracles on the GI Tract. If you have time, you can search up the right dosage on Youtube, where you can find instructions. I know that Apple Cider Vinegar has worked wonders for my Cats GI Tract. If it seems to be getting better already, you may just have to wait it out. My MJ has episodes like that sometimes. He has a very sensitive stomach. At the time,  none of the vets knew why he was regurgitating all the food he was eating. I eventually figured out a diet that his stomach agrees with. 

 Another theory that I have is allergies. A;though uncommon, Cats can develop allergies to foods that they are regularly on. I wouldn't suggest switching up the diet against Vets orders, but if all else fails...

    I really hope Joni gets better. 

Joni continues to vomit, 3 more times since the projectile episode. I wish I knew why and how to fix it!!!

Regarding food allergies, I guess it's possible, but they eat a variety of wet food and treats, not the same food. Wellness, Wellness Core, Halo, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, etc. 

Chewing on the fur or seeming to overgroom can definitely be signs of itching and allergy: in hindsight, I'm almost certain that was what was bothering our previous cat. Not the possible occasional fleas or "stress grooming" that the vet suggested. She got to where she vomited a lot, too, though the first sign she had food sensitivities was occasional bloody poop, which her vets also didn't diagnose properly. We learned the hard way that frequent vomiting, even with hairballs, just isn't normal. The projectile in the photo you posted looks mucousy, is that right? Mucous could be a sign of inflammation. We've seen that, too.

All sorts of ingredients can cause food sensitivities: it could be one protein (chicken or fish are frequent problems), a filler ingredient (one of our cats can't eat potato and grains are a big problem for lots of cats), or a food enhancer/stabilizer like carrageenan or guar gum. It sounds like your cats already eat only wet foods but I might suggest feeding Joni the simplest foods possible and keeping a food diary to track what does and doesn't cause her to vomit. If it were me, I'd cut any foods with grains first, then take out the ones with potato, peas, and other vegetables. You never know what might be causing the problem: I've noticed that several other TCS members' cats stopped vomiting when they cut out potatoes. (We had dumb luck figuring out that potatoes were a problem for Edwina--maybe you'll be lucky with something, too!)

Alternatively, you could try the "novel protein" approach, feeding something with a meat that's new to Joni, like duck or venison, making sure the recipe is simple, with as few fillers and stabilizer-type ingredients as possible. Homecooked or raw food can be even better options because the ingredients are simpler and more limited: we feed a lot of those to our cats because they have sensitive stomachs.

It's interesting what you say about the plastic bags: our cat with the potato sensitivity is also a bag licker. Her stomach is also quirky in terms of time--if it gets too empty, she vomits bile so we feed the cats many small meals a day.

At any rate, those are some ideas that have worked for us. I hope you're able to find something to help Joni!