Cat vomited 14 times in less than 24 hours, nplease help me!

UPDATE#3

Our princess is looking a little better so far:

1. No new vomits. That means tomorrow will be an entire week since the chronic vomit that started all of this >> We're afraid that the "regular" hairball vomit comes. At this moment we're still shocked/stressed about all of this that we don't want to see her stressed in any way.

2. After the Saturday enema she pooped some more on Sunday and then yesterday 2 soft stools on her litter and then some diarrhea just after 15 minutes outside the box >> I think the laxative caused the diarrhea so we stopped it. So far today no poop, but given that she's not eating too much solid this not come as a surprise

3. She's not drinking more than 5ML of water/day by herself >> We don't know if this is because we're still syringe feeding her and then giving her some water thru syringe as well. What are your thoughts? Should she be interested in drinking more water?

4. She's eating some by herself. We leave her some frozen dry treats overnight, and she's eating about 10 each night plus some kibbles that are on her bowl. We also leave some wet food and she eats about 6 times (15% of the dish) before leaving and not touching it again. This is what she does during the night mainly. As during the night we syringe feed her about 50 ML of wet food combined with water + 15 ML of pure water. 

We're still worried about stopping the force feeding and see how she acts without it. I mean it has been only a week, I'm sure she's still not fully recovered about the dehydration. I'm afraid that if we "try" 24hours of leaving her alone, she will eat/drink close to nothing and dehydrates again. I'm wrong? I mean, we're still giving her less than 50% of her recommended daily intake, so that's my logic.

Any thoughts/adivce are deeply appreciated

I think it would be worth rechecking blood work on her and, in particular, checking for pancreatitis.

Have you tried giving her a dose of Buprenex yet?

Is she still on the mirtazapine? If so and her appetite is still poor, I would be concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis.

As for fluids...eating a canned only diet, plus getting extra fluid, I don't think I would expect her to drink much more on her own.

Are you offering chicken broth (low sodium) or tuna water to see if she is interested in drinking this?

We can understand the feelings about paranoia, with 2 of our cats in the vet clinic for the same, we are terrified of any new vomit from the other 32 cats in the house. Good news for us, tentatively, Kimi had a bowel obstruction which they cleared yesterday without surgery. Lili is much better, active, happy, craving affection and possibly coming home today. Dodged two bullets. We usually get the cats vaccinations when they reach adulthood and need spay/neuter, but because of the scare, we got the whole house reimmunized Monday. That's a lot of cats, and after spending over 20,000 pesos (500 US dollars), we feel better.

As for your baby, the hydration still worries me as well. 5ML is not nearly enough water. What we have found in many instances of sick cats, it manifests itself in the mouth, especially a lot of viral diseases. One thing that may have already been covered/checked, are for sores inside the mouth. Check also the gums for color, white bad, pink good. The tongue may also be swollen and have sores, and an inflamed throat. Another thing to check, is the breath. Is it normal, or does it have a foul smell beyond what you expect? These can cause a cat not to drink.

As an example, after Kimi began throwing up, the first day he was still drinking. Even into day two, he would drink, but noticeably less. Day 3, when we had him admitted, he would literally sit at the water bowel and set his chin in the water, but not take a single drop. That was when we knew he was having more than just the effects of an upset stomach. His vomit began changing as well, and his breath became rancid. Turns out that the blockage caused all his past meals to reverse back to the stomach after nesting in the intestines for however long they have been there. That's nasty.

They gave him an enema yesterday, just as we arrived to visit him, and he popped right up afterwords. The effect was seemingly instant. We got lucky hopefully, and we think his recovery will be complete. Since you have movement from both ends, this doesn't really apply. But based on the size of your cat, the hydration intake is going to require much more water than she is taking on her own. If her throat/mouth is sore, she won't drink on her own, and that needs to be corrected. For both Kimi and Lili, they use a numbing gel on the gums to decrease the pain, and they both drink on their own now, maybe this would help stimulate her to drinking again.

Sorry, I am all over the place, we haven't slept well because of our babies being in the hospital for so long, and I hope the advice I give can help out. All our babies deserve 100% of our abilities to keep them healthy and happy. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

CatPack said:

I think it would be worth rechecking blood work on her and, in particular, checking for pancreatitis.

Have you tried giving her a dose of Buprenex yet?

Is she still on the mirtazapine? If so and her appetite is still poor, I would be concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis.

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We have been postponing the blood work (yeah I know my bad) because we're seeing improvements. As soon as we've the money ready we'll do them. I just don't want to pay that much money and obtain inconclusive results. But you're right at her age, there are many things that may be happening so we can't continue delaying her exams.

Buprenex not yet. I know it has been suggested to try a smaller dose but we've decided to use it if needed. We're afraid of the secondary effects (constipation+nausea), so right now the trade-off tilts to not give that medication.

Last time she was given Mirtazapine was on Saturday. What are other reasons for hepatic lipidosis aside from no eating after 72hours? Should I be worried about this if she's not on mirtazapine and she has been fed all this time?

CatPack said:

As for fluids...eating a canned only diet, plus getting extra fluid, I don't think I would expect her to drink much more on her own.

Are you offering chicken broth (low sodium) or tuna water to see if she is interested in drinking this?

Click to expand...

Thekittykeepers said:

We can understand the feelings about paranoia, with 2 of our cats in the vet clinic for the same, we are terrified of any new vomit from the other 32 cats in the house. Good news for us, tentatively, Kimi had a bowel obstruction which they cleared yesterday without surgery. Lili is much better, active, happy, craving affection and possibly coming home today. Dodged two bullets. We usually get the cats vaccinations when they reach adulthood and need spay/neuter, but because of the scare, we got the whole house reimmunized Monday. That's a lot of cats, and after spending over 20,000 pesos (500 US dollars), we feel better.

As for your baby, the hydration still worries me as well. 5ML is not nearly enough water. What we have found in many instances of sick cats, it manifests itself in the mouth, especially a lot of viral diseases. One thing that may have already been covered/checked, are for sores inside the mouth. Check also the gums for color, white bad, pink good. The tongue may also be swollen and have sores, and an inflamed throat. Another thing to check, is the breath. Is it normal, or does it have a foul smell beyond what you expect? These can cause a cat not to drink.

As an example, after Kimi began throwing up, the first day he was still drinking. Even into day two, he would drink, but noticeably less. Day 3, when we had him admitted, he would literally sit at the water bowel and set his chin in the water, but not take a single drop. That was when we knew he was having more than just the effects of an upset stomach. His vomit began changing as well, and his breath became rancid. Turns out that the blockage caused all his past meals to reverse back to the stomach after nesting in the intestines for however long they have been there. That's nasty.

They gave him an enema yesterday, just as we arrived to visit him, and he popped right up afterwords. The effect was seemingly instant. We got lucky hopefully, and we think his recovery will be complete. Since you have movement from both ends, this doesn't really apply. But based on the size of your cat, the hydration intake is going to require much more water than she is taking on her own. If her throat/mouth is sore, she won't drink on her own, and that needs to be corrected. For both Kimi and Lili, they use a numbing gel on the gums to decrease the pain, and they both drink on their own now, maybe this would help stimulate her to drinking again.

Sorry, I am all over the place, we haven't slept well because of our babies being in the hospital for so long, and I hope the advice I give can help out. All our babies deserve 100% of our abilities to keep them healthy and happy. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

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@Thekittykeepers  thanks for all the advice and sharing your update on both Lili and Kimi. Glad to know they're getting back on track and that the enema helped Kimi to almost fully recover. When the vet checked her, she said that aside from normal tartar levels, her mouth was in great shape, so I'll trust her on that. However, when we go for the follow-up appointment I'll be sure to ask her to double-check that. Her gums are pinkish, and I press them to check for hydration as well and the color comes back instantly. Her breath smells to canned tuna hahah, luckily no signs of something wrong in there. 

I'm worried about her water intake too. But as @CatPack  mentioned, her lack of desire for water is obvious given that we're giving so much to her thru canned food and syringe. 

32 cats? OMG. I'm sure that in good times that should be lots of fun, but in times like the one you're going through are quire hard. Is very easy to panic, I can't imagine multiplying that by 32. 

Thank you all for being here with us. We need your energies to overcome this.

When I had a cat that vomited like that, every 15 minutes, it appeared to be that she got a bad can of food.  She was a nursing mom, and the babies were not yet eating food, but within a couple of hours of her vomiting, they started too, so I took the whole group to the vet immediately.  It was a respected brand of food, the can looked fine, didn't smell bad. the cat had eaten it with relish, but it WAS from a new case of the food, thus a new batch.  (Any new batch,dry or canned, even if you have been feeding the same brand and flavor, does constitute a brand new food and thus can always be suspect!)  My vet gave us Amforol Suspension to give them and said if the vomiting had not improved in 24 hours, to come back.  The amforol is for short term use only.  They got some right away at the vet's office and then he said to use it every 8 hours.  The vomiting actually stopped after the first dose, but I gave them the other 2 doses 8 hours apart to be sure, and mama cat was eating again (other food obviously) by morning, and the kittens were nursing again.

It's a good diagnostic thing to use if you suspect your pet may have eaten bad food.  I then checked the case of food and discovered there were two different batch numbers on the cans, one from the batch she had eaten from, and another different.  I started shaking cans from both batches, and the cans from the other batch never had any sound, but some of the cans from the suspect batch sloshed a little when shook, and some didn't. I threw the entire batch away.

Amforol Suspension

Each 5 mL of suspension and each tablet contains:
Therapeutic Action Of Ingredients

Kanamycin Sulfate (Kantrim^{[emoji]174[/emoji]}): Kanamycin is active against Salmonella, Shigella, Alcaligenesfaecalis, E. coli, Proteus and Staphylococcus aureus, all species associated with bacterial enteric infections. Most of the dose is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, providing bactericidal action at the site of infection.

Red Top Rescue said:

 
When I had a cat that vomited like that, every 15 minutes, it appeared to be that she got a bad can of food.  She was a nursing mom, and the babies were not yet eating food, but within a couple of hours of her vomiting, they started too, so I took the whole group to the vet immediately.  It was a respected brand of food, the can looked fine, didn't smell bad. the cat had eaten it with relish, but it WAS from a new case of the food, thus a new batch.  (Any new batch,dry or canned, even if you have been feeding the same brand and flavor, does constitute a brand new food and thus can always be suspect!)  My vet gave us Amforol Suspension to give them and said if the vomiting had not improved in 24 hours, to come back.  The amforol is for short term use only.  They got some right away at the vet's office and then he said to use it every 8 hours.  The vomiting actually stopped after the first dose, but I gave them the other 2 doses 8 hours apart to be sure, and mama cat was eating again (other food obviously) by morning, and the kittens were nursing again.

It's a good diagnostic thing to use if you suspect your pet may have eaten bad food.  I then checked the case of food and discovered there were two different batch numbers on the cans, one from the batch she had eaten from, and another different.  I started shaking cans from both batches, and the cans from the other batch never had any sound, but some of the cans from the suspect batch sloshed a little when shook, and some didn't. I threw the entire batch away.

Amforol Suspension

Each 5 mL of suspension and each tablet contains:

Kanamycin activity (as the sulfate)	100 mg
Bismuth subcarbonate	250 mg
Activated attapulgite (aluminum magnesium silicate)	500 mg

Therapeutic Action Of Ingredients

Kanamycin Sulfate (Kantrim^{[emoji]174[/emoji]}): Kanamycin is active against Salmonella, Shigella, Alcaligenesfaecalis, E. coli, Proteus and Staphylococcus aureus, all species associated with bacterial enteric infections. Most of the dose is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, providing bactericidal action at the site of infection.

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Thank you very much for your for pointing this out. Sadly this is not the case for us, as we've been feeding her the same food (as you said, same package/batch, not only brand). So I can safely discard this, however, thank you for sharing this I'll keep it in mind if something similar happens.

Update #4

Our girl is looking better by the day. She's still not 100% recovered, but now is sleeping with us more frequently. Is eating more and more by herself, and is using her litter with no apparent problem. However, something inside me tells me that given her age and so many things I've learned in this community, her blood work should be done to avoid or discard anything else. I'm glad I took her today to the vet a for a blood work and urinalysis. 

I'll keep you guys posted, and appreciate your advice and energies through this last couple of days. 

As most of us can attest too, getting blood work done, while most times it proves nothing at all, it's better safe than sorry. On the occasion something does show up, you will be glad you spent the money, because treating something at the beginning is much easier on the kitty, and your wallet in the long run.

While many things like viruses and bacteria can't be identified through the blood work alone, you can see other indicators of an issue, like high WBC for fighting illness, or low RBC, anemia and possible O2 saturation issues that might be missed.

But all in all, sounds like she is on the road to a full recovery, and we are happy to hear that.

On a side note, Kimi had his blockage in the intestine removed without surgery, he is doing a thousand times better, but still in the hospital. His energy is up, and so is his craving for affection and the response to that affection is fantastic. Lili came home with us today, thought she is eating in her own, and has high energy and response to affection, she still has a higher than normal WBC and is continuing treatment at home with antibiotics and lots of love, of course. So we are both doing good, dodged a bullet in our case.

Add to that, our Liberty just gave birth today, here is the link for those interested. She is small and only had two kittens, but so far so good, they are beautiful. More pictures coming.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324459/it-has-begun-our-beloved-liberty-has-begun-giving-birth

Thekittykeepers said:

As most of us can attest too, getting blood work done, while most times it proves nothing at all, it's better safe than sorry. On the occasion something does show up, you will be glad you spent the money, because treating something at the beginning is much easier on the kitty, and your wallet in the long run.

While many things like viruses and bacteria can't be identified through the blood work alone, you can see other indicators of an issue, like high WBC for fighting illness, or low RBC, anemia and possible O2 saturation issues that might be missed.

But all in all, sounds like she is on the road to a full recovery, and we are happy to hear that.

On a side note, Kimi had his blockage in the intestine removed without surgery, he is doing a thousand times better, but still in the hospital. His energy is up, and so is his craving for affection and the response to that affection is fantastic. Lili came home with us today, thought she is eating in her own, and has high energy and response to affection, she still has a higher than normal WBC and is continuing treatment at home with antibiotics and lots of love, of course. So we are both doing good, dodged a bullet in our case.

Add to that, our Liberty just gave birth today, here is the link for those interested. She is small and only had two kittens, but so far so good, they are beautiful. More pictures coming.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324459/it-has-begun-our-beloved-liberty-has-begun-giving-birth

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Congrats on your new two babies. They look wonderful. That picture reminded me years ago when our cutie had her 4 babies. There's nothing better than playing around with those little balls of fur.

I'm glad Kimi and Lili are getting better, and you guys definitely dodged a bullet, it could have been worst but gladly you were quick and lucky . I hope our 3 babies continue this same path of recovery. And ultimately it was your train of thought the same I had yesterday when deciding to run the blood work on her today. In the long run this extra cost will help us to have a better idea on how is she, on how to better help her to live a happy life.

Update #5 

Our cat is getting better by the day. She's now eating by herself (not as much as before), and she's making a smooth change between dry to wet food. I've noticed that she's drinking less water than before. Is this because the wet food is enough? Should I be concerned about this? 

Her litter behavior is now back to normal. It looks like she's already over the whole problem. On a side note she vomited on Thursday a very long hair ball. (No water on the vomit, it was only the long hair ball). I suspect this was the thing that was bothering her from the beginning and she was unable to expel. We do brush her coat on a weekly basis, but after this we're upgrading our tool to the Furminator to avoid any further issues. Any recommendations on using the Furminator?

Lastly her Blood results came in. I'd like your opinion on it as there are many levels close to the threshold and I still need to talk with the vet next week about them (she sent me an email as I was unavailable), and said "The mild decrease in protein may be related to her decreased food intake, while her mild decrease in neutrophils may be related to shifts between the marginal and circulating pool of white blood cells -  nothing unusual to encounter." Is there anything I should worry? Her ALT and ALP are on the lower range, is this ok? What does this means?

Thank you for your help. 

Dear catbob:

You should be seeing a vet, not posting medical results on a group site.  Your vet will explain all to you.

I feed my cat Fancy Feast.  It is 80% water.  When my vet did a full exam on him, since he got sick and was a rescue cat, she found that his kidneys are smaller than they should be.  So I am careful what I feed him.   I bought him a water fountain and he drinks from it, but I mainly feed him fancy feast.  You can also add a tablespoon of water if  you are unsure that he is not drinking water from his water ball. My vet said if he is not drinking all the time and not urinating all the time, he is fine . He was a rescue cat and became quite sick. I have him less than 2 months and now, with fancy feast and his special kidney dry food, he is thriving, playing, eating and drinking from the water fountain I bought for him.

Again, see your vet and ask all the questions there for any medical knowledge.

Joyce

Seeing a drop in fluid intake is expected when you switch to wet food. Cats aren't known for their drinking, and get most of their hydration from the food they eat in the wild. Just as long as you monitor her hydration, the skin pinch test, capillary refill test and keep an eye on the litter box for urine clumping at or near pre-sickness levels.

I am glad you have found your victory, now she just needs to take it on home, nice work. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

Yes, I am monitoring him since he was awfully sick - I get such a delight seeing him go from a cat that couldn't play or run around, to a tiger.  I bought him cat tunnels, cat boxes, and he jumps everywhere now.  He initiates playing with me and hides and then comes out and makes believe he is attacking me.  I play with him before I go to work and when I come home.  He has given me so  much affection.  He follows me everywhere and loves to be close to me.  I couldn't ask for more.  He is a Siamese Mix and he loved my apartment from the first time he came out of the carrier.  No adjustment period.

Joyce

jkuras said:

 
Dear catbob:

You should be seeing a vet, not posting medical results on a group site.  Your vet will explain all to you.

I feed my cat Fancy Feast.  It is 80% water.  When my vet did a full exam on him, since he got sick and was a rescue cat, she found that his kidneys are smaller than they should be.  So I am careful what I feed him.   I bought him a water fountain and he drinks from it, but I mainly feed him fancy feast.  You can also add a tablespoon of water if  you are unsure that he is not drinking water from his water ball. My vet said if he is not drinking all the time and not urinating all the time, he is fine . He was a rescue cat and became quite sick. I have him less than 2 months and now, with fancy feast and his special kidney dry food, he is thriving, playing, eating and drinking from the water fountain I bought for him.

Again, see your vet and ask all the questions there for any medical knowledge.

Joyce

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Joyce, your advice is well taken. The only reason I posted this, is that I know many here have experience reading or looking for certain indicators of interest that they think are a MUST for further clarification when I speak to my vet. Vets usually explain everything, but they are also human beings. Highlighting something from the results to her that she may be underestimating or not concerned  could have a significant difference.

Thank you for rescuing a cat, it looks your baby is in good hands . My personal take on FF is to purchase the classic cans (more protein with less 

jkuras said:

 
Dear catbob:

You should be seeing a vet, not posting medical results on a group site.  Your vet will explain all to you.

I feed my cat Fancy Feast.  It is 80% water.  When my vet did a full exam on him, since he got sick and was a rescue cat, she found that his kidneys are smaller than they should be.  So I am careful what I feed him.   I bought him a water fountain and he drinks from it, but I mainly feed him fancy feast.  You can also add a tablespoon of water if  you are unsure that he is not drinking water from his water ball. My vet said if he is not drinking all the time and not urinating all the time, he is fine . He was a rescue cat and became quite sick. I have him less than 2 months and now, with fancy feast and his special kidney dry food, he is thriving, playing, eating and drinking from the water fountain I bought for him.

Again, see your vet and ask all the questions there for any medical knowledge.

Joyce

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Actually, I appreciate seeing a full set of lab results, and that is one of the best formats I have seen in a long time.  It includes explanations and a clear list of normal range for each test, and many of us have years of experience with lab results and often can explain some of them to people who don't.  Actually we can always learn from seeing more lab reports, so thanks @catbob for sharing these with us.  I'm glad to see she has no signs of pancreatitis!

Hi all. I appreciate everyone's feedback.  However, I have learned in my life to get professional opinions for anything medical.  Too many personal opinions out there.  I want someone  who is educated in what I need to know and if I have any doubts, I will get another professional opinion.  

My vet is balanced and available and willing to seek other advice herself, which is great to see a vet or any doctor with humility. 

Our cats are so important to us and we are their only advocates and means of support  - I hope all our fur balls have healthy and happy lives.

Love to all

Joyce

jkuras said:

Hi all. I appreciate everyone's feedback.  However, I have learned in my life to get professional opinions for anything medical.  Too many personal opinions out there.  I want someone  who is educated in what I need to know and if I have any doubts, I will get another professional opinion.  

My vet is balanced and available and willing to seek other advice herself, which is great to see a vet or any doctor with humility. 

Our cats are so important to us and we are their only advocates and means of support  - I hope all our fur balls have healthy and happy lives.

Love to all
Joyce

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The OP is fully working with a vet and looking for additonal info from other posters. I think that's actually very responsible and OP is covering all of their bases. The issue is when someone refuses to take their cat to a vet and wants an Internet diagnosis.

Ok, I got a furminator and WOW--does that thing WORK...BUT......becareful! You can bald your kitty! OMG! I Felt horrid when I noticed a bald patch on my girl, and realized I'd gotten WAYYY too into it (I work with horses and we use shedding blades, curries etc). It grew back, but I felt horrid about it.

So, just make sure you don't over do it