Kitty GI problems! Need advice.

My 7 year old boy Kellen oddly was vomiting Tuesday morning (undigested food). Weird for him but I didn't worry too much about it.

When I got home from work Tuesday night he had vomited a few more times and I found a bunch of bloody mucous in the kitchen (it came from his bottom like a bowel movement). He ate well that night and didn't vomit his food.

About 5 am Wednesday morning he vomited clear liquid. He had a couple of small episodes of diarrhea as well. No blood. He ate so so that day.

Thursday he didn't eat much and continued to have diarrhea. I was feeding him treats to bribe him so I could clean him up. Diarrhea and long haired cats don't mix. He vomited all the treats. So we went off to the vet.

At the vet he had a fever. He got a shot for nausea and one that was an antibiotic. He also starred taking oral metronidazole. He literally came home and ate a little food immediately and acted normally. Pretty much the same deal on Friday. No vomiting. Small amount of diarrhea and eating little bits.

Today he wasn't interested in food or treats but was acting Louie his old self. I got an appetite stimulant and some pepcid for him from the vet. He ate a little of the tuna food I bought him and even went to the bowl on his own and took a few nibbles of dry food. He was acting alert and snuggly like his normal self.

However at around 3:30 pm after my vet had closed he went in and out of the litter box several times panting in pain! He had a large loose bowel movement the second time and calmed down about 5 to 10 minutes later. He hid under the bed for a couple hours but then came out acting pretty normal. He's eaten a few bites of wet food and a few treats.

I was considering taking him to the kitty ER but it's so pricy and I didn't want to take him if he just had belly cramps and passed a large loose stool. I am concerned about partial obstruction but since he's behaving normally now I'm going to see how he does overnight. Any more pain episodes though and we are off to the vet no matter what time of day or night it is.

Has anyone had any similar experiences they can share? Advice? Thoughts?

Sorry to be so long..... I'm just a very worried kitty mom!

I think you're right to be concerned.  Your boy isn't feeling well and you really don't know what's going on.  I'm wondering if he had a large hairball and was having difficulty passing it?  That would make his tummy upset and in turn, that would make him throw up and be nauseous.  Perhaps the big bowel movement was the hairball passing.  Since he's feeling okay now, I think you're good to keep an eye on him.  If he has any other issues, like you said, get him to the vet.  In the meantime, you might try feeding him some plain boiled chicken shredded in some broth or some plain meat baby food (no onions or garlic).

It was a completely loose bm so I'm sure there was no hairball.

He's still taking the Flagyl. He did eat a hand full of treats and a few bites of food tonight.

The bloody mucous in the beginning makes need think he may have colitis.

I just wish he'd get well soon! It's too much stress! Momma is not coping well!

What do you feed him?  Wet or dry?  Brand? Regular or grain-free?

He mostly has been eating Primal (freeze dried). On days that I work and I'm gone for about 14 hours I leave out some dry Purina One for them. They used to eat Wellness Core dry but one of my other cats needed prescription food for awhile and Kellen really liked it and refused to eat the Wellness afterwards.

Kellen is also overweight (this started with the prescription food) and we switched to meal times and mostly wet food about a year ago. It's a work in progress. Primal is the only wet food I can get him to eat. The other 2 eat Nutro Max cans.

Right now he will only nibble the dry food. He'll eat treats occasionally but won't touch the Primal. Today I bought several cans of tasty fish flavored foods and he did eat a little of that. It's Meow Mix but at this point any calories are good calories until he's eating regularly.

Can you try some baby food? I mean Beech-nut or Gerber? Make suer it does not contain onions or garlic, or anything else. Cats seem to love it..

Could your cat have an allergy to something in the food?

Are you able to try a novel protein? something he has never had before? like quail, venison, duck???  

or try a limited ingredient food. This is what I would do..

I do not think that Purina One is a great food. It is ok, but not great...

Is your cat an indoor cat? I mean no chance of getting worms?  I am just thinking of a food allergy..

As an example.. my guy is allergic to chicken.. He vomits each time he eats it...

also try some probiotics.. I would run this by the Vet....

Good Luck...and ((((hugs))))

He snuggled next to me all night. He spent a lot of time this morning cleaning his butt which he has not been interested in all week. He was more interested in his food this morning and ate fairly well. He's peed in the box this morning. We'll just see what the next poop brings.

I'd giving him some slippery elm syrup to help with both the diarrhea and nausea. Try to get him back on some freeze dried food have you tried Instinct Raw Market or Stella and Chewy? My cats like them both better than Primal. And I'd throw out that kibble. Purina is pretty terrible stuff. Any time I have cats that get sick I toss all their currently open food and start fresh. Most of the time when they get sick its related to their food. 

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

Also consider adding a probiotic

http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

He's super picky. He likes very few wet foods. I tried Stella and Chewy and none of my cats would touch it. He's back eating his Primal. Eating like a champ.

I'm keeping with the Primal and the occasional bit of Purina One dry just because that's what he's accustomed to and I don't feel like now is the time for diet changes while his belly is still settling. I have a sample bag of Orijen that they seem a little interested in. I'm planning to gradually switch to that once things are back to normal.

I try to feed wet food as much as possible but it's nice to have a decent back up dry food if needed.

I did toss what was left of the previous bag of Purina just in case.

He did have a large poop again this morning. Still very loose but no discomfort. Crossing my fingers he's on the mend!