Cat with onset vomiting but otherwise fine. Help?

jericat · Jan 6, 2017

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting and I'm looking for a little advice about what could be ailing my kitty.

Jeri is my 2-year old tabby, spayed, indoor-only, and generally in great health. Last year she developed an infection (which I noticed because her eating had slowed) from ruptured anal glands, so we ended up putting her on prescription Royal Canin Gastroinstestinal dry food. She has been great with it. She is a little overweight so we have been measuring her food into 2 meals usually feeding her around 7:30pm and 7:30am.

A few months ago she started getting hungrier at bedtime (around 10pm), waking us up in the middle of the night to be fed, so we changed her feeding schedule to 7:30pm and 9:30pm. She’s been fine with this but has recently had a few days of mix-ups over the holidays having been fed at 9:30pm and 7:30am while staying with my sister and her cat. We brought her back home last Tues (Dec 27) and got back on her regular feeding schedule.

This Monday, Jan 2, Jeri woke us up at 7:30am by vomiting a hairball along with all of her food. She never pukes so it was alarming to us but I did note the hairball inside and assumed she was okay. A few hours later she puked again, but only foamy bile. I immediately called the vet and got an appointment for 12pm but she ended up puking bile again before we left for the appointment. So, 3 vomits in 4 hours.

Our vet is really great and thorough and suggested perhaps an obstruction, if not, pancreatitis. We went with full blood work and an xray. In the meantime we started her on sulcrafate and some pain meds for her tummy pain and she was fine overnight, eating and drinking and using the litter box normally. The next day with the results we ruled out pancreatitis from the bloodwork and xray and any obstruction, but her white blood cell count was low so we started her on antibiotics. I’ve been giving them to her after her first feeding at night.

Jeri continued to be fine Tuesday night, Wednesday, and Thursday during the day but around 6:00pm last night she vomited bile. Again, she has been perfectly fine otherwise – drinking, eating, and pooping/peeing the same. I called the vet and she said that it was likely because it had been too long since she last ate (finished off the last of her food around 6:45am almost 12 hours prior), so to give her some food and continue to watch her and update her tomorrow (today).

It’s Friday morning and I’ve given her two doses of sulcrafate (one last night and this morning) and we fed her twice last night and again, she is still eating her full meals and drinking, albeit she was a little slower to finish off her food last night. My husband is going to check on her at noon and feed her a small meal so I will continue to update.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation like this? The vet keeps mentioning pancreatitis but I wonder if she doesn’t have IBD? Or maybe we simply just wait too long to feed her between meals? The stress of the holidays? Again, the xray was clear and bloodwork was normal except for the low white blood cell count.

I’m an overly anxiously cat mom and the stress of the past few days has been killing me. I’m so worried about Jeri that I obsessively watch and listen to her every move and I’m looking for a little reassurance. Any feedback helps.
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Thanks!

Kieka · Jan 6, 2017

I am right there with you on anxious kitty mom status. Good vibes and support your way

I wish I had an answer for you but it isn't anything I've come across before. I know that the diagnostics of cat illness is far behind dogs simply because there hasn't been a lot of research. There is also the problem of vet sciences focusing more on dogs and assuming that things cross the species line. Waiting for an answer of why our furbabies are not feeling well can be so hard. Those times where your cat gets better for no apparent reason and leaves with with diagnosis of "Fever of Unknown Origin" or something similar are a relief and a worry all at the same time.

A few ideas:

* You might want to try rescheduling her feeding times to be 3-4 feedings a day instead of just the 2. If you are gone in the middle of the day there are auto feeders out there from simple timers to more complex app controlled ones that you can use to get mid day feedings or even mid night feedings in without being there/awake.... Stress could have contributed to her body just saying enough with the amount of time between feeding..... Or her system liked the adjusted feeding schedule and is now not adjusting back well.

* The other thing that I can think of causing digestion problems is the food. I know she is on a prescription diet but you might want to see about alternatives. I know in humans a reaction to food can build up over time when encountering coming in contact with a new food. At first it just seems a little off and over time a little off turns into very off and the food doesn't agree with you. It can happen with age or exposure to something new in the food. So a far off theory could be a reaction to something in her food that reached critical level in her system. Especially if the vomiting is occurring shortly after eating.

* You could also try an elevated feeding station. I know random. But my Mom's cat has always vomited at least once a week since he was about 5 months old. We took him into the vet and no medical problem. Since it happened within minutes of eating it was most likely too fast eating according to the vet. Over time, he's almost 4 now, I realized, he eats too fast AND while he loved the taste of shrimp he started vomiting every time his food had shrimp (something that seemed to get more frequent with age, he used to gobble freeze dried shrimp as a kitten now if it has shrimp anywhere in it, even a smidgen, he vomits) AND I realized that if his bowl was just 2" higher it helped with preventing the vomiting. So between an elevated feeding station, smaller portions in his bowl (larger in the other two cats who never finish, so he moves from station to station when they finish which slows him enough to allow him to breathe) AND avoiding foods with shrimp I have gotten his frequent vomiting down to once a month. Even that I can avoid if I stop him from munching on dry food while I call the other two over for dinner. Impatient little brat *sigh*

That is my uneducated non-medical thoughts. Another option is to visit another vet or pay a small fee (I think its usually $22) to JustAnswer to have a vet review your information and offer possible alternatives. I've done the JustAnswer a few times for a second opinion on things or alternative perspective. Slightly cheaper and a little less stress then a physical exam but they are limited because they can't feel or touch for answers.

jericat · Jan 6, 2017

Kieka, thank you SO MUCH for your compassion and kind words about Jeri. You've helped so much in alleviating nerves already. So thank you!!

Both my husband and I checked on her at lunch and gave her some food, which she had eaten about 3/4 of by the time I left. She also had a good sized poop while we were home, though there was a little blob of softer stool stuck to her bum when she finished. Of course I had a mini-heart attack....coincidentally the vet called at that time to check in so I let her know what happened and she said to text her a photo of Jeri's poop (lol). I did and she called back to say that was likely just some soft stool that didn't have time to harden before she pushed it out, and bits like this can be found in most stools when they cut them in half. Phew! I'm sure they think I'm a spaz by now but I find myself double-checking everything.

We'll be home in a few hours and around all weekend so we can keep a closer eye on her. Here's hoping for a smooth weekend with baby girl feeling much better.

Kieka · Jan 6, 2017

jericat said:
Kieka, thank you SO MUCH for your compassion and kind words about Jeri. You've helped so much in alleviating nerves already. So thank you!!

Both my husband and I checked on her at lunch and gave her some food, which she had eaten about 3/4 of by the time I left. She also had a good sized poop while we were home, though there was a little blob of softer stool stuck to her bum when she finished. Of course I had a mini-heart attack....coincidentally the vet called at that time to check in so I let her know what happened and she said to text her a photo of Jeri's poop (lol). I did and she called back to say that was likely just some soft stool that didn't have time to harden before she pushed it out, and bits like this can be found in most stools when they cut them in half. Phew! I'm sure they think I'm a spaz by now but I find myself double-checking everything.

We'll be home in a few hours and around all weekend so we can keep a closer eye on her. Here's hoping for a smooth weekend with baby girl feeling much better.

You got a ways to go for spanz status. lol.

I am well past it and my vet probably thinks I abuse my boy by now. My SIL is teasing me that my cat is a lemon he's had (I think) 9 vet visits, 3 surgeries and an emergency vet visit at 10pm since August between annuals, an abscess, a broken leg, follow up and complications. After 2 years of no problems he just is falling apart. Not to mention my girl making herself sick in the middle of it all from her stress (which went away fairly quickly and I took steps to help prevent again). Now, he has a bald spot on his leg and another appointment Saturday to see what that is from (crossing my fingers for stress, which wouldn't be surprising at this point). When I made that one the receptionist said, "We were really hoping not to see Mr. Link until his next follow up in 4 weeks." Yeah, me too

.

Like I said, right there with you on the kitty mama drama and stress.

It sounds like she is making movement in the right direction. Regardless of the cause that is always reason for celebration. Hoping your weekend goes smoothly.

jericat · Jan 6, 2017

lol thanks for the reassurance!!

Oh my goodness! Mr. Link!! That poor boy. And, poor you!! I probably would have given myself a stroke by now having to deal with all that. You are tough as nails! I'm so glad your girl is fine and I'm so sorry Link is going through some poor troubles. Crossing my fingers it's from the stress (honestly, he has such good reason for it to be!).

Sending you positive and healing vibes for his appointment tomorrow. Let me know how it goes!! Both your kitties are so lucky to have you!!

cat-tech · Jan 6, 2017

Jericat,

I'm wondering if the vet didn't point out the obvious - if I'm reading you right, Jeri stayed with your sister and her cat over the holiday, correct?

1) Did Jeri eat any of your sister's cat's food? Treats?

2) Is Jeri up-to-date on her vaccinations, and is your sister's cat up-to-date as well? If not, and given the low WBC with a viral potential, the incubation period is 7-10 days for most feline viral infections (and upper respiratory infections) -so did her symptoms start directly after the 7-day incubation period?

3) Was the feline pancreatitis the fPLI test that had to be sent to the lab? I'm wondering because this usually takes at least 3-4 days to get back results and you got your results the next day - so if the vet only used amylase and lipase enzymes in his own lab, they aren't going to be accurate for pancreatitis. It's the fPLI that is more accurate in diagnosing pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis can present with numerous symptoms, and each cat can be different - vomiting, painful abdomen, anorexia, diarrhea are the classic symptoms with or without a fever. Hopefully with antibiotics on board, you can get the fever reduced to normal range - however, you really want to monitor her temp and be sure it doesn't rise significantly again (in which case, to your vet or ER vet immediately).

jericat · Jan 6, 2017

Hi @cat-tech,

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

We did note to our vet that Jeri had been around her brother, playing rough and, while I'm not 100% if she ate his food, he was definitely in her food and water bowls. Her symptoms did start at the 6-day mark of her being removed from my sisters' place (9 days total since she was first there). Both cats are up-to-date on their vaccinations.

The xray did show some fluid in the back of her neck which we were going to biopsy, but when we returned to the vet on Tuesday, it appeared to have cleared up. Maybe this was a bite from a fight that caused an infection? To rule out any potential complications we did a feline leukemia test which was negative.

I'm not sure if the vet did the fPLI but I will ask to confirm. She did say pancreatitis could not be ruled out at this point. I will note however that Jeri did not have a fever either times we took her to the vet. As I mentioned, she has otherwise been normal after the initial vomit with food and hairball, even before and after her bile vomit last night.

Hoping the weekend goes well; we have a check-up on Monday morning.

Kieka · Jan 6, 2017

Here is hoping that it is just a kitty cold caught while visiting and that it goes away quickly.

My boy.... he is a gentle giant who doesn't know his own strength. One of his complications was re-breaking the broken leg and pin failure because he just doesn't know when to stop. A barrel of energy at almost 3 years old with 13 pounds of muscle to push him through anything. He managed to slip his splint down an inch on his leg (needing the emergency vet visit) when he was on crate rest with only 8 square feet of space to move in. This is him in a rare month of stillness.

20161225_102346.jpg

Kieka
Dec 25, 2016

*sigh* I will probably post something celebrating once we go a month without a vet visit. I am not super tough. I have my moments of breaking down (this year was tough not just with kitty drama but also my Dad in ICU for a few days, all better now, and Uncle passing away just before Christmas). But I know the only way to get thorough it sometimes is to shut down the emotions and take a step back to see what can be done. Then push through and take care of the problem or accept the situation and figure out how to move on. Panic and breaking down is a luxury reserved for once the crisis is past.

This site has been a great resource to talk to others. Reflect on the situations. Learn and grow. Hopefully you stick around and can see all it has to offer as time passes. Let us know how she is doing in a few days (and we love photos).

cat-tech · Jan 6, 2017

Jericat, I could have sworn I saw you mention a fever. My mistake.

It's tricky determining a viral between two cats who are both vaccinated/up-to-date - but I wanted to ask because even if properly vaccinated, a cat can still acquire a viral from another cat. I'm assuming your sister's cat has not been sick within two weeks or so before Jeri stayed with them? And, he's not sick now? (if not, can probably rule out viral, enteritis etc)

Strange about the fluid at the back of the neck - I would think your vet would have found that immediately upon exam rather than later on the xray. If due to a bite wound, it would have been obvious upon exam.

teacherdl · Jan 6, 2017

Reading this...I'm glad I'm not the only one that worries about my kitty and a lot! I hope your baby is better and everyone has a great weekend!

jericat · Jan 9, 2017

Hi all,

A quick update as we have just come from Jeri's follow-up appointment - all clear!

She had a really great weekend and didn't exhibit any pain or abnormalities in her physical exam this morning. Being the paranoid mother I am I asked a lot of questions of the vet and she explained that often abnormalities in the blood work can appear right after an incident so we're hoping that's why. She will continue with her antibiotics until Thursday and we have an appointment next month for her to return for follow-up bloodwork. We also explained that we moved a lot of furniture a couple of days prior to the vomiting and she said it could have been stress. Fingers crossed that my girl stays strong and we can chalk it up to an isolated incident. She has, however, gained 2lbs in the last week...totally my fault for overfeeding her, trying to make sure she has food in her stomach. Oops!! We're scaling back today.

Thanks again for all your concerns and good vibes. Jeri and I appreciate it!!!

jericat · Jan 9, 2017

You're not!! Thanks for thinking of us!!

jericat · Jan 9, 2017

cat-tech said:
Jericat, I could have sworn I saw you mention a fever. My mistake.

It's tricky determining a viral between two cats who are both vaccinated/up-to-date - but I wanted to ask because even if properly vaccinated, a cat can still acquire a viral from another cat. I'm assuming your sister's cat has not been sick within two weeks or so before Jeri stayed with them? And, he's not sick now? (if not, can probably rule out viral, enteritis etc)

Strange about the fluid at the back of the neck - I would think your vet would have found that immediately upon exam rather than later on the xray. If due to a bite wound, it would have been obvious upon exam.

Thanks cat-tech!

Yeah, it's weird...too be honest I'm not sure if she has a viral infection or if the bloodwork showed low WBC count because of the inflammation in her stomach. My sister's cat went for his annual exam last week and got a clean bill of health.

The fluid at the back of the neck is strange...she never felt it during the pre-blood work and post-blood work exams but wanted to address it anyway so that's why she's on antibiotics (Zeniquin) for 10 days (a few days left).

After her follow-up exam, all her vitals are good and she has no pain so the vet said continue to monitor and if she shows no further symptoms, it could have been a one-time thing. We also mentioned that we did move a lot of furniture around our condo a few days before so maybe it was the stress of travelling, interacting with another cat, and then having her home redesigned that did it.

We will be back in a month for follow-up bloodwork so fingers crossed we are good until then!

Thanks for taking the time to comment!!

Kieka · Jan 9, 2017

So glad to hear that she is doing well and has improved. It's always nice when our furbabies recover quickly from illness.

With a note to the fluid; I would get in the habit of petting her from nose to tail at least once a week and with feeling for lumps in mind. While it could have been, and likely was, a weird one off or reaction to a bug bite or something bumps make me nervous. Having lost a cat to cancer that started as a small bump I felt while petting him I do a full exam petting once a week on both of mine to check for any bumps or lumps. I am not saying yours is cancer; sounds more like a bite reaction of sorts and bites are on my mind because Link's bald spot ending up being a spider bite reaction. Anywho, just letting one cat momma know from another a health check of sorts to do just like self checks for breast cancer in humans. Rocket is much better at this and loves the deep massage like petting; Link tolerates me. lol

basschick · Jan 9, 2017

even if your cat has a health issue, it isn't necessarily a big deal. our cat has been what one vet called "a vomiter" for years. it's usually foamy, sometimes with a little hair or food - once in a while it happens right after he eats, though. the vet who bought the previous vet's practice prescribed a steroid, and the vomiting all but stopped; she felt it was pancreatitis but could be IBS. either way, he vomits once a week or less now instead of daily.

jericat · Jan 9, 2017

Kieka said:
So glad to hear that she is doing well and has improved. It's always nice when our furbabies recover quickly from illness.

With a note to the fluid; I would get in the habit of petting her from nose to tail at least once a week and with feeling for lumps in mind. While it could have been, and likely was, a weird one off or reaction to a bug bite or something bumps make me nervous. Having lost a cat to cancer that started as a small bump I felt while petting him I do a full exam petting once a week on both of mine to check for any bumps or lumps. I am not saying yours is cancer; sounds more like a bite reaction of sorts and bites are on my mind because Link's bald spot ending up being a spider bite reaction. Anywho, just letting one cat momma know from another a health check of sorts to do just like self checks for breast cancer in humans. Rocket is much better at this and loves the deep massage like petting; Link tolerates me. lol

Thank you Kieka!

Oooh, I pet my baby all the time! And believe me, I have been especially aware of the spot on her neck in the last week. I will continue to do so regularly.

Glad to find out that Link's bald spot was just due to a spider bite! Was thinking about him this weekend!!

jericat · Jan 9, 2017

basschick said:
even if your cat has a health issue, it isn't necessarily a big deal. our cat has been what one vet called "a vomiter" for years. it's usually foamy, sometimes with a little hair or food - once in a while it happens right after he eats, though. the vet who bought the previous vet's practice prescribed a steroid, and the vomiting all but stopped; she felt it was pancreatitis but could be IBS. either way, he vomits once a week or less now instead of daily.

Thanks basschick! Hearing that anything is wrong sends me into a tailspin. I realize that most cats have some sort of health issue during their life and live full and happy lives! I just need to work on bringing my nerves down

sailon · Feb 28, 2017

Kieka said:
I am right there with you on anxious kitty mom status. Good vibes and support your way

I wish I had an answer for you but it isn't anything I've come across before. I know that the diagnostics of cat illness is far behind dogs simply because there hasn't been a lot of research. There is also the problem of vet sciences focusing more on dogs and assuming that things cross the species line. Waiting for an answer of why our furbabies are not feeling well can be so hard. Those times where your cat gets better for no apparent reason and leaves with with diagnosis of "Fever of Unknown Origin" or something similar are a relief and a worry all at the same time.

A few ideas:

* You might want to try rescheduling her feeding times to be 3-4 feedings a day instead of just the 2. If you are gone in the middle of the day there are auto feeders out there from simple timers to more complex app controlled ones that you can use to get mid day feedings or even mid night feedings in without being there/awake.... Stress could have contributed to her body just saying enough with the amount of time between feeding..... Or her system liked the adjusted feeding schedule and is now not adjusting back well.

* The other thing that I can think of causing digestion problems is the food. I know she is on a prescription diet but you might want to see about alternatives. I know in humans a reaction to food can build up over time when encountering coming in contact with a new food. At first it just seems a little off and over time a little off turns into very off and the food doesn't agree with you. It can happen with age or exposure to something new in the food. So a far off theory could be a reaction to something in her food that reached critical level in her system. Especially if the vomiting is occurring shortly after eating.

* You could also try an elevated feeding station. I know random. But my Mom's cat has always vomited at least once a week since he was about 5 months old. We took him into the vet and no medical problem. Since it happened within minutes of eating it was most likely too fast eating according to the vet. Over time, he's almost 4 now, I realized, he eats too fast AND while he loved the taste of shrimp he started vomiting every time his food had shrimp (something that seemed to get more frequent with age, he used to gobble freeze dried shrimp as a kitten now if it has shrimp anywhere in it, even a smidgen, he vomits) AND I realized that if his bowl was just 2" higher it helped with preventing the vomiting. So between an elevated feeding station, smaller portions in his bowl (larger in the other two cats who never finish, so he moves from station to station when they finish which slows him enough to allow him to breathe) AND avoiding foods with shrimp I have gotten his frequent vomiting down to once a month. Even that I can avoid if I stop him from munching on dry food while I call the other two over for dinner. Impatient little brat *sigh*

That is my uneducated non-medical thoughts. Another option is to visit another vet or pay a small fee (I think its usually $22) to JustAnswer to have a vet review your information and offer possible alternatives. I've done the JustAnswer a few times for a second opinion on things or alternative perspective. Slightly cheaper and a little less stress then a physical exam but they are limited because they can't feel or touch for answers.

Kieka....caught your reply when searching "vomiting" and had a question. How does elevated feeding station fit into the equation? I'm not particularly worried. but Maxine has thrown up about 3 times in the last month. I don't see anything in the vomit. just the food. She's 6 years old, strictly indoors, and appears to be, and always has been, in good health. She's never thrown up before, not even hairballs. She has always been on a diet of alternating meat and seafood wet food. I recently removed the seafood and have just been feeding her a meat mix. She gets fed 3 times a day. No other changes in her environment.

She has always eaten too fast, but it never seemed to be a problem in the past. Though I'll probably go to the vet anyway I thought I'd at least check the forum for ideas, and was curious about the elevated feeding station.

Thanks.

Kieka · Feb 28, 2017

sailon said:
Kieka....caught your reply when searching "vomiting" and had a question. How does elevated feeding station fit into the equation? I'm not particularly worried. but Maxine has thrown up about 3 times in the last month. I don't see anything in the vomit. just the food. She's 6 years old, strictly indoors, and appears to be, and always has been, in good health. She's never thrown up before, not even hairballs. She has always been on a diet of alternating meat and seafood wet food. I recently removed the seafood and have just been feeding her a meat mix. She gets fed 3 times a day. No other changes in her environment.

She has always eaten too fast, but it never seemed to be a problem in the past. Though I'll probably go to the vet anyway I thought I'd at least check the forum for ideas, and was curious about the elevated feeding station.

Thanks.

It changes the angle of their neck. It also causes them to sit slightly different which makes the stomach and intestines less scrunched. My cats tend to eat a little slower with the elevated bowls. Rocket tends to take pieces out to eat but I think its more that my bowls are a smidgen too small for comfort. But I plan on getting larger ones once my kitty funds are back up enough to get three larger bowls.

Here is Link demonstrating the greek style eating from his elevated bowl feeding. He only does this once in a while.

20170216_180007_001.jpg

Kieka
Feb 28, 2017

sailon · Feb 28, 2017

Love the pic, and thanks for the feedback. Makes sense, and I'll try it right away, though Max does the same as rocket. I switched from a bowl to a plate (the wiskers theory), but she still takes the food from the plate and eats it off the floor. Not a big deal, but curious.

Thanks again.

Cat with onset vomiting but otherwise fine. Help?

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