3 cats gagging

[tnhand1022]

Hi everyone,

We have 3 sick cats in the house. The only symptoms they have in common is lethargy, gagging, and sometimes vomiting. All of them are eating and drinking, no diarrhea or constipation, no runny nose, watery eyes, or sneezing. The biggest oddity is that the symptoms aren't constant - they ebb and flow. Sometimes they still want to run around and play, but then 2 hours later they're gagging again.

Marky Mark has had this for 8 days, Murphy for 3, and Donnie for 1. They all went to the vet on Fri. She found no symptoms of obstruction, distemper, worms, or anything else communicable. She blamed the symptoms on a 4-day change in food the week before, and treated with an anti-emetic shot & fluids.

The shot that should've lasted 24 hours didn't keep Marky Mark from vomiting in the middle of the night. And then Donnie started gagging Sat morning. Today Murphy had wheezy breathing for a few minutes, and Marky Mark has coughed about 10 times - it sounds like a hairball but isn't productive.

The other wild card is that we got 2 foster kittens 2 weeks ago. Unbeknownst to me, they came into my house unvaccinated. I took them to their own vet on Fri where they were examined and vaccinated. They have absolutely no symptoms & all blood/fecal tests were negative.

I'm at a loss. I've had cats for 30 years, but never had an illness like this that seems communicable. But if it's communicable, why are the kittens still healthy? And why do the sick kitties have symptoms that come & go?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Nicole

 

[miss mew]

Hi Nicole

I'm not sure what the issue could be.  Do you go to a feline only vet?  I've had better success with them personally.  I'm sure there will be other members along to this thread shortly that may have some imput.

 

[tnhand1022]

She's not a feline-only vet, but she did diagnose one of my other cats with proximal femoral metaphyseal osteopathy - not exactly a garden-variety illness. If I end up taking them to another vet, I'll definitely take your suggestion to heart. Thanks for replying!

 

[detmut]

 
Hi everyone,

We have 3 sick cats in the house. The only symptoms they have in common is lethargy, gagging, and sometimes vomiting. All of them are eating and drinking, no diarrhea or constipation, no runny nose, watery eyes, or sneezing. The biggest oddity is that the symptoms aren't constant - they ebb and flow. Sometimes they still want to run around and play, but then 2 hours later they're gagging again.

Marky Mark has had this for 8 days, Murphy for 3, and Donnie for 1. They all went to the vet on Fri. She found no symptoms of obstruction, distemper, worms, or anything else communicable. She blamed the symptoms on a 4-day change in food the week before, and treated with an anti-emetic shot & fluids.

The shot that should've lasted 24 hours didn't keep Marky Mark from vomiting in the middle of the night. And then Donnie started gagging Sat morning. Today Murphy had wheezy breathing for a few minutes, and Marky Mark has coughed about 10 times - it sounds like a hairball but isn't productive.

The other wild card is that we got 2 foster kittens 2 weeks ago. Unbeknownst to me, they came into my house unvaccinated. I took them to their own vet on Fri where they were examined and vaccinated. They have absolutely no symptoms & all blood/fecal tests were negative.

I'm at a loss. I've had cats for 30 years, but never had an illness like this that seems communicable. But if it's communicable, why are the kittens still healthy? And why do the sick kitties have symptoms that come & go?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Nicole

did this all start after you got the fosters?

 

[tnhand1022]

 
did this all start after you got the fosters?

Yes! I assumed they'd caught worms or another parasite from the kittens. But the vet said it wasn't enough time for anything to have grown big enough to cause symptoms. Also, the kittens have no symptoms, and their two siblings that were already adopted out are perfectly healthy too.

The vet asked me to bring my cats back in 3 weeks to get boosters, and to do another fecal test.

 

[tnhand1022]

UPDATE: One vet wants them treated for herpes, while the other is sure it's an environmental toxin or allergen. Grr!

I gave them all a dose of loratidine yesterday, and they had almost instant symptom relief. We got some lysine chews, but only Marky Mark seems interested. All 3 boys were up, eating, bird-watching, and being cuddly this morning. Marky Mark had two coughing spells yesterday, and Donnie has hacked up some clear phlegm. Other than gagging, these are still the only symptoms! No sneezing, wheezing, eye discharge, runny noses, or anything.

It seems almost like they all caught a cold, but the foster kittens are both still perfectly healthy. I really don't know what to make of it, and I guess the vets don't either!

 

[stephanietx]

If the loratadine helped, then it's allergy related.  You can find Lysine tablets at the store.  Just crush them between two spoons.  I use the powdered form and add it to my  cats' wet food with a bit of water so it dissolves.

 

[sarah ann]

It could be a virus. The kittens may have already recovered from, but still were contagious. I took one my cats to the vet. He picked up a virus while there. Everyone in my house had diarrhea and vomiting for a few days but it quickly passed

I would switch food just in case you got a bad batch.

How is your air quality? Central heating or air sometimes grows mold in the vents. But it is expensive to get them cleaned.

 

[miss mew]

Just checking in to see how your kitties are doing?

 

[tnhand1022]

UPDATE #2: Marky Mark has fully recovered as of Saturday. He's currently giving the foster kittens a run for their money! Poor Donnie has been throwing up big bellyfuls of phlegm about once/day. Murphy has red eyes that are kinda goopy, and both have had some labored breathing.

The loratidine really, really helps. But the positive effects don't last a full 24 hours. So today I started giving it every 20 hours, to try and head off the returning symptoms. We'll see how that works.

Marky Mark had this gunk for 2 full weeks, so I'm expecting Donnie & Murphy to have it until this weekend. If it's a virus, it would explain why Marky Mark is just fine now without loratidine. But if it's a virus, why are they responding so well to allergy meds? And why are the foster kittens completely unaffected?

 

[miss mew]

It is a mystery!  I'm so glad to hear that there is a response to meds though!