Cat vomiting after move! Help! I’m so worried!

[BastetCatMomma]

We moved into a new house on Saturday. My cat was perfectly healthy and fine. She was eating regularly and going to the bathroom regularly. Then early Sunday morning she vomited clear liquid in the bedroom. I stayed with her Sunday most of the day and she was fine. She ate. It was good. Then Sunday night she threw up liquid again. Monday I had to go to work and I came home to find she vomited on my bedsheets. Like—real vomit this time. The. She woke me up Monday vomiting clear liquid. She still seems hungry, but I also noticed she has not pooped in her litter in 2 days now. And I noticed she ate less today. Though she definitely still ate. I am so confused. We feed her a strictly wet food diet and she has never had a real hairball issue… Has any one else ever experienced this? I am very worried. She seemed totally fine before the move

 

[solomonar]

My tomcat suddenly experienced hairball issues - he vomited every other day for more than a week.
He is 5 years old, and has gastritis. I made the terrible mistake of considering that changing food + gastritis caused this.
Fortunately, I took him to the vet and boom! hairball issues + gastritis, which was caused by the hairball this time.

Because it was already late for using only diet, the vet had to treat him by medication, and that made him lethargic for a week or so. Eventually, fully recovered, fortunately.

Lesson learnt: never assume! In case of doubt, go go go to the vet!

However, just to make sure:
- check all cleaning agents - cats are very sensitive to some of them, and since you just moved. chances are to extensively cleaned the surfaces and agents could last for many days
- check the cans - some be be to old; to make sure, throw all of them and buy new ones (from the same manufacturer)
- check the plants and flowers - a lot about this subject on this forum
- check leftovers - like dropped food, forgotten in some hidden places (there are hidden places for humans, and hidden places for cats :-))
- check the rodents and the rodents traps and poison
- check the cockroaches poison and traps - of any, not to be accessible for the cat (most manufacturers say that mammals are not affected, but I wouldn't be so sure).

 

[cylon.descendant]

I'm sorry you and your kitty are going through this stress! It's possible the stress of the move has affected her and that is playing some role, but it could also be a coincidence.

As someone with a kitty who has gone through bouts of vomiting and eating less, I know how worrisome this is and how much it sucks to see your little buddy not doing well. Are you able to get her into a vet for a checkup? Having the info from that would help you to get a better idea of what's going on, and/or rule things out.

It's a great thing that she's still eating a bit at least. If cats stop eating, it can become dire quite quickly, as they are prone to fatty liver disease developing if they go without food for a few days. If they go a full day refusing food, I personally would treat that as serious, due to the risk of liver disease if it prolongs. Not wanting to scare you -- I just didn't know about this until my own little guy stopped eating altogether when he was ill (luckily I got him into a vet soon, and they filled me in on this risk in case it happened again).

Depending on what's going on, vets can sometimes prescribe an appetite stimulant, or an anti-nausea med. While waiting on test results, my cat had an appetite stimulant to make sure he ate each day.

I imagine there could be lots of explanations for your kitty's vomiting and food issues. Some may be relatively simple and may pass on their own, others may need treatment. For my cat, we discovered that he has chronic pancreatitis and IBD. Vomiting and anorexia are pretty common with pancreatitis. He is on gabapentin (a pain med) to deal with any pain, and if he has a flare-up we do a course of a med that helps with the inflammation. That said, this doesn't mean it's what your kitty has. Just an example of one issue that can present with those kinds of symptoms.

I think if you can get her to a vet, that is your best bet for peace of mind and answers. Hopefully it is nothing more than a reaction to the stress of change, though!

 

[BastetCatMomma]

I'm sorry you and your kitty are going through this stress! It's possible the stress of the move has affected her and that is playing some role, but it could also be a coincidence.

As someone with a kitty who has gone through bouts of vomiting and eating less, I know how worrisome this is and how much it sucks to see your little buddy not doing well. Are you able to get her into a vet for a checkup? Having the info from that would help you to get a better idea of what's going on, and/or rule things out.

It's a great thing that she's still eating a bit at least. If cats stop eating, it can become dire quite quickly, as they are prone to fatty liver disease developing if they go without food for a few days. If they go a full day refusing food, I personally would treat that as serious, due to the risk of liver disease if it prolongs. Not wanting to scare you -- I just didn't know about this until my own little guy stopped eating altogether when he was ill (luckily I got him into a vet soon, and they filled me in on this risk in case it happened again).

Depending on what's going on, vets can sometimes prescribe an appetite stimulant, or an anti-nausea med. While waiting on test results, my cat had an appetite stimulant to make sure he ate each day.

I imagine there could be lots of explanations for your kitty's vomiting and food issues. Some may be relatively simple and may pass on their own, others may need treatment. For my cat, we discovered that he has chronic pancreatitis and IBD. Vomiting and anorexia are pretty common with pancreatitis. He is on gabapentin (a pain med) to deal with any pain, and if he has a flare-up we do a course of a med that helps with the inflammation. That said, this doesn't mean it's what your kitty has. Just an example of one issue that can present with those kinds of symptoms.

I think if you can get her to a vet, that is your best bet for peace of mind and answers. Hopefully it is nothing more than a reaction to the stress of change, though!

Unfortunately because we JUST bought a house our finances are so tight. They won’t always be but the next little while is going to be REALLY tough. So it’s hard. I truly do not have the money to spare. BUT she did eat all her food and is pooping again. She just looks kind of sad. And usually the vomiting is unproductive. All but one time it has just been clear liquid. Does this sound like stress? I do not believe she has been poisoned. There were no new chemicals in the new house that I could tell. No traps or anything. And her water is filtered in a cat fountain so I think the water is ok. We live literally a street away from our old house. It’s likely the same water source…

 

[di and bob]

I think it is the stress of the move. I also think that taking her to a vet would give her MORE stress. As long as there is any kind of improvement (her eating/pooping again etc.) I would give it some time and see how she does. If she starts hiding or doesn't eat again for over two days, then you'll have to bring her in. If you leave, make sure you leave a dirty t-shirt or clothing behind for her to be reassured by your scent, and try to just spend a little more time with her. Encourage play and exploration of the new spaces. For now, you might leave a radio or tv on too if you are gone. You might try some wet food, hopefully in the same brand, for sensitive stomachs. Cats who are truly sick will hide and stop eating.

 

[MissClouseau]

It's extremely common for cats to have bowel movement issues due to the stress of the move OR due to they don't like something about their new litterbox place. Maybe it wasn't only she had constipation, maybe she held it (at least in the beginning) because she didn't like something about her new litterbox (place).

If I were you I would give probiotics like Fortiflora (helps to get her eat too), use a hairball remedy daily, and brush her hair for now.

 

[BeccaCat]

Hello! I adopted two cats last week. One of them was definitely anxious and she vomited after we got her home. Took them to the vet for symptoms of URI (unrelated to the vomiting) but after the vet the nervous kitty started vomiting more. I do think it was stress and all the changes in her world. I was able to do a follow up TeleVet appointment which cost me less and was way less stress on the cat. The vet prescribed something to help settle her nausea and she is much happier now. Maybe you could try a televisit with your own vet and get their opinion? It worked out so well for us. Hope your kitty feels better soon!!

 

[cylon.descendant]

Unfortunately because we JUST bought a house our finances are so tight. They won’t always be but the next little while is going to be REALLY tough. So it’s hard. I truly do not have the money to spare. BUT she did eat all her food and is pooping again. She just looks kind of sad. And usually the vomiting is unproductive. All but one time it has just been clear liquid. Does this sound like stress? I do not believe she has been poisoned. There were no new chemicals in the new house that I could tell. No traps or anything. And her water is filtered in a cat fountain so I think the water is ok. We live literally a street away from our old house. It’s likely the same water source…

That sounds like a good sign that she is eating and pooping again! I'm glad to hear that. I think that as others have mentioned, if she's eating and having bowel movements, then it's probably okay to keep monitoring her and hold off on the vet (I don't have medical expertise myself though, so trust your gut too). The point where things would get serious is if she stops eating altogether. If she is starting to make improvements, I think it is reasonable to hold off on the vet and just keep an eye on her for now! I hope that she's feeling more like herself soon <3

 

[BastetCatMomma]

I called the vet and they said to bring her in if it continues through Thursday. I think she seemed better yesterday and she did not vomit during the day but she did vomit at night again just now. Mostly food mixed with water. I noticed she is eating less but definitely still eating. I suppose this is an improvement because there was no vomiting while we were at work today. I just hate to see her suffer. The vet tech told me this was pretty normal. But obviously I’m still concerned. She is my baby. I have never seen her like this. I bought one of those Feliway anxiety diffusers. I hope that will help. She always seems ok afterward. But it’s always randomly in the middle of the night. This is breaking my heart.

 

[di and bob]

I know how scary this can be, it seems to just consume your life. As long as she is eating/drinking/using the litterbox and not hiding, I would just give her more attention and time. It sounds like there are small improvements, cling to that.

 

[cylon.descendant]

I called the vet and they said to bring her in if it continues through Thursday. I think she seemed better yesterday and she did not vomit during the day but she did vomit at night again just now. Mostly food mixed with water. I noticed she is eating less but definitely still eating. I suppose this is an improvement because there was no vomiting while we were at work today. I just hate to see her suffer. The vet tech told me this was pretty normal. But obviously I’m still concerned. She is my baby. I have never seen her like this. I bought one of those Feliway anxiety diffusers. I hope that will help. She always seems ok afterward. But it’s always randomly in the middle of the night. This is breaking my heart.

I'm so sorry that you and the kitty are going through the stress of this experience. I know how worrying it is, and how much it hurts to see them sick or unwell in some way. It makes it harder that they can't just tell us what's wrong so we know how to help! But I do think that the improvements you've had are some good signs. Be gentle with yourself as you deal with all of this on top of the stress of a move <3

 

[BastetCatMomma]

UPDATE:
She woke us up vomiting 4 times on Tuesday night. It was by far the worst episode. I could not bear to see her like that. I borrowed money from my parents and I took her to the vet. Vet did a physical exam and could find no issues. As she was still peeing and pooping regularly it was unlikely she was blocked. He gave her an injection of an anti-nausea/anti-vomiting medicine and food for a sensitive tummy. He also did bloodwork just to be sure. I will find out the results of the bloodwork today. But he seemed to believe it was likely stress related. I stayed with her all day yesterday. I think that helped. No vomiting last night and she seems in much better spirits. I’m very relieved. Praying the bloodwork comes back normal!

 

[di and bob]

Me too! I pray this will all resolve itself soon!

 

[BastetCatMomma]

GOOD NEWS! ALL BLOODWORK CANE BACK COMPLETELY NORMAL!!! So happy! It is pretty much confirmed that this is a stress issue—which isn’t good—but it is way better then some sort of chronic condition.

 

[cylon.descendant]

GOOD NEWS! ALL BLOODWORK CANE BACK COMPLETELY NORMAL!!! So happy! It is pretty much confirmed that this is a stress issue—which isn’t good—but it is way better then some sort of chronic condition.

I'm so glad you were able to get her to the vet and that the exam/tests brought good news!! I hope that brings you some peace of mind, and I hope the anti-nausea meds help her as she settles in.

 

[Jcatbird]

You did mention she looked unhappy. She just left the home she knew. The new house is probably a bit intimidating to her. Can you take her around the whole place with you to show here every nook and cranny? Make it a nice exploration together. You can hold her while you walk from spot to spot and then keep her company when she gets down to look around and put her scent in every nook and cranny. This will help her to establish the new house as her house. Maybe put her toys throughout the place too. As di and bob suggested, putting clothing around with your scent can help de stress her. You can brush her and use the shed fur to put in spots around the house to do the same thing. Her scent could help her feel more settled. I am so sorry you and kitty are going through this. I know it was scary for all. Cats really aren’t great with change so my hope is that she quickly learns that she has a nice new place that is safe and loving to enjoy with you. No monsters under the bed! I hope she is over it all and you can just spend time with her now in every room to get to know your new Home in a good way.

 

[di and bob]

Ha, Ha! I had to laugh reading to brush her and spread her hair around the house. As I'm cleaning all the hair out from under the couch, defurring the chairs, and wiping hair off my dresser! I would bet her fur being spread around will happen very soon, and as we all know too, a cat under stress sheds like rain from the sky!

 

[Sevilay28]

My tomcat suddenly experienced hairball issues - he vomited every other day for more than a week.
He is 5 years old, and has gastritis. I made the terrible mistake of considering that changing food + gastritis caused this.
Fortunately, I took him to the vet and boom! hairball issues + gastritis, which was caused by the hairball this time.

Because it was already late for using only diet, the vet had to treat him by medication, and that made him lethargic for a week or so. Eventually, fully recovered, fortunately.

Lesson learnt: never assume! In case of doubt, go go go to the vet!

However, just to make sure:
- check all cleaning agents - cats are very sensitive to some of them, and since you just moved. chances are to extensively cleaned the surfaces and agents could last for many days
- check the cans - some be be to old; to make sure, throw all of them and buy new ones (from the same manufacturer)
- check the plants and flowers - a lot about this subject on this forum
- check leftovers - like dropped food, forgotten in some hidden places (there are hidden places for humans, and hidden places for cats :-))
- check the rodents and the rodents traps and poison
- check the cockroaches poison and traps - of any, not to be accessible for the cat (most manufacturers say that mammals are not affected, but I wouldn't be so sure).

Hi! I need you so much. Gastritis due to hair problem! Exactly the problem my cat is having. But mine is not getting better. We visited 5 veterinarians but no results. Please help, please. What did you use?