Cat Vomiting Almost Everyday

[Bduty93]

Madison is almost 13 years old and she runs, plays, jumps and generally has a decent time moving. And litter box habits are unchanged and regular. She is a larger cat and always has been heavy but it isn’t hindering her. However she seems to throw up at least once a day, up to 3 to 5 times in one occurrence.

Her diet:
1/2 a can twice a day of Friskies Paté
Three or four Meow Mix Irresistibles (Soft) a couple times a day
A little chopped chicken maybe twice a week

We think it has to do with the Meow Mix Irresistibles as she usually throws up about an hour or two later. But there have been days where we won’t give her them and she still does it.

So we were just wondering if anyone has any ideas about the situation. We just want to make her happy AND healthy. Thank you in advance.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! She's gorgeous!!
Does she have hairballs? Can you try grooming her more frequently?

Can you try adding about a teaspoon of plain pumpkin to her food?

Try some purebites or orijen freeze dried treats.

 

[Bduty93]

Thank you.

We brush her once a day. She almost never throws up hairballs. It’s almost always pure food that comes up.

But we can definitely try more brushing, pumpkin and different treats.

 

[Furballsmom]

Well, she'll love the increased attention even if hairballs aren't an issue

I think that if all these things don't have a positive effect, you might want to consider a vet visit.

Try the treats change first, then if there's no change try a different food, Merrick Backcountry, natural balance, fancy feast, tractor supply has 4health available online...

Does she get filtered water?

 

[Bduty93]

She gets tap water currently, she’s not a big water drinker to begin with. Maybe a couple sips a day. We also have a rabbit and he does drink bottled water. Would bottled water be okay to use for her?

 

[bigbacon]

Take cat to the vet. We had a 12 year that was doing that once or twice a day. He ended up with some real health problems with lungs and heart. Check the puke and see if there is any weird bits in it. He was very active until like 2 days before he just went downhill fast. we think he was having clots and puking them up.

 

[Bduty93]

The puke doesn’t have anything weird in it. Just her food. We thought maybe her stomach is just super sensitive. We are going to try different snacks and pumpkin first but a vet visit is definitely on the list if it keeps up. Thank you.

 

[LTS3]

I would take the cat to the vet soon, within the next week or so if possible. Vomiting daily is not normal and could get worse. Older cats can have food sensitivities or gastrointestinal issues. Make sure the vet does bloodwork and ask about IBD and other tummy issues.

 

[Furballsmom]

Bottled water is good for kitties, as long as the bottles haven't been exposed to a long period of heat.
I have disagreement in my own household about that one LOL but there are people who believe that the chemicals in the plastic bottle can leach into the water.

 

[Bduty93]

LTS3: We will definitely take her if nothing changes over the next week. Thank you.

Furballsmom: Then bottled water it is. We keep it stocked down stairs where it’s cool so it should be safe for her.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Furballsmom]

See if she drinks more with this water, I'm thinking she may like the taste better.
If not, you could try adding a little water to her pate. A shot glass helps for stirring it together.
If she's accepting of that (although I doubt it'll help with the vomiting but you never know) it will get more hydration into her, which would help to offset what she's losing from the vomiting.

 

[ginnyj]

My 9 year old Tabby was doing the same thing in spite of changing her food many times (to find one easy on her tummy) feeding in small frequent amounts, switching from wet to dry etc. I tried most everything suggested. Finally I agreed to have my vet do an ultrasound and it showed "Inflammatory Bowel Disease." He said that occurs in about 25% of cats. Only suggestion he had was to keep her on the "one ingredient" food she had been on for a while and start her on daily Prednisone tablets. I wish I could say the Prednisone 2.5 then 5 mg tablets were working but although it worked for a few weeks the 2-3x a week vomiting has resumed. Now he wants to give him 5mg twice a day. I don't need to say it's a challenge to corner him but fortunately once I've got him contained putting it deep into his throat is easy.

 

[Bduty93]

25% of cats is pretty high, so it sounds possible for my paddy cat. Can’t hurt to have it checked. I got her from my mom about a year and a half ago and she never took her to the vet so we are nervous about how she’ll react. But thank you everyone. We will apply all of this and let you know the out come.

 

[Furballsmom]

There are over the counter calming products, from treats to collars, sprays--handy for spraying the carrier, and a wide variety of ingredients from tryptophan, casein, valerian, chamomile...if you put the carrier out in the room and put a trail of a few treats inside, does she go in and eat them? You could try this, if she doesn't approach the carrier at all you might want a calming spray.

 

[Bduty93]

She actually sleeps in a carrier that we got her a while ago for emergencies, we just leave it open and out all the time, so I know she’ll get in it herself. But I will definitely check out a cleaning products for the actual visit.

 

[Bduty93]

Calming not cleaning. Haha

 

[LTS3]

IBD is confirmed with a biopsy. Many people opt to do a ultrasound because a biopsy can be expensive (can be as much as $2000+). Just something to keep in mind if you want to get to the bottom of your cat's vomiting.

 

[Bduty93]

It appears to have been the snacks we were feeding her. Once we switched that she hasn’t thrown up once. Thank you for your help everyone.