Cat vomiting..

[toonces33]

We have a female cat - about 13 years old. Recently she started vomiting every couple of days - not a hairball. And it stinks. Most recently it was this morning at 4AM, so we are a little short on sleep right now.

We took her to the vet - the main thing they noted was that the white blood count was up. Their opinion was that it was either cancer of some sort, or an intestinal infection, for which they gave us medicine. For 1800$ they offered to use an endoscope to see whether it was cancer or not.

We have a devil of a time getting her to take any of the medication. Maybe get one or two doses in her and then she gets wise to us, and then she won't take any more. We tried treats with pockets for pills - that didn't work. We tried putting the medication in something that she really likes - that didn't work either. She has always been an incredibly finicky eater, and any weird flavor just puts her off completely.

Anyways, that's where we stand. My wife is thinking of taking her to a different vet to get a 2nd opinion, but beyond that we are out of ideas.

For what it is worth, her appetite is fine when you give her something that she likes.

 

[LTS3]

It could be gastrointestinal issues of some kind such as IBD. A biopsy would be helpful but it's expensive. Some people opt to do just an ultrasound. An internal medicine vet may be more helpful than a regular vet.

Many medications can be compounded into an easier to give form such as a flavored treat or transdermal gel.

For pills, TCS has these suggestions besides the typical Pill Pocket / flavored pill dough and hiding in stinky food suggestions:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – Cat Articles
The Best Pill-taking Secret I Know...
Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely
How We Give Our Pill Hating Cat A Pill
Getting Cat To Take Pills... Post Tips Here.

 

[toonces33]

Thanks for the reply. I would have to ask my wife - I believe we did do an ultrasound, but I can't be sure. At the time, they were doing a quick exam to look for a blockage of some sort.

We did some reading - the medication in question is something that cats are known to hate the taste of. Covering it up - even with something like fish sauce (which she would normally eat) wasn't enough. And they tell us to not crush the pills, either.

The transdermal thing sounds quite doable however. We could rub some on the inside of her ear, and it probably wouldn't bug her that much.

Anyways, I think we will try a 2nd vet (my wife wasn't all that happy with the 1st one anyways - we are in a new area, and don't have an established vet). Although to be fair, this was right when covid was really going, and my wife had to wait in the parking lot while they were examining the cat, and that made it seem very impersonal. I think now things have opened up a bit so that will no longer be required.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Does she like FortiFlora? I recently had to give my cat antibiotics, and what I did was use pill pockets, but not the entire thing. First off, I cut the pull into quarters because it was rather large, then I smooshed up a little bit of pill pocket to make 4 flat disks, then with tweezers I picked up each quarter of the pill and placed them on the pill pocket disks. Then I smooshed up more pill pocket to make covers for those pills and very carefully covered them completely and rolled them into little balls sealing them really good without ever touching the pills to the outside of the little ball of pill pocket. That way there is no pill smell on it. Next I poured out a bit of Forti Flora on a plate, then dampened my fingers so I could slightly dampen each one of those balls and roll them in the Forti Flora. THEN I ran my still dampened finger through the leftover Forti Flora and let my cat lick that off, then immediately gave him one of the little "treats", immediately followed by another so he didn't have time to really chew it, then followed by another finger lick of Forti Flora. I only gave him 2 "treats" at a time because if I gave all four at once he would upchuck them from not chewing them . But an hour or so later you could do the other two. (I actually only prepared two at a time

Of course this only work with tablets, and if your cat likes Forti Flora.

With a raised WBC, it does sound like an infection, so if there is any way to get the antibiotics in her, that's definitely your best bet to try to rule out anything else. Worst case scenario, see if you can hire a Vet Tech to come over and medicate her. Call around to all the Vet's in your area and ask if anyone there does that. We did that for one of our cats and found someone who lives right around the corner!

 

[LTS3]

What is the name of the medication your cat is currently taking? Flagyl (metronidazole) is known to be bitter yucky tasting to cats in pill and liquid form. You can have most any mediciation compounded into a different form for easier giving. Ask the vet. A local compounding pharmacy can do this for you. Apply a transdermal gel to the inside of the ear with a q-tip or gloved finger to prevent the medication from being absorbed through your skin.

 

[toonces33]

What is the name of the medication your cat is currently taking? Flagyl (metronidazole) is known to be bitter yucky tasting to cats in pill and liquid form.

Yeah, that's the one. Why do they even bother prescribing it then? Is there something better we should be asking for? Or do some cats tolerate it?

I hadn't heard of FortiFlora before - a probiotic for cats, I guess.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Many folks consider FortiFlora "crack" for cats. Most cats go absolutely crazy for it and will ljust gobble it up. I don't typically use it as a probiotic because it doesn't really have enough strains in it for my taste (no pun intended), but I DO keep it on hand to use as a topper for my one cat who likes it. However, I have another cat who hates it. Anyway, it comes in a box with little packets inside, and, to me, smells like beef bullion. I think places like Petco sell it. (I usually order mine on-line)

 

[toonces33]

I thought I would post an update. Lots of news - all good.

Last Friday (a week ago), we took her to a different vet. Gave them the lowdown on the other prescription that she wouldn't take. They did an exam and an X-ray. Saw signs of inflamation in stomach and upper intestine. Lower intestine looked OK, and normal poops were passing through her system. They want her back again in a week - they can do an ultrasound, if they think it is warranted.

They gave us a new pill - a steroid of sorts that will reduce inflamation. There was also a liquid they sort of described like "Tums" that we could give her orally along with the pill. Finally they gave us "marinol" to be delivered transdermally (derived from marijuana - used frequently to stimulate the appetite).

It took a little practice to give her a squirt of the liquid along with the pill, but she doesn't hate it. The transdermal thing is pretty easy as she likes having her ears rubbed.

In any case, she has not vomited in the week since we went to the vet (it used to be once every day or two). In addition, her appetite is fantastic.

Anyways, for the time being anyways, things are looking up.

 

[toonces33]

The "steroid" really wasn't that - we just touched base with the vet by phone , and it was really an anti-nausea medication that also has some sort of anti-inflamatory. We are about out of that, so what the plan going forward is just to keep an eye on her and see how she does without it.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Great update. Hope she continues to do well without the anti-nausea drug

 

[toonces33]

Another update. We had a few vomiting issues, even with the meds. It gets real old cleaning that stuff up at 4AM, so we scheduled another vet appointment.

Now you have to understand that my wife was already totally convinced that the cat had cancer, and I had to keep telling her not to assume this and let the vet work it out. And when we got the cat there, just from the description the vet did think that cancer was a possibility.

Anyways, the vet did an ultrasound, and found no sign of any abnormal growth, so we are back to IBD. The vet went over diet with us - there are some foods like chicken and beef that cats sometimes develop a bit of an allergy to, so for the time being we are limiting to seafood types of wet cat food.

She also eats Blue Buffalo duck flavored dry food, which of course isn't chicken or beef, and the vet didn't think that would be an issue because it isn't chicken or beef. I don't quite recall how we found that - we call it "cat crack" because all of our cats seem to like it (a lot).

The vet talked about the possibility of using steroids to reduce inflammation, but didn't want to do this quite yet as there are side effects.

Anyways the ultrasound was on Tuesday, and we haven't had another vomiting issue since then.

 

[di and bob]

I try to get all my medications in liquid form, put the dose on a plate, and cover it up with Hartz lickable treats in the stew. I have NEVER had a cat refuse this gel treat, it even keeps them alive during the times their Leukemia rears its ugly head. Since I started giving them LifeGold from Amazon, they have not had an episode. I also give them a daily dose of DMG, and Dinovite probiotics fro cats (much smaller amounts then what is called for, they won't eat it) I do all I can to reduce inflammation and build up their immunity.

 

[toonces33]

I try to get all my medications in liquid form, put the dose on a plate, and cover it up with Hartz lickable treats in the stew. I have NEVER had a cat refuse this gel treat, it even keeps them alive during the times their Leukemia rears its ugly head. Since I started giving them LifeGold from Amazon, they have not had an episode. I also give them a daily dose of DMG, and Dinovite probiotics fro cats (much smaller amounts then what is called for, they won't eat it) I do all I can to reduce inflammation and build up their immunity.

Heh - in a previous vet visit, the gave us packets of a probiotic powder, and the intent was that we give it to all of our cats. That lasted exactly one meal. Nobody would eat anything that night - not even our glutton cat. We had to put down fresh food with no probiotic.

Now that we know for sure that it isn't cancer, it is worth a shot to revisit this..

The vet recommended that we give some form of Pepcid, but we inadvertently got cherry flavor intended for humans, and I can pretty much guarantee that that won't go down without a fight. This cat has always been a finicky eater - any kind of unusual odor, and she won't eat the food. And trying to catch her to give her a pill is an ordeal that leaves her stressed.

 

[di and bob]

Get some of that lickable treat, I can almost guarantee they will be fighting over it like my cats.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Depending on which Blue Buffalo Duck kibble you are feeding, some of them have chicken in them. Labels can be SO deceptive . BB Wilderness Duck has Chicken Meal in it. I think only the BB Basics Limited Duck is chicken free but didn't look at every single one of them.

So glad it doesn't appear to be cancer, AND that she's doing well on this new regimen. This doesn't sound like IBD to me, as kibble and IBD don't mix, and depending on which wet food you're having to feed, those might not mix either. Not that seafood is all bad, but just depends on what else is in there. So I'm thinking maybe it's just a food intolerance . I only say this because she isn't vomiting now and is still eating kibble.

Here is a very informative website about IBD: Feline Nutrition – IBDKitties

So whatever happened with her raised WBC? Did anyone ever figure out what was causing that? I don't see where that was ever addressed? Also, if you ever decide you DO want to give her Pepcid, it's Pepcid A/C (and ONLY that one!!) and I believe it's 1/4 of a tablet. You can also get it compounded as an injectable, which is what we did for one of our kidney cat. That made it so much easier to give. Just injected it right into her scruff and she never knew what hit her. We'd usually give it to her while she was getting her loving

 

[toonces33]

Followup. We kind of struggled for a bit - giving her the anti-nausea meds, but she didn't like it and became more reclusive, and there was still the occasional vomit, and she still wasn't gaining weight back. I don't even recall some of the things we tried last fall. Back then, we could kind of hear her stomach gurgle when she was on the verge of throwing up.

We had a few vet visits in the past 6 months - finally back in December we had a vet visit, and we decided to try steroid injections. This was really a last-ditch thing - something they really only reluctantly do, but the vet was willing to give it a shot. That of course reduced the inflammation, and increased the appetite. We tried to cut back on the anti-nausea meds after this, but we were still giving them to her when we had a chance.

Early in Jan, we noted that the steroids had seem to have worn off, and she would still occasionally get sick. We had another vet visit - we noted that she gained back quite a bit of weight. The vet gave her a 2nd steroid shot.

It has now been over 3 weeks - we haven't really given her any of the anti-nausea meds since the last vet visit. She is eating well, and most importantly not throwing up any more (other than the occasional hairball). So cross-your-fingers - it seems like she has made a recovery.

The only lingering side-effect is behavioral - in order to give her the anti-nausea meds, we would need to close the bedroom door when she was out and about so we could catch her - she figured that out and she still goes running for the bedroom if we are moving around, and she always tries to stay between us and the bedroom door. But we haven't tried to do that in weeks, so I imagine that this will eventually wear off. When I went in to take a shower earlier today, she was sleeping on the bed, and couldn't be bothered to raise her head when I came out, so I would say she was pretty relaxed..

We still have no idea what caused all of this in the first place, and we will probably never know.