Hi everyone ..
Last year in August/September I posted about my 8 year old male orange tabby Baby Kitty who went through a long bout of vomiting that neither he nor I could get under control. He went for about one week of going to the vet, being given shots to calm his tummy along with several enemas and treatments for potential hairball blockage. He had x-rays and blood work done which basically gave the vets very little to go on in terms of finding out the problem. Finally after about 7-9 days he stopped vomiting and went back to normal, holding down food and water.
It has been over one year with no major problems. Baby rarely ever threw up and when he did it was a one-time occurrence. Just a few weeks ago, however, the "chronic" vomiting started back again. Baby Kitty did not show any signs of lethargy or pain (even when the vets did a thorough massaging of his entire tummy region he did not scream or show any strong sign of pain aside from wanting to jump off the examining table), he would vomit roughly once every hour or so and he constantly sought me out for company. X-rays showed nothing abnormal, the blood work showed slightly elevated amylase but that was about it. He was running no fever nor has he had diarrhea or any other outward signs of illness. Nothing to go on that would help them diagnose his chronic vomiting (I call it chronic because once he throws up the first time it is frequently repeated thereafter when he is in one of these bizarre spells). The vet said she believes Baby just has a very sensitive stomach and that he "may" have pancreatitis.
When I asked questions about whether his diet is causing these flare-ups the vet basically said it could be anything but that Baby does need to lose weight (he weighs 11.8 pounds and has a small-medium frame for a male cat). I feed him dry food with occasional treats of Gerber turkey baby food.
So a few weeks ago when Baby was going through his bouts of vomiting the vet gave him a shot to calm his tummy. While the shot stopped his vomiting and he was able to eat and drink a little bit the vomiting started back once the shot ran it's course. It took two shots and 5 Baytril antibiotic pills over the course of a 5 day period for Baby Kitty to overcome his vomiting and get better. There was no sign of hairballs in any of his vomit.
This past Friday Baby threw up one time (scared the heck out of me for fear of "here we go again") but he showed no more signs of illness and continued to eat and act normally. By Sunday I finally began to try and relax, thinking that maybe not every time he throws up will it lead to a major crisis. It's so hard to let your guard down when you love your cat like your child and the vet has no clue what the underlying condition is.
Then this morning around 5am Baby Kitty threw up again. This time there was a one inch tubular hairball in the throw-up. I do treat my cat for hairballs on a weekly basis, usually every 2-3 days since he has thrown up hairballs periodically in his 8 years of life. It didn't take 20 minutes for him to vomit again after the first time. Since then, he has been throwing up all day (clear frothy liquid) and even though he "wants" to eat and drink he only ends up getting his tummy worked up within minutes of sitting in front of his bowls and ends up vomiting before he even drinks or eats anything.
I plan to take Baby right back to the vet tomorrow since I am pretty sure he is going through another one of them chronic spells. We will do the whole song and dance with the shots to calm his tummy and maybe more antibiotics but I am sick of this being a mystery illness. I'm sorry for posting such a long rant but has anyone else reading this had to deal with a feline illness that causes frequent vomiting that lasts for several days with no fever, no x-ray warning signs, no bad blood work results and a very perplexed vet? The slightly elevated amylase seems more alarming to me than it was for my vet (I did some reading on pancreatitis but still don't know what needs to be done to help Baby through the flare-ups). I'm so frustrated. I would be more relieved if I had an actual diagnosis so I would know that it definitely can or cannot be treated. With him being overweight it scares me when he does not hold down food or water for several days (I have had to literally force feed one of my other cats to save her life one time after fatty liver set in following a surgery she underwent). But I cannot force feed a cat who vomits up anything that enters his stomach. Right now Baby is laying down sleeping. I have noticed when he is calm and laying down he does not get the urge to vomit. It does tend to happen more when he is alert and moving around.
Anyone have any advice, stories to share, tips or positive vibes to offer us? Because right now I need all of the above and then some. Baby Kitty is my best friend and I love him more than words can say. It tears me apart watching him suffer through this. Even more frightening, this being the third time he has had prolonged vomiting spells, I fear every single time that he may not get better. It's so difficult going through all these x-rays and blood work and still being unable to figure out what is causing his vomiting. I'm emotionally drained
(
Last year in August/September I posted about my 8 year old male orange tabby Baby Kitty who went through a long bout of vomiting that neither he nor I could get under control. He went for about one week of going to the vet, being given shots to calm his tummy along with several enemas and treatments for potential hairball blockage. He had x-rays and blood work done which basically gave the vets very little to go on in terms of finding out the problem. Finally after about 7-9 days he stopped vomiting and went back to normal, holding down food and water.
It has been over one year with no major problems. Baby rarely ever threw up and when he did it was a one-time occurrence. Just a few weeks ago, however, the "chronic" vomiting started back again. Baby Kitty did not show any signs of lethargy or pain (even when the vets did a thorough massaging of his entire tummy region he did not scream or show any strong sign of pain aside from wanting to jump off the examining table), he would vomit roughly once every hour or so and he constantly sought me out for company. X-rays showed nothing abnormal, the blood work showed slightly elevated amylase but that was about it. He was running no fever nor has he had diarrhea or any other outward signs of illness. Nothing to go on that would help them diagnose his chronic vomiting (I call it chronic because once he throws up the first time it is frequently repeated thereafter when he is in one of these bizarre spells). The vet said she believes Baby just has a very sensitive stomach and that he "may" have pancreatitis.
When I asked questions about whether his diet is causing these flare-ups the vet basically said it could be anything but that Baby does need to lose weight (he weighs 11.8 pounds and has a small-medium frame for a male cat). I feed him dry food with occasional treats of Gerber turkey baby food.
So a few weeks ago when Baby was going through his bouts of vomiting the vet gave him a shot to calm his tummy. While the shot stopped his vomiting and he was able to eat and drink a little bit the vomiting started back once the shot ran it's course. It took two shots and 5 Baytril antibiotic pills over the course of a 5 day period for Baby Kitty to overcome his vomiting and get better. There was no sign of hairballs in any of his vomit.
This past Friday Baby threw up one time (scared the heck out of me for fear of "here we go again") but he showed no more signs of illness and continued to eat and act normally. By Sunday I finally began to try and relax, thinking that maybe not every time he throws up will it lead to a major crisis. It's so hard to let your guard down when you love your cat like your child and the vet has no clue what the underlying condition is.
Then this morning around 5am Baby Kitty threw up again. This time there was a one inch tubular hairball in the throw-up. I do treat my cat for hairballs on a weekly basis, usually every 2-3 days since he has thrown up hairballs periodically in his 8 years of life. It didn't take 20 minutes for him to vomit again after the first time. Since then, he has been throwing up all day (clear frothy liquid) and even though he "wants" to eat and drink he only ends up getting his tummy worked up within minutes of sitting in front of his bowls and ends up vomiting before he even drinks or eats anything.
I plan to take Baby right back to the vet tomorrow since I am pretty sure he is going through another one of them chronic spells. We will do the whole song and dance with the shots to calm his tummy and maybe more antibiotics but I am sick of this being a mystery illness. I'm sorry for posting such a long rant but has anyone else reading this had to deal with a feline illness that causes frequent vomiting that lasts for several days with no fever, no x-ray warning signs, no bad blood work results and a very perplexed vet? The slightly elevated amylase seems more alarming to me than it was for my vet (I did some reading on pancreatitis but still don't know what needs to be done to help Baby through the flare-ups). I'm so frustrated. I would be more relieved if I had an actual diagnosis so I would know that it definitely can or cannot be treated. With him being overweight it scares me when he does not hold down food or water for several days (I have had to literally force feed one of my other cats to save her life one time after fatty liver set in following a surgery she underwent). But I cannot force feed a cat who vomits up anything that enters his stomach. Right now Baby is laying down sleeping. I have noticed when he is calm and laying down he does not get the urge to vomit. It does tend to happen more when he is alert and moving around.
Anyone have any advice, stories to share, tips or positive vibes to offer us? Because right now I need all of the above and then some. Baby Kitty is my best friend and I love him more than words can say. It tears me apart watching him suffer through this. Even more frightening, this being the third time he has had prolonged vomiting spells, I fear every single time that he may not get better. It's so difficult going through all these x-rays and blood work and still being unable to figure out what is causing his vomiting. I'm emotionally drained
(
maybe get a second opinion elsewhere?
I am beginning to think a second opinion just might be the best thing to do. So far my current vet seems just as perplexed and frustrated as I am
