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- Jan 8, 2018
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Hey guys!
I've posted on here before about my two kitties and all has been going well- they are almost a year old! They are sibling Devon Rexes, a boy and a girl named Freddie and Ramona.
Some background: They've been fed primarily wet food their whole lives. Brands of choice are Weruva, Fromm, and Tiki Cat. They occasionally get Orijen dry food as a treat.
About two months ago, I noticed Ramona started getting very picky about what she wanted to eat and when (she's a cat after all, no surprises there). She would occasionally throw up shortly after eating which we assumed was because she would eat too fast. We would give her a few minutes and feed her again, which she would keep down. We feed them in separate rooms now and try to stagger out their portions so they don't gobble it.
Since then, they have both gradually started to refuse certain foods and will sometimes skip meals altogether. We have resorted to occasionally bribing them to eat by using Fancy Feast gravy on top of their food or opening a bunch of different cans to see if they will eat one flavor over the other (which leads to waste more often than not, but oh well). They do typically still eat one full meal per day and do not appear to be losing weight, so I have not rushed them to the vet over it yet. Two weeks ago, Freddie started to throw up small amounts of foamy vomit about every other day for 5-6 days, but nothing that seemed overly concerning. He became very reluctant to eat so we took him to the vet, where they checked him and concluded that he was likely becoming finicky like his sister. They administered fluids to help with dehydration and sent us home with some 'smelly' food which seemed to work. Since then, he has had some loose stools off and on but overall is eating much better and has a completely normal amount of energy (ie a lot!).
Now, on the other hand (I swear they trade off on this), Ramona has been vomiting intermittently (sometimes once a day, sometimes once every 2 days etc). and refusing meals, but otherwise acting normal. She tends to skip breakfast and then eat a normal/large amount of food at night.
What I am wondering is, does it sound like they could perhaps have something more serious like a food allergy, IBS/IBD, gastrointestinal illness? I assume because they are so young, it's unlikely that kidney/liver issues are causing this (also the fact that it is happening in both of them, not just one). I thought maybe they had a bacteria/virus but that also seems unlikely because of the come-and-go pattern spanning several months instead of an acute onset. I know a lot of cats are finicky with food but the vomiting has got me more concerned. Another thing to note is that we first noticed this behavior when it started to get much hotter out (July/August in NYC) and the apartment is consistently 80 degrees or above, because our tiny A/C can't keep up with it. Not sure if the heat has this effect on any other felines out there or not??
Any/all advice or experience in this area would be greatly appreciated! I'm at a loss of what to do and getting them to eat has been frustrating and worrisome to say the least. Thanks!!
I've posted on here before about my two kitties and all has been going well- they are almost a year old! They are sibling Devon Rexes, a boy and a girl named Freddie and Ramona.
Some background: They've been fed primarily wet food their whole lives. Brands of choice are Weruva, Fromm, and Tiki Cat. They occasionally get Orijen dry food as a treat.
About two months ago, I noticed Ramona started getting very picky about what she wanted to eat and when (she's a cat after all, no surprises there). She would occasionally throw up shortly after eating which we assumed was because she would eat too fast. We would give her a few minutes and feed her again, which she would keep down. We feed them in separate rooms now and try to stagger out their portions so they don't gobble it.
Since then, they have both gradually started to refuse certain foods and will sometimes skip meals altogether. We have resorted to occasionally bribing them to eat by using Fancy Feast gravy on top of their food or opening a bunch of different cans to see if they will eat one flavor over the other (which leads to waste more often than not, but oh well). They do typically still eat one full meal per day and do not appear to be losing weight, so I have not rushed them to the vet over it yet. Two weeks ago, Freddie started to throw up small amounts of foamy vomit about every other day for 5-6 days, but nothing that seemed overly concerning. He became very reluctant to eat so we took him to the vet, where they checked him and concluded that he was likely becoming finicky like his sister. They administered fluids to help with dehydration and sent us home with some 'smelly' food which seemed to work. Since then, he has had some loose stools off and on but overall is eating much better and has a completely normal amount of energy (ie a lot!).
Now, on the other hand (I swear they trade off on this), Ramona has been vomiting intermittently (sometimes once a day, sometimes once every 2 days etc). and refusing meals, but otherwise acting normal. She tends to skip breakfast and then eat a normal/large amount of food at night.
What I am wondering is, does it sound like they could perhaps have something more serious like a food allergy, IBS/IBD, gastrointestinal illness? I assume because they are so young, it's unlikely that kidney/liver issues are causing this (also the fact that it is happening in both of them, not just one). I thought maybe they had a bacteria/virus but that also seems unlikely because of the come-and-go pattern spanning several months instead of an acute onset. I know a lot of cats are finicky with food but the vomiting has got me more concerned. Another thing to note is that we first noticed this behavior when it started to get much hotter out (July/August in NYC) and the apartment is consistently 80 degrees or above, because our tiny A/C can't keep up with it. Not sure if the heat has this effect on any other felines out there or not??
Any/all advice or experience in this area would be greatly appreciated! I'm at a loss of what to do and getting them to eat has been frustrating and worrisome to say the least. Thanks!!