Friend's cat vomiting green liquid, potential causes?

[EveAndHerThieves]

My friend's cat woke up this morning not feeling good. She's lost her apatite and is a bit sluggish. She's also vomiting green liquid. A few times today. She's never had problems before. She hasn't been seen eating or drinking today, but she has been active. She follows him all around the house. I THINK she may have had a nibble about thirty minutes before more green vomit.

The kicker... She's eating dog food. They have a small dog and the cat likes dog food. The dad thought it would be cheaper, so she's on dog food. She's incredibly skinny, which I chewed them out over. (in a kind way) I told them to get her some tuna or cat food ASAP. The dad got her soft dog food instead. I'm bringing her some of my actual cat food in the AM in case that's the cause.

My friend's dad doesn't want to take her to the vet. He thinks she's pregnant (parents, eh?) If it becomes too desperate I'll find a way to get her there myself, but neither of us have money until Friday.

Any ideas what could be wrong with poor kitty? I'm suspecting her diet, but I know my anger over her diet is clouding my judgement. I don't want to focus on diet and have her suffer because it's something else.

 

[Maurey]

Heya! You’re definitely correct to be worried. Is there any way you can report this behavior and have the cat taken away if he refuses to properly care for the animal?
Cats can’t be on dog food — it lacks taurine, an essential amino acid that cats can’t synthesise on their own, unlike dogs. This can cause deficiency in the heart if it continues for long enough, eventually developing into life-threatening conditions like HCM. Lethargy, vomiting, and refusal to eat are, in fact, some of the symptoms of the condition.

If she’s allowed outside (which seems to be the case since he thinks she’s pregnant), she could have been poisoned with something. green vomit indicates its being brought up from an area beyond the stomach :<

If he utterly refuses to take the animal he’s responsible for to the vet (not to mention neuter and properly feed her), I’d call local animal control so they can take care of this poor cat.

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

The dad seems mostly clueless than harmful. I'm pretty sure once we knock it into his head that he really is harming the cat he will straighten out. Me and the son (we're adults, but rely on parents due to various issues) are going to take over kitty care. Apparently kitty has been on dog food for at LEAST a year.

I'm also concerned about her munching something she shouldn't have. Her vomiting seems to have come on fairly quickly. I'll get an update from him this morning on kitty.

If it's HCM, what is that and is it bad?

 

[Maurey]

Here's hoping she just got into something she shouldn't have!

HCM is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the walls of the heart thicken. This causes decreased efficiency of the heart, due to it being able to pump a smaller volume of blood. This results in the heart having to contract more often, which can lead to increased demands of oxygen and cause heart cells to start dying off due to lack of oxygen. If left unmedicated and unmanaged, it'll ultimately lead to arrythmia, as well as other complications. Can ultimately lead to heart faliure, as well.

All that said, if discovered early enough and managed, cats generally due fairly well with the condition, though it can, sadly, get expensive to manage.

Edit: Also realised I made a typo initially, and didn't look back to check the thread till now Low taurine causes DCM, not HCM, though overall, symptoms and prognosis are fairly similar. DCM is dilated cardiomyopathy; prognosis is similar, and it's medicated with high taurine intake for a set amount of time, as well as ACE inhibitor, and pimobendan, with Furosemide used in cats already showing signs of CHF (congestive heart faliure).

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Yikes! This poor cat. She's been on dog food for at least a year, possibly several. Her hips are definitely concaved. So I'm right in suspecting diet, and not something else? I mean, it's NOW something else, but the possible cause. If she does end up with a heart issue, is she likely going to end up on lifelong medication or something? I'm used to kidney failure, not heart.

I'm taking over some of my cat food today. It's Purina One Hairball Control. should we be concerned about the diet change causing kitty upset stomach? When Kira got on food after nearly starving in a field, his gas could have killed a moose. I don't have time to stop at a store and get her proper food today or I'd see if there's something easier for her to digest. I also have tuna I can bring her?

If she's not eating/drinking when I check on her tonight, should I see if I can force some water down her? I've done that several times before, so I'm prepped.

Is there anything else I can do for her at this moment in time? Can I bring her anything? Maybe a heating pad? She's up and about at least. I can stop at my local dollar store and see if they have anything, if there's something that's better for her. It's on my bus route home. I also have access to a ton of natural vitamin type things. Fish oil, etc.


you can kinda see her here. She has a thing for shoes and I don't know why. She's incredibly well taken care of, diet aside. Super friendly, purrs when you look at her. She has dozens of well used car toys around. There's cat beds everywhere. I think the dad just thought it was cheaper/funny to feed her dog food, so he never bothered to research it.


I had another question to add, but promptly forgot it. Oh well.

 

[Maurey]

Oh she's very cute! Could be that she likes the smell of the person who wears the shoes haha.

Honestly, it's very hard to say what could be causing without a vet taking a look at her, given the situation :< Is she pooping properly? Since green vomit can indicate that there's bile in there, or that it's coming from a part of the digestive tract beyond the stomach, could be she ate a foreign object that she can't pass, which is preventing food from going down the whole way. I very much hope I'm wrong about the potential heart issues! :<

DCM is generally reversible in cats with proper taurine intake and some other medications for management, though, as long as it's not too severe! So even if it is that, it's not the worst prognosis in the world, given proper care.

Generally with cats, slow transitions are ideal, but not really an option in her situation. For easy digestion, could you offer some plain boiled chicken, or some meat-based baby food (no veggies or anything else, just meat)? Generally those tend to have strong smells, be very appealing to cats, and are easily digestible.

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

So me and a few friends puled our cash together and took kitty to the vet this morning. Blood work came back mostly clear. Her organs are fine. She's VERY underweight at 6 pounds. (She's a year old) the vet would like to see eight or nine at least.

Kitty was incredibly dehydrated. The way the vet explained it, her blood was literally syrup when it should be water. They think she probably has gas or something similar which is making her sick. The sickness caused lack of interest in food/water, causing her to feel worse. The vet also said her protein levels were very high. I guess a normal cat's levels are at 40 at the most. Hers was above 60. Also not good for kitty. The vet said they didn't feel any stool blockage. It was funny watching them try to listen to her heart. This cat doesn't have an "off" button for her purr. In fact, the vet listening to her heart made her purr louder. It took them several minutes to be sure her heart was strong. Electrolytes are also normal which is good.

The vet said the best thing to do was hydrate her. A lot. They gave her a shot for the nausea and kept her today. She got 5 hours of IV fluids. Tomorrow they want to do a full 8 hours of IV fluids. We want to turn her into a mini water balloon that goes squish when she walks. She's home for the night right now. Still no interest in food or water, and no pee. Also no change in behavior. She still seems run down. We were kind of hoping for a bit of a perking up from the fluids. Hopefully tomorrow she does better.

She's back to the vet tomorrow for more fluids. She's not thrilled about the bandage on her arm hiding her current IV.

It seems like pure luck that kitty just happened to get a gas blockage and let us know she was sick. We managed to catch it before permanent harm was done. My friend's dad is furious yelling that a cat isn't worth that much and to put it down or get rid of it. (News flash: it would actually cost MORE to put her down than the vet visit)


My friend now owes several friends various amounts of money, and we had to put off a few things we wanted to buy with our paychecks, but it looks like kitty will be fine! Just very, very water logged.

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Kitty is back at the vet today for more fluids. She hasn't eaten or drank anything yet. Also no poop. She's still throwing up, but it's white bile now instead of green. That's an improvement at least.

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Update: kitty is home. As soon as she got home she promptly vomited green liquid all over. Lots of it. The vet suggests trying to force feed her.

Question: can I just use watered cat food or should I try canned? I don't want to overload her gut. Can I give her anything for the vomiting?

 

[game misconduct]

My friend's cat woke up this morning not feeling good. She's lost her apatite and is a bit sluggish. She's also vomiting green liquid. A few times today. She's never had problems before. She hasn't been seen eating or drinking today, but she has been active. She follows him all around the house. I THINK she may have had a nibble about thirty minutes before more green vomit.

The kicker... She's eating dog food. They have a small dog and the cat likes dog food. The dad thought it would be cheaper, so she's on dog food. She's incredibly skinny, which I chewed them out over. (in a kind way) I told them to get her some tuna or cat food ASAP. The dad got her soft dog food instead. I'm bringing her some of my actual cat food in the AM in case that's the cause.

My friend's dad doesn't want to take her to the vet. He thinks she's pregnant (parents, eh?) If it becomes too desperate I'll find a way to get her there myself, but neither of us have money until Friday.

Any ideas what could be wrong with poor kitty? I'm suspecting her diet, but I know my anger over her diet is clouding my judgement. I don't want to focus on diet and have her suffer because it's something else.

simple answer is your friends dad thats the problem try to get them to rehome that poor cat to a responsible owner that will give proper care and actually care for the cat the way it deserves probably malnourished and then some fed on a diet formulated for dogs

 

[Antonio65]

simple answer is your friends dad thats the problem try to get them to rehome that poor cat to a responsible owner that will give proper care and actually care for the cat the way it deserves probably malnourished and then some fed on a diet formulated for dogs

I couldn't agree more!

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Hoping to avoid backstory, but since it's apparently needed, here ya go.

My friend's dad is on yet another round of battling recurring cancer. His third marriage just fell apart due to it. My friend is on the autism spectrum, so although he's an adult, he needs a little help. (Still fully capable of living an independent life) friend has a kitty as his "security blanket" but kitty got hit by a car two years ago. Friend took it incredibly hard. His dad finally agreed to let him to get another cat. That's this kitty. Friend's autism means he just doesn't think about things like if dog food is bad for a cat. He also don't want to make eaves with his very sick dad. Dad is understandably stressed. He's also not an animal person, but doesn't want his son to suffer. Dad is very disabled and also has slight autism. Dad figured dog food is cheaper than dog food + cat food. Kitty got sick, and my friend immediately called me crying. He had no idea what was wrong with kitty or why. Me, his friends, and a school aid tool kitty to the vet. Friend has had people tell him dog food is bad before, but he hasn't SEEN any issues with it before. Vet explained it to him, lightbulb went on. His dad doesn't want to deal with yet another thing and still isn't an animal person. School aid tool him aside and explained how his actions are hurting his son and just how much kitty means to son. Dad relented and said as long as he doesn't have to take care of it, friend can do whatever he wants and dad won't say anything about it. Friend is now wracked with horrible guilt and is almost sicker than kitty with guilt and worry.

Getting rid of kitty isn't an option. We've had an intervention with the dad. What's done is done, we can't change the past. But we CAN change the future. Now that friend's support system is aware we can help him get back on the right track with kitty. Kitty will be fine, fat, and healthy again. She really is DEEPLY loved by the son. As an animal lover myself, if I even *thought* it was a bad home for kitty, I'd talk to him about rehoming her with me.

---------


That being said. We're headed back to the vet again. The night we brought her home after her second round of fluids she barfed it all back up. Green liquid as far as the eye can see. She keeps sniffing her food, then checks herself and stops. I did force feed her a little bit that she seemed able to keep down for at least a few hours. She's back vomiting this morning. I have a call in to the vet to see what they say. She also keeps sitting down, lifting her leg, thinking about cleaning her booty before stopping and getting up again. The good news is her fur is INCREDIBLY soft now. It's not all hard and bristly like when she went into the vet.



Kitty got a shoe as a reward for being such a good trooper. She was very happy.

 

[game misconduct]

i wont lie and tell you any of that sorry about your friends dad type nonsense cause i am not nor do i feel bad or have sympathy over his situation not when i survived a stroke lost all my money along with becoming a cripple because of it along with knowing a woman who battled ovary cancer still is yet still adopted 2 dogs and a cat yet still giving them the proper care the animals need.those were his own bad decisions with the cat. i am grateful that your there for the cat and able to help it and your friend. best of luck to you and thanks for being an animal lover with the courage to post here for help knowing some people were gonna be angry over your first post(i was ) also please remove any laces from the shoe kitty might eat em

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

That's okay, just keep in mind that not all of us are as strong as *we* personally are. Autism can also make things tricky.

Looks like kitty might be going in for surgery. The vet thinks there might be a blockage somewhere that's preventing any kind of water from going through. We have some hairball type stuff to see if we can lube her up and get it out, but at this point the vet is thinking we need to get in there and have an old fashioned look. Until then we've no idea if she's keeping liquid down. It seems to stay down for a few hours and then pop back up. It's almost always green liquid, no food. The vet thinks it's probably unrelated to the dog food. I'm really worried about her.

 

[game misconduct]

best of luck to you and kitty

 

[Antonio65]

Please, keep us posted!

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Today the little snot is eating! Solids! Last night we bought baby food for her. When we opened it up she sniffed and licked the lid. That seems to have triggered something in her. The vet suggested pepcid for her nausea, so she's on a tiny bit of that. She's also getting the hairball lube down her. She really likes the baby food, but overnight we weren't awake to poke it down her. So she traveled to solids. Not sure about water intake, and no pooping yet. There was no sign of vomiting this morning that we could find.

With a little bit of magic maybe she can pass whatever is stuck. The vet didn't feel a stool backup in her, so who knows what it is. Once she poops we will be out of the danger zone. Then we figure out what's the best way to put some meat on her bones.

I care more about this cat than I do about my own, sheesh. I'm saving up in case she needs surgery. She's not even my cat! (To be fair, my cats are too busy sleeping to get sick)

 

[Antonio65]

Good news!
Hopefully she's on the mend. You're doing a great job, you're taking care of a cat that isn't even yours, but I'm sure she will become yours eventually

 

[IndyJones]

Is this cat still being fed dog food? There are some cheap cat foods that would be much more balanced. Even something budget like fancy feast or Whiskas would be better than dog food.

Baby food is fine short term (while not eating or sick) but once she has recovered she needs cat food. I've seen cats literally starve to death on dog food. Very painful.

 

[EveAndHerThieves]

Kitty pooped!! She's peed! She's eating everything not nailed down - including the hairball treatment on your finger.

What ended up working was a LOT of effort on the human's part. I'd leave at 9am to bike 20+ minutes to friend's place. Once there we would hang out for about an hour and a half, slowly force feeding kitty a syrange of canned cat food and water, mixed with pepcid for nausea. Then we would walk the 30 minutes to the bus for work. At 6:30 I'd take the bus home with him, walk the 30 minutes uphill, spend about two hours force feeding kitty for the night before grabbing my bike and heading home. I'd get home long enough for MY cats to shoot me death glares before I passed out for the night. 8am the next day I would be up texting for a kitty update. Rinse and repeat.

Today we're going to wean her off the nausea medication and see if she's okay. Hairball stuff she might as well finish. She tries to take off my finger for it. She's got plenty of food now. I have him some of my Purina One Hairball Control and some tuna to try to coax her into eating. The school aid bought a few bags of various cat foods. His girlfriend bought him a bunch of Fancy Feast Classic canned cat food, as well as some kitten canned food to plump her up. We're working on a solution to keep the dog food away from her. It's easier when the CAT can't jump and the dog can! The reverse is incredibly difficult.

My friend now knows not to feed kitty dog food, and his girlfriend is going to make sure he keeps food in. His dad can go suck an egg for all we care. As long as he's not interfering with kitty's health he can do whatever.

I know it's not the most exciting of adventures, and not a lot of DIY stuff to be learned. Maybe it'll help someone in the future somehow. Always remember to hydrate your cat and keep the dog food away!