No Appetite, Some Vomit, But Otherwise Completely Normal

[arkansawyer]

A little background on Frank, our 9-month old black cat:We found him and adopted him when he was a 7-week-old stray. He had a raging coccidia infection that we were able to get under control with a couple weeks of albon and a good probiotic, which he's still on. He has also received monthly B-12 injections.

He has been very healthy since we got the coccidia under control. However, on Thursday night he started growling at me and then hissed while I was petting him. Totally out of character for him.

Yesterday, he wouldn't eat (he would sniff for a long time, put food in his mouth but wouldn't swallow) and threw up a couple of times. Same story today. What's odd, however, is that his behavior is otherwise totally normal-- energetic and playful. We took him to the vet yesterday because we were hoping to go out of town this weekend (which we now won't be doing). He had no temperature and wasn't sensitive to touch anywhere. They did an xray and there was no gas buildup but the vet said his intestines were "pushed to the side" a bit. He said this was likely just fat but could be some kind of obstruction.

Curious to solicit feedback from others here. A barrium test would be extremely expensive, and it seems odd that it would be an obstruction considering that he is otherwise himself.

FWIW, my wife and I suspected it could be a tooth issue. We gave him some greek yogurt to see whether he would eat that. He did go for it for all of about 45 seconds before stopping.

 

[arkansawyer]

For what it's worth, he was also shedding a lot yesterday. More than we have ever seen him shed.

 

[abyeb]

Has he had normal stool? No diarrhea?

 

[arkansawyer]

We have 2 cats so we don't know who has done what. But their litterboxes have been fine.

 

[abyeb]

Any blood in the vomit? How long after eating does he vomit? Does he vomit partially digested food or just bile? Does the vomit look like coffee grounds?

 

[arkansawyer]

No connection between when he eats and vomits. He is throwing up foam or what looks like water. No blood.

 

[abyeb]

I'm fairly sure the white foam is stomach acid. There's various causes for this, including gastroenteritis and intestinal parasites. Can you check back with your vet?

 

[arkansawyer]

Just got back from the vet. What looked like a possible obstruction to the first vet also concerned this one a bit, so they are going to hold him overnight and do a barrium swallow. Also gonna do a CBC and give him anti-nausea meds.

If it is in fact an obstruction in his intestines, what are we looking at here?

 

[abyeb]

If it's an obstruction, I'm fairly sure that requires surgery.

 

[arkansawyer]

Well I mean yea. But how invasive is it? How expensive?

 

[arkansawyer]

Update (sort of):

He stayed at the vet last night so they could do the barrium series. They did one this morning and want to do another one this afternoon. Didn't really say what the issue was with the first one.

He hasn't really eaten anything in 48 hours now, but his bloodwork came back completely normal. All in all a very confusing situation.

 

[arkansawyer]

Barrium series was completely normal and bloodwork was completely normal. Vet is pretty stumped: Cat is behaving totally normal and other than the anorexia and a bit of vomit there are no clinical symptoms.

FWIW, he shows interest in food. He is present when we are eating and when we put food in front of him he chews on it and spits it back out. Weird.

Also, is a FIP a concern? The further we move into this thing and the further the vet is unable to identify some sort of pathology, that does frighten me.

 

[abyeb]

Also, is a FIP a concern? The further we move into this thing and the further the vet is unable to identify some sort of pathology, that does frighten me.

Is he coughing or have a swollen belly? Any change in the eyes (pupil, iris color)?

 

[arkansawyer]

No coughing. Belly and eyes look normal but I suppose that is hard to tell.

 

[Bingandsnugg]

No coughing. Belly and eyes look normal but I suppose that is hard to tell.

I have the same situation at present awaiting barium results. What became of all of this

 

[arkansawyer]

He was completely fine. They cleaned him out with an enema.

 

[Bingandsnugg]

I really appreciate your response. Our barium went straight through So now we are attempting small food portions. There may be irritable bowel , colitis etc present. They gave her a food stimulant and anti nausea med. if she dosent eat it’s back to the vet.

 

[arkansawyer]

Best of luck!