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My cat Winter is 6 years old domestic medium hair, 16 lbs and I was going to get an abdominal x-ray done because he persistently vomits food immediately after eating, not always but enough that it's a concern, he's done so for the 6 years I've had him. He does sometimes keep the food down, doesn't always vomit. The vomit has had hairballs in it which I told my vet and he was never concerned but it definitely doesn't always have hairballs in it. It's also for sure vomiting and not regurgitation, as he moves his head back and forth, and his abdomen contracts. It doesn't matter what food I feed, grain free or non-grain free, I've tried various brands, always transitioning slowly but that has changed nothing. I cannot afford to feed a solely wet diet, please no going on about dry food/it being bad etc. dry is currently my only option with wet supplemental feedings (Friskies is all I can afford to feed a lot more wet per day). However, he has a heart murmur, I don't remember the grade/#, the woman vet I saw at that time wasn't concerned at all (I go to the same vet facility but got a different person the last time I was there).
Tried a slow feeder for dogs which reduced the amount of vomit (as in it was smaller amounts of food thrown up not less times) but did not stop it. So, I scheduled the abdominal x-ray appointment but was told cats need sedated more often than dogs do for x-rays. How safe is it to sedate a cat with a heart murmur? Also, is an abdominal x-ray the best place to start investigating chronic vomiting with no other symptoms present? Another issues he does have is an umbilical hernia but I thought the vet I saw at the time said it was "closed" and mentioned other cats needing surgery but researching it I'm unsure because he still has a bulge where a belly button would be. He has no other symptoms of being sick he has an appetite/hasn't lost interest in food or eating, isn't depressed, plays a lot/active, hasn't lost any weight since I've had him/has remained a similar weight and he has no signs of a food allergy: no itching/scratching, no hair loss, coat deterioration, no skin lesions. I'm very low income BTW. So, am I wasting money on an x-ray when I should be finding someone that does ultrasounds? And, I'm guessing sedation would still be needed for that?
I don't want to have to have him sedated multiple times, if it's not that safe for a cat with a heart murmur. I'd love to have his heart murmur looked into as well but most things like chest x-ray, echo etc I'm guessing would require sedation as well. I don't know if the risks of sedation outweigh the benefits.
Tried a slow feeder for dogs which reduced the amount of vomit (as in it was smaller amounts of food thrown up not less times) but did not stop it. So, I scheduled the abdominal x-ray appointment but was told cats need sedated more often than dogs do for x-rays. How safe is it to sedate a cat with a heart murmur? Also, is an abdominal x-ray the best place to start investigating chronic vomiting with no other symptoms present? Another issues he does have is an umbilical hernia but I thought the vet I saw at the time said it was "closed" and mentioned other cats needing surgery but researching it I'm unsure because he still has a bulge where a belly button would be. He has no other symptoms of being sick he has an appetite/hasn't lost interest in food or eating, isn't depressed, plays a lot/active, hasn't lost any weight since I've had him/has remained a similar weight and he has no signs of a food allergy: no itching/scratching, no hair loss, coat deterioration, no skin lesions. I'm very low income BTW. So, am I wasting money on an x-ray when I should be finding someone that does ultrasounds? And, I'm guessing sedation would still be needed for that?
I don't want to have to have him sedated multiple times, if it's not that safe for a cat with a heart murmur. I'd love to have his heart murmur looked into as well but most things like chest x-ray, echo etc I'm guessing would require sedation as well. I don't know if the risks of sedation outweigh the benefits.
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