Regular vomiting only suppressed by prednisolone...

[loveteachart]

I've written on here a couple times about my kitty's eating troubles(more like keeping food down troubles). She's now on Hill's z/d trying out something for a food allergy, but still won't keep that down unless she's on a small daily dose of prednisolone(.6mL/daily). Has anybody else had experience with this food, and is it worth feeding her this if it seems to be the steroid that's keeping her (kind of) eating?

We've done a blood panel and everything seemed normal. The next step(according to my vet) is some kind of investigative biopsy or exploratory surgery, but my issue with that is that it still might not show what's wrong. For now, she seems okay on the steroid and hydrolized protein diet, with Fortiflora and Miralax daily as well. She's only 2 and has been through so much already(I posted previously about her dental issues as well). Any experience or advice on this? I'm trying to balance quality of life and health while minimizing trauma.

 

[missmimz]

Sounds like IBD. How long after eating is she vomiting? food or bile or both? Have you tried restricting proteins to see if its a protein allergy or sensitivity? I do not like RX foods. They're bad quality and not bio appropriate. 

You might want to look into a homecooked or raw diet. Many cats with IBD or food sensitivity do amazing. 

http://www.foodfurlife.com/my-cat-is-vomiting---what-do-i-do.html

http://www.foodfurlife.com/raw-feeding-and-ibd-in-cats.html

 

[loveteachart]

When it happens she vomited within minutes of eating and it's mostly food. I have her on this food because the vet thought it might be a protein allergy. She said hydrolized protein can work well for food allergies because it makes the proteins small enough to process. At this point, at least for the short term, I've been keeping her on it because it keeps her appetite somewhat regular, and before she rarely ate everything (and if she did it comes back up). She's already on the skinny side, petite and only weighs 6.5 lbs. But it's obviously not the food, because when we tried to stop it the vomiting came back. How would I go about doing a restricted protein diet? I'll be checking back in with the vet towards the end of this month so I'd love to have some options to discuss with her.

 

[missmimz]

When it happens she vomited within minutes of eating and it's mostly food. I have her on this food because the vet thought it might be a protein allergy. She said hydrolized protein can work well for food allergies because it makes the proteins small enough to process. At this point, at least for the short term, I've been keeping her on it because it keeps her appetite somewhat regular, and before she rarely ate everything (and if she did it comes back up). She's already on the skinny side, petite and only weighs 6.5 lbs. But it's obviously not the food, because when we tried to stop it the vomiting came back. How would I go about doing a restricted protein diet? I'll be checking back in with the vet towards the end of this month so I'd love to have some options to discuss with her.

Vomiting right after eating usually indicates a protein/something in the food intolerance. Raw or homecooked works great for protein elimination because you know there is nothing else in the food that could be contributing to the issue. Often times novel proteins work the best. Something like venison, duck, lamb, are often good options. What you would do is just feed one or two proteins exclusively for something like 6 weeks. If she responds well you can either try more proteins or simply keep her on the ones you have. Some cats get bored with only 1 or 2 proteins in rotation. Likely what's preventing her from eating is nausea, because vomiting that much triggers not only nausea but often times a panc flare. 

 

[artiemom]

So sorry you are going through this with your kitty. 

My guy had a similar situation. 

He was always vomiting, especially after eating.. sometimes immediately. I started noticing to see what type of food it could be associated with. I was suspecting a food allergy.

Sure enough, I caught him eating chicken based food, come over to sit in front of me, and immediately vomit.. it was not regurgitation. It was a vomit. 

We discover her is allergic to chicken...and anything that states 'animal by product or digest'.... who knows what that contains..

My guy also has IBD, confirmed by a biopsy.. and is allergic to chicken.

As long as I keep him away from chicken and all meat by-products, he does not vomit..

Try to see if you can associate your kitty's vomiting with a certain food, or protein...

Good Luck..

 

[loveteachart]

My previous vet had suspected IBD for Lizzie, but we kind of strayed away from that in switching to my current vet (who I like much better) and the exploration of a possible food allergy.

For the first 6 months of Lizzie's time with me, she ate Purina One canned food, usually turkey or chicken. I would mix it with a little Purina One dry kibble, first Indoor formula and then a Hairball formula.The vomiting was inconsistent according to the flavor of food, so I'm wondering if it was something else in the food. I'm thinking of talking to my vet in a couple weeks (we're on week 7 of the hydrolyzed protein attempt) about checking out some kind of limited ingredient diet, whether it be a raw protein trial or something else if she recommends. For now, we're just keeping her on the prednisolone and the current food just to give her some consistency and ease stress.

 

[jclark]

The Pred inhibits the auto-immune response which is why it's given to cats who have IBS/IBD.  The hydrolyzed protein is an attempt to trick the digestive system into accepting it.    I had my Main Coon on this type of food for years (due to an older cat) and he still developed IBD.

I went through this a couple of years ago with my now deceased senior Main Coon.  

A couple of suggestions. 

#1 Give the Pred at night when your feed your cat.  There's a hormonal reason why (night time vs morning).

#2 Tried a novel protein diet.  I used Nature's Variety Instinct cat food.

#3 You can always up the dose of Pred if the cat still throws up.

 

[loveteachart]

J jclark thank you for the suggestions! I'm glad that night is better because that is when I give her the Prednisolone. My next step is talking to my vet about a novel protein diet. The way you explained the hydrolized is exactly how my vet did (and it actually made sense!) and given Lizzie's response when we stop the prednisolone her immune system will not be tricked.

Was your cat on the prednisolone for a whole? I just worry about having her on it for too long. I know for now it's a pretty small dose but obviously the goal is for her to be able to eat without it so it's our solution for now while we're trying to figure out what she can eat.

 

[thunderseed]

@JClark thank you for the suggestions! I'm glad that night is better because that is when I give her the Prednisolone. My next step is talking to my vet about a novel protein diet. The way you explained the hydrolized is exactly how my vet did (and it actually made sense!) and given Lizzie's response when we stop the prednisolone her immune system will not be tricked.

Was your cat on the prednisolone for a whole? I just worry about having her on it for too long. I know for now it's a pretty small dose but obviously the goal is for her to be able to eat without it so it's our solution for now while we're trying to figure out what she can eat.

 
So sorry you are going through this with your kitty. 

My guy had a similar situation. 

He was always vomiting, especially after eating.. sometimes immediately. I started noticing to see what type of food it could be associated with. I was suspecting a food allergy.

Sure enough, I caught him eating chicken based food, come over to sit in front of me, and immediately vomit.. it was not regurgitation. It was a vomit. 

We discover her is allergic to chicken...and anything that states 'animal by product or digest'.... who knows what that contains..

My guy also has IBD, confirmed by a biopsy.. and is allergic to chicken.

As long as I keep him away from chicken and all meat by-products, he does not vomit..

Try to see if you can associate your kitty's vomiting with a certain food, or protein...

Good Luck..

Interesting, now I'm wondering if this is the case with my cat. She doesn't vomit all the time but enough for me to worry. 

Come to think of it when I recently switched to the salmon flavor cat food, she wasn't vomitting but I still had a bit of the chicken cat food at the bottom of the bin, I had just poured the salmon stuff overtop of it, and just a while ago she started to vomit again, probably the same time that the food got down to where the chicken food was.

It's the same brand of food too, just different flavours. But now I wonder if maybe she has an issue with chicken too, I'm going to try and stay away from chicken food and see if that works for her.

 

[artiemom]

 
Interesting, now I'm wondering if this is the case with my cat. She doesn't vomit all the time but enough for me to worry. 

Come to think of it when I recently switched to the salmon flavor cat food, she wasn't vomitting but I still had a bit of the chicken cat food at the bottom of the bin, I had just poured the salmon stuff overtop of it, and just a while ago she started to vomit again, probably the same time that the food got down to where the chicken food was.

It's the same brand of food too, just different flavours. But now I wonder if maybe she has an issue with chicken too, I'm going to try and stay away from chicken food and see if that works for her.

Yes, that is how I associated it with chicken. I noticed the food I was feeding, and the response afterward. I stayed with one brand and remembered the food I gave. The vomiting occurred right after eating chicken. I changed brands and noticed the same response.. so Artie is allergic to chicken.. 

Good Luck!

 

[jclark]

@JClark thank you for the suggestions! I'm glad that night is better because that is when I give her the Prednisolone. My next step is talking to my vet about a novel protein diet. The way you explained the hydrolized is exactly how my vet did (and it actually made sense!) and given Lizzie's response when we stop the prednisolone her immune system will not be tricked.

Was your cat on the prednisolone for a whole? I just worry about having her on it for too long. I know for now it's a pretty small dose but obviously the goal is for her to be able to eat without it so it's our solution for now while we're trying to figure out what she can eat.

He developed IBD at around age 14-15 and I administered ~ .20 cc's every other day or every day until we had to euthanize him at around age 16-17.  IIRC his weight had dropped to 9lbs but remained there.    Ultimately it's not good for their kidneys but ya know he was 15 yrs old after all.  

Still miss the guy.

 

[IndyJones]

My older cat had what you are describing wound up being caused by a rotten tooth had it pulled and was muchbetter have you had your cats mouth checked for tooth resorption?

 

[loveteachart]

IndyJones she actually had 7 teeth pulled back in September, and there's another one my current vet wants to watch. Just under 2 years old at that point :-( Her appetite definitely got better after the extraction but the vomiting came back after about a month.

 

[IndyJones]

IndyJones she actually had 7 teeth pulled back in September, and there's another one my current vet wants to watch. Just under 2 years old at that point :-( Her appetite definitely got better after the extraction but the vomiting came back after about a month.

Has he had a urinalysis done? This would help rule out kidney problems and urinary tract infections.

Cats get urinary tract problems quite easily

 

[loveteachart]

IndyJones we did a urinalysis and full blood panel back in November. Everything came out normal, which was good and annoying. Nothing kidney-wise, etc. is wrong but now we're trying to figure out exactly what it is and it's been quite the journey.

 

[IndyJones]

IndyJones we did a urinalysis and full blood panel back in November. Everything came out normal, which was good and annoying. Nothing kidney-wise, etc. is wrong but now we're trying to figure out exactly what it is and it's been quite the journey.

Well I'm stumped then. I know how hard it is to have a sick animal and not know the cause. Went through this for 3 years with my old cat before I found the rotten tooth was the cause.

My vet uses a medication called cerenia for suppressing vomiting it's a little easier on the body than the pred. Maybe you could inquire about it.

Keep us updated on this.

 

[loveteachart]

IndyJones I do appreciate you offering up suggestions! I'm really hoping it's an allergy and we can pin it down. We have Lizzie on the pred for now because I sincerely doubt I would be able to give her an anti-nausea pill. The pred is a liquid suspension so I can just mix it in with her food. She's extremely headshy(I'm guessing from the fact that a quarter of her teeth were rotten) and even administering liquid medications orally has been traumatizing to both her and myself. Even trying to towel her is tough because she's so small.

We have a follow-up appointment with our vet on Wednesday; I'm going to see how much longer she wants to keep going with the hydrolized even though it's obviously not working since we can't take her off the pred. Maybe a limited ingredient diet next? I don't know, but here's hoping something works soon!

I'm almost glad I didn't know of these issues when I adopted her, otherwise I probably wouldn't have chosen her(first time pet parent and all). Then I wouldn't have my Lizzie and I can't imagine my life without this lovey little girl!

 

[IndyJones]

IndyJones I do appreciate you offering up suggestions! I'm really hoping it's an allergy and we can pin it down. We have Lizzie on the pred for now because I sincerely doubt I would be able to give her an anti-nausea pill. The pred is a liquid suspension so I can just mix it in with her food. She's extremely headshy(I'm guessing from the fact that a quarter of her teeth were rotten) and even administering liquid medications orally has been traumatizing to both her and myself. Even trying to towel her is tough because she's so small.

We have a follow-up appointment with our vet on Wednesday; I'm going to see how much longer she wants to keep going with the hydrolized even though it's obviously not working since we can't take her off the pred. Maybe a limited ingredient diet next? I don't know, but here's hoping something works soon!

I'm almost glad I didn't know of these issues when I adopted her, otherwise I probably wouldn't have chosen her(first time pet parent and all). Then I wouldn't have my Lizzie and I can't imagine my life without this lovey little girl!

Aww you're a great pet parent for taking her in and being so committed. I live in a semi rural area and can't tell you how many poor kitties get left to fend for themselves. Hope your girl gets better

 

[loveteachart]

So we just had a check-in at the vet. Lizzie is now down to 5.75 lbs, which isn't surprising because she's only eating about 115 calories a day. The vet wants to focus on calorie intake for now, and I could change foods if I wanted to see if something else would be more tempting for her. At this point she'll eat everything if I give her 1/3 can 2x/day(I work long hours during the week so I can only feed her twice a day), but if I give her more, such as 1/2 can 2x/day, she won't eat it all.

The vet is thinking it might be a combination of food allergies/hypersensitivity and IBD. So, we're just looking for a food that will keep her symptoms down with both things. Anybody have any recommendations? Since I have the Purina H/A dry and the Hill's z/d wet I'm going to try combining the two to see if that helps (for now she gets the wet on a schedule with meds and the dry is left out for her to nibble on, which she really doesn't very much).

 

[missmimz]

 
So we just had a check-in at the vet. Lizzie is now down to 5.75 lbs, which isn't surprising because she's only eating about 115 calories a day. The vet wants to focus on calorie intake for now, and I could change foods if I wanted to see if something else would be more tempting for her. At this point she'll eat everything if I give her 1/3 can 2x/day(I work long hours during the week so I can only feed her twice a day), but if I give her more, such as 1/2 can 2x/day, she won't eat it all.

The vet is thinking it might be a combination of food allergies/hypersensitivity and IBD. So, we're just looking for a food that will keep her symptoms down with both things. Anybody have any recommendations? Since I have the Purina H/A dry and the Hill's z/d wet I'm going to try combining the two to see if that helps (for now she gets the wet on a schedule with meds and the dry is left out for her to nibble on, which she really doesn't very much).

High protein, minimal ingredients wet foods. Feline Naturals, or Ziwipeak would be my top picks. You could also try some freeze dried raw like Primal or Stella and Chewy.