Regurgitating food

[sassyjake]

My cat has been regurgitating her food right after eating, both dry and wet. I only give her a little now and it seems she can only tolerate a few small treats. This has been going on for a few weeks. Vet did blood work. All normal. Now she wants to do abdominal ultrasound and chest x-ray. She has a heart murmur, the vet says. She may be backed up. One of my previous cats was backed up once and had to have an enema. He also would regurgitate his food within 5 minutes of eating. Has anyone else had this problem? Going for ultrasound and x-ray tomorrow. Just hoping that is all it is. I am assuming it can't be anything too severe if her blood work was normal. She is 12 years old so I know that's when things can start to go wrong.

She is still playing, grooming, scratching her scratch pad and seems content except for not being able to keep her food down.

Any other ideas on what might be going on?

 

[sassyjake]

I should also add she used to vomit up hair balls at least weekly. Haven't seen any for weeks. I am thinking they are all backed up in her system.

 

[di and bob]

Has she been using the litter box? Her stool is what I would go on to see if she is constipated or backed up. Check with your vet and see if you can give 1/4 tsp. Miralax mixed in a little something she likes, like a lickable treat or a beaten egg yolk. At her age things start to slow down, so encourage more water too, like getting a fountain or setting several small bowls of water around to get her to check them out. Also get a prepared hairball treatment, treats, or a tube, or give her about a tsp. of softened butter once a day until she starts going again. then give like once a week. Butter contains almost no lactose like cow's milk does, so is safe to use.

 

[daftcat75]

I am assuming it can't be anything too severe if her blood work was normal. She is 12 years old so I know that's when things can start to go wrong.

I would like to affirm that assumption for you. Unfortunately, a lot of gut problems don't show up in the blood work. That's why your vet recommended an ultrasound and X-rays. I know it seems excessive when you get the bills back and still don't know what's wrong. But these things often take several tests, ruling things out or using some different type of imagery to see what might be going on. Cats' guts do slow down with age. But they also slow down with inflammation. And while hairballs may seem common and expected, they aren't normal. A cat should be able to pass ingested hair in their stool. An ultrasound should should certainly help visualize whether there is inflammation in her gut or if she's simply backed up. Inflammation can be simple or serious. I won't speculate from here. Let's see what the imaging tests reveal. And in the meantime, more wet and less dry food will be a solid strategy for the most common health concerns in older cats: kidney disease, IBD, and even dental disease is improved by a reduction in dry food. The maxim that dry food is helpful for keeping cats' teeth clean is just flat out wrong. I don't know about you. But cookies and potato chips never kept my teeth clean.

 

[sassyjake]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. As far as stool, she shares a litter box with another cat. There isn't much stool in there. I try to clean daily. Just small stool but not sure which cat it is. I have been giving hair ball malt (laxatone) daily to hopefully help her out. I just don't like seeing her toss up her food so quickly after eating. Whatever she does regurgitate is whole. No chewing. She does keep the odd food she chews down. I think she is so hungry that she just gobbles up the little food I give her and then regurgitates the whole pieces. I am sure I will have some answers tomorrow. Thanks again for your comments.

 

[daftcat75]

You can put different colored crayon shavings in their food to distinguish their poops. The crayons are non-toxic and won't be digested. But the cats won't likely won't be too thrilled about the taste though. The only other thing I could think of is to put red food coloring in one of the cat's food. If my always alarming experience with red velvet cupcakes tells me anything-- you'd think I would remember eating them--it's that red food coloring often passes unchanged as well.

 

[daftcat75]

When was the last time her teeth were checked out? Cats don't chew their kibble much anyway, usually just a crunch or two. But if she has dental pain, she may be trying to avoid chewing at all. If that's the case, it is possible that she fills up much quicker with unchewed pieces that her stomach doesn't know what to do with.

 

[Draco]

Does she eat really fast? Sometimes if cats inhale their food, they throw it back up. If that's the case, slow down her feedings by using a slow feeder bowl or give her a little at a time

 

[FeralHearts]

I wouldn't panic over a murmur just yet. Cats often have a level one going to the vet as they are freaked out. Unfortunately what you are describing can be so many things. My hope is that whatever it is is simply and easy to correct.

You can put different colored crayon shavings in their food to distinguish their poops. The crayons are non-toxic and won't be digested.

This works. Having 4 I can tell you when I need to see who is doing what this has been a go too. Standard Crayola crayons, not scented or anything. Plain .Shred and put in food. Easy and effective. It won't have an impact on any testing results either.

Does she eat really fast? Sometimes if cats inhale their food, they throw it back up. If that's the case, slow down her feedings by using a slow feeder bowl or give her a little at a time

This above , yup!

PS - any news yet?