Our cat Rory has been having issues with periodic vomiting since last summer. On October 22, he had a high Spec fPL value (4.0, range: 0.0-3.5), though ultrasound did not show signs of pancreatitis. On the recommendation of our vet, this winter we placed him on a food sensitivity diet (Hill’s z/d wet diet + Rayne’s Kangaroo novel protein) and Cerenia/Pepcid. That got him down to only about one vomit a week at most. Since he was doing well, we phased out the meds in mid feb, and then gradually phased in regular food, with z/d diet removed on March 6.
He was adapting well to the transition, without any major episodes of throwing up, until today. This morning, he threw up at about 4am, then again at 10:30am and 11:30am. These were all soon after eating. At 12:30pm, he began wheezing and bobbing his head and swallowing, like he was going to throw up again (see video: Rory bobbing head/swallowing). This is the worst it’s been in a really long time.
We’re a bit surprised his food sensitivity would be so bad. We did also recently add unflavored Metamucil for our other cats bowel issues (they share food). We are currently researching new food to potentially get him off potential irritants.
Here are the foods he’s eaten recently, along with potential problem ingredients:
Tiny Tiger Pate Chicken, Pate Turkey - meat byproducts, guar gum, fish (We were planning to stop giving this when we used up our current inventory because we heard about some quality control issues for their turkey pate)
Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken - chicken, xanthan gum
Weruva Wx Phos Focused Chicken Formula in a Hydrating Puree - chicken, egg, Agar agar
Hill’s I/D Chicken diet - chicken, guar gum, rice
Dry Food (Given as treat): Hill’s D/D Duck and Green Pea and Fussie Cat Chicken and Turkey - peas
He also had a more serious pancreatitis episode in Jan 2020 when he was vomiting regularly and had to be taken to the emergency vet. Between that and the most recent positive test, he didn’t have any issues.
Right now we are giving him just a novel protein food from Rayne, which they were on during the food sensitivity diet. We will also give a dose of Pepcid/Cerenia, and will ask the vet for some more z/d diet tomorrow. At this point, should we get him checked for pancreatitis, or is it better to wait a little longer? Is there anything else we should check or ask our vet?
He was adapting well to the transition, without any major episodes of throwing up, until today. This morning, he threw up at about 4am, then again at 10:30am and 11:30am. These were all soon after eating. At 12:30pm, he began wheezing and bobbing his head and swallowing, like he was going to throw up again (see video: Rory bobbing head/swallowing). This is the worst it’s been in a really long time.
We’re a bit surprised his food sensitivity would be so bad. We did also recently add unflavored Metamucil for our other cats bowel issues (they share food). We are currently researching new food to potentially get him off potential irritants.
Here are the foods he’s eaten recently, along with potential problem ingredients:
Tiny Tiger Pate Chicken, Pate Turkey - meat byproducts, guar gum, fish (We were planning to stop giving this when we used up our current inventory because we heard about some quality control issues for their turkey pate)
Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken - chicken, xanthan gum
Weruva Wx Phos Focused Chicken Formula in a Hydrating Puree - chicken, egg, Agar agar
Hill’s I/D Chicken diet - chicken, guar gum, rice
Dry Food (Given as treat): Hill’s D/D Duck and Green Pea and Fussie Cat Chicken and Turkey - peas
He also had a more serious pancreatitis episode in Jan 2020 when he was vomiting regularly and had to be taken to the emergency vet. Between that and the most recent positive test, he didn’t have any issues.
Right now we are giving him just a novel protein food from Rayne, which they were on during the food sensitivity diet. We will also give a dose of Pepcid/Cerenia, and will ask the vet for some more z/d diet tomorrow. At this point, should we get him checked for pancreatitis, or is it better to wait a little longer? Is there anything else we should check or ask our vet?