Vomiting bile possible blockage in Ragodoll-What to ask vet

[ck2d]

This is a scary post, because I'm considering keeping a long haired kitten.

Wondering - other than the shave (which is wicked cute), what is your regular grooming routine?  Also, did you do any hairball prevention before all this started?

Good luck with him!

 

[franksmom]

Hi I am sorry to scare you off long haired cats! Frank never had many hairballs until this spring, so I went 4 years without having to worry about it. I did use the furminator which does work well but this spring it seemed no matter how often I used it he was still shedding. I used the laxitone which is basically petroleum jelly after he got the blockage but I am not keen on giving it to him. Egg leichen or egg yolk has been mentioned as being helpful. In my case I think this may be a symptom of ibs so I am treating him for that.

A lot of long hair cats are fine with grooming and something like egg leichen, but from now on I will be shaving both my long haired cats every spring in order to be extra safe.

 

[franksmom]

I just wanted to give everyone an update- Frank has made a complete turn around since the shaving! He has not vomited and he now eats more food than ever! Even as a kitten he was not a big eater but now he is regularly eating 5-6 ounces of wet food a day, which he has never done in his life-he used to maybe eat at most 2-3oz a day. He is now also mostly on an all wet food diet which is also amazing. The only dry food he eats is sprinkled on the wet and is the nature's variety limited ingredient.  I would like to stop the dry all together but he will only eat the wet if it has some dry food and freeze dried chicken on top, but he will eat a huge amount as long as he has these toppers- he sometimes will eat 3 oz at a time! I still cant get him to try any raw and I put a small amount in his wet food yesterday and he refused to eat until I threw out the "contaminated" wet and give him a new can. 

I don't think the protein was an issue because as he still eats chicken but I have cut back on it and mostly give him the duck and lamb flavours of the pride by natures's variety though he still does eat tiki cat and of course the freeze dried chicken. I do think the limited ingredient nature's variety dry food is better for him than the orijen because it has a lot less ingredients and does not have fish. 

I have not started him on the vitality science yet because I just wanted to give him a bit of a break from medication and syringes since he is doing well. It does really work though because my dog had really bad diarrhea when I brought her up to my cottage and I gave her one dose of the vitality science and it cleared up right away (you can use it for both dogs and cats). She also has some ibs symptoms as she will get sick if she eats anything different - she stole another dog's food which made her sick. I do think it is pretty good stuff so far and will start trying it on Frank and Ava (the kitten) in the next little while. I notice Ava has soft stool so I think she also has some ibs issues, lucky me!

 

[vball91]

I am so glad to hear that Frank is doing so well now. Look at him go with eating big portions! Having a picky eater myself, I know how exciting it is when they eat a big meal. It must mean that he's feeling better. I can't believe what a difference the lion cut has made for him. Do you think you're going to have it done every summer?

 

[ldg]

I'm willing to be the answer to that question is a big, fat, YES. :lol3:

Aw, thanks for the update - GREAT that it's such a happy one!

 

[franksmom]

Thanks guys! Yes Vball I am going to keep the shaving up. I think I will actually keep him shaved all year round now because he has never eaten so much and I think it may be because the hair in his system was causing stomach upset. He is inside and our house is warm all winter so he shouldn't get cold and I want to keep his appetite up and not risk anymore hairball issues. The groomer said you need to do them every 4 months so it shouldn't be too bad. 

 

[brianne333]

I know that this thread is a few years old now but I wanted to say that it helped me get through an incredibly similar situation with my kitty Voodoo.  It came up on an internet search while I was desperately trying to figure out what could be wrong with my baby and ultimately I think seeing the steps that were taken here helped save my cat.

Voodoo is only 9 and suddenly stopped eating.  It was like a switch was flipped.  Her behavior was exactly the same - she just started throwing up foamy clear liquid and not eating and then not drinking as well.  We just lost a cat a month ago to kidney failure and I was on high alarm and terrified.  Our vet did bloodwork which came back completely normal.  Her heart and breathing sounded good.  She had no fever and her mouth and eyes looked good.  He didn't feel anything abnormal in her stomach, she just wasn't eating.

It had been days and I was really afraid.  I could not tempt her with anything.  The doctor gave her a big helping of hairball treatment and a shot for nausea.  She only took two tiny bites at her food that evening so I was still very worried.

The next morning I found a stool that had some hair in it but she still would not eat.  She wasn't gagging anymore at the smell of her food, but she just didn't want it.  After reading this, I decided to try syringe feeding.  It was a struggle with her but I got a whole meal in her and an HOUR after that, I found her drinking water on her own!

The next morning we found another stool that was basically ALL hair.  And a few hours after that - she was eating her food!  Like nothing had ever happened!  Absolutely terrifying days I've had and I was so afraid I would lose her.  But reading this helped me make the choice to try syringe feeding after the nausea medication and it was just enough to get her appetite going again.

If anyone finds themselves in this situation again where the cat will not eat but bloodwork is fine and behavior is pretty normal, try anti-nausea meds and syringe feeding because that's what worked for us!!