Vomiting for five days

[Caillousmom]

My cat has been vomiting for five days, multiple times a day, despite being under treatment. This started monday where he threw up five times, sometimes digested food sometimes just gastric juices. Tuesday I took him to the vet and they did blood tests to check for kidney disease, and ultrasounds to check for bladder/stomach blockage and the state of his other organs. Everything came out good so they ruled it as an infection and sent him home with 1 shot of antibiotic and 1 shot of anti nausea + prescription diet. Ever since then, he's been reluctant or refusing to eat the prescription diet (pro plan gastrointestinal wet food) so I got him the dry food version which he was eager about the first day, then decided to barely eat that as well. The vomiting has gone down to once or 3 times a day, just gastric juices so he keeps his food down. Called the vet and they told me to stop antibiotics and change his anti nausea medication. Still the same issue.

He drinks but not a lot, pees and defecates normally.

I forgot to mention that I tried just giving him a bland diet of cooked unseasoned chicken, he threw that up after an hour. He is tired and seems uncomfortable but he still tries to play with toys briefly and likes to look out the window with full attention. After eating he sits with a hunchback for an hour. I don't know what else to do to help him get better.

 

[daftcat75]

There are other prescription diets. Can you ask your vet about Hills I/D and A/D? My Betty likes the I/D in the stew cans but not the pate. The A/D is a kitty crack recovery food used to get sick and fussy cats eating. I mix it with the I/D to bring the calories up and keep the appeal high.

I don’t have much to offer on what’s going on. If there’s no blockage or signs of toxicity (blood work would have shown something), then perhaps it is an infection? The only other thing I can think of is if he ate something foreign that irritated his stomach or gut lining, that can be tricky to see on an ultrasound. So You could ask your vet about sucralfate. It coats the stomach and gut like a bandaid protecting it from gastric juices. Or you can look up slippery elm bark and how to make and administer the slippery elm syrup. It’s basically the same concept as sucralfate without a prescription. Some cats tolerate slippery elm better than sucralfate.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Try some baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) and see if he can keep that down. I would serve him something to eat every couple of hours as well. Most cats like the baby food meat and it is relatively easy on the stomach.

Call the vet back and ask what else he could be given - perhaps he needs an acid reducer in addition to the ant-nausea meds. Also, confirm the dose of anti-nausea meds he is taking is enough, and see if they think it would be a good idea to try another one. The two most common ones that I know of are Cerenia or Zofran. Generally, if one doesn't work, most vets want to try the other.

 

[daftcat75]

My other recommendation is to feed him smaller meals more often. If he is fed twice a day, try splitting the same amount of food across four to six smaller meals. That should be easier for him to digest and keep down.

 

[Caillousmom]

Thank you for your reply! I actually have been trying to feed him smaller meals every 2 hours but he doesn't allow it. We changed his anti-nausea meds twice. Today I spoke to his vet that told me to try feeding him things he used to enjoy and abandon the prescription diet, but he just takes a bite from his old kibble then spits it out immediately. He ate a bit of pro plan GI dry food at 4am, spent the rest of the day sleeping. Then I managed to get him to eat a little bit of chicken by hand feeding at around 4pm. So far today he hasn't vomited (fingers crossed it stays that way). The vet thinks we need to do an endoscopy on monday if he doesn't get better which absolutely terrifies me. He is only 4 years old and usually bounces back from illness quickly so this is driving me insane

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you for your reply! I actually have been trying to feed him smaller meals every 2 hours but he doesn't allow it. We changed his anti-nausea meds twice. Today I spoke to his vet that told me to try feeding him things he used to enjoy and abandon the prescription diet, but he just takes a bite from his old kibble then spits it out immediately. He ate a bit of pro plan GI dry food at 4am, spent the rest of the day sleeping. Then I managed to get him to eat a little bit of chicken by hand feeding at around 4pm. So far today he hasn't vomited (fingers crossed it stays that way). The vet thinks we need to do an endoscopy on monday if he doesn't get better which absolutely terrifies me. He is only 4 years old and usually bounces back from illness quickly so this is driving me insane

An endoscopy is a reasonable next step. It will allow the vet to see the inside of his stomach and gut. If there is ulceration and irritation (such as from a foreign body ingestion), that will be more readily visible on an endoscope than an ultrasound.

Hills I/D and A/D are easily digestible and the A/D is very appealing. It is meant for kitties who are being fussy and not eating. I would still ask your vet for a couple cans of each.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Any news?

 

[Caillousmom]

Any news?

He actually fully recovered the day after I posted this. I was holding him and crying because he hadn't eaten for 24 hours. Then out of nowhere he started eating small bits of food, the next day he was fully back to normal and hadn't thrown up since! The vet said there's no need for an endoscopy and to just keep feeding him the prescription diet for a few more weeks and reintroduce his old food on the last week. Here is a photo of him after his recovery

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

What does the vet think happened?