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Senior kitty vomiting

TooPatient

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Suzie is a rescue kitty we adopted at nearly 16 years old (17 if they didn't update the paperwork to reflect the year she spent in the shelter). She has vomited periodically since we brought her home. Sometimes a couple times a week but other times twice a day.

I have noticed some connection between the food she eats and how often she is sick, but it is hard to get a good feel since she is extremely picky about what she will eat. We are going through another change of foods as she started refusing to eat the only one she liked before. This is probably the 4th or 5th time doing this in the two years she has been with us.

Right this minute, I am just trying any food I can find (meat/fish based grain free wet food) to find something she will eat more than one meal of.

All of her blood work is fine. Blood pressure is fine. Eye pressure is fine. Ultrasound shows no masses, lumps, urine crystal, or anything else. Poop and pee is fine. Energy level is good (great for an older cat).

No problems except vomiting! (Plus the usual picky cat fun.)

Help! Ideas? What haven't we checked? I am tired of waking up to a cat vomiting on top of me!
 

Matata

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How many times a day do you feed her? Does she gulp down the food? You can try several small meals a day -- morning, afternoon, evening, and before bed. Where do you feed her? If not already doing so, feed her in a location that is quiet and away from household traffic. Try adding bits of raw pork, beef, dark meat chicken to her meals plus organ meats -- 1/2 tsp liver per week; gizzards, hearts. Also you can give her 1/2 a pepcid an hour before she eats for short term to see if that helps.
 

TooPatient

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How many times a day do you feed her? Does she gulp down the food? You can try several small meals a day -- morning, afternoon, evening, and before bed. Where do you feed her? If not already doing so, feed her in a location that is quiet and away from household traffic. Try adding bits of raw pork, beef, dark meat chicken to her meals plus organ meats -- 1/2 tsp liver per week; gizzards, hearts. Also you can give her 1/2 a pepcid an hour before she eats for short term to see if that helps.

We feed her four times per day. She varies between nibbling a meal over an hour or two and eating it in a couple of sittings over 15-20 minutes. She decided she doesn't like the other cats/dogs most of the time so has her own room (our room) away from the others.

Beef seems to make her sick so we don't give beef. Chicken she will eat. Gizzards she won't touch. Hearts and liver I can get her to eat sometimes if mixed with tuna.

Will try the raw and see how she does with that. (I had been doing it until she quit eating and insisted on a different thing)
 

Matata

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It's possible that her nose or tastebuds aren't as sharp since she's an elder. Try adding something stinky (tuna juice) or a smelly luncheon meat/spread. parmesan cheese or a stinky cheese sprinkled on top of her food.
 

babs23r

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Hi. My daughter had a problem with her cat vomiting. The vet put him on a prescription cat food. I will find out the name of the food.
She also feeds him cooked chicken.
Vet couldn’t find anything wrong with him.... just a nervous tummy.
 

TooPatient

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It's possible that her nose or tastebuds aren't as sharp since she's an elder. Try adding something stinky (tuna juice) or a smelly luncheon meat/spread. parmesan cheese or a stinky cheese sprinkled on top of her food.

She LOVES tuna. She has been getting tuna based foods a lot. I also found a tuna and sardine food topper that I have tried adding to some of the foods we try. You can smell her food through closed doors. (Did I mention DH and I both hate fish? The things we do for our cats!)
 

babs23r

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The veterinarian prescribed Hills Rx diet digestive care I/D.
 

Starfacet

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We went through a lot of expensive cat food for our senior cat and we found that the Rachael Ray Nutrish Tuna Purrfection (available at the grocery story) is the only thing he doesn't throw up. It smells horrible but he loves it! We feed him 1/2 container 4 times per day, so we use 2 containers per day. We buy as many plastic tray-fuls as the grocery store has in stock when we go!
https://nutrish.com/cat/wet-food/tuna-purrfection
 

TooPatient

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We went through a lot of expensive cat food for our senior cat and we found that the Rachael Ray Nutrish Tuna Purrfection (available at the grocery story) is the only thing he doesn't throw up. It smells horrible but he loves it! We feed him 1/2 container 4 times per day, so we use 2 containers per day. We buy as many plastic tray-fuls as the grocery store has in stock when we go!
https://nutrish.com/cat/wet-food/tuna-purrfection

This is one we have right now to try. She ate one. Didn't eat the next. Will see about another tonight or tomorrow.

It is definitely fishy! The smell is strong but a lot better than some of the others we tried! The outgoing smells after TikiCat mousse.... :sick:
 

missy

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TooPatient

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@TooPatient how is she doing today?

She vomited yesterday around 6am, 9am, and 1pm. That is before breakfast, after breakfast, and after being given (but before eating) second breakfast.

No weight loss or loss of enerfe or appetite. She looks like a healthy, happy cat.

She just got breakfast today. No vomiting so far.

Top choices seem to be settling on Rachel Ray tuna or TikkiCat tuna &pumpkin.
 

WhoaNelly

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My two cents: While I don't think this applies to your kitty, my older one had diagnosed IBD/pancreatitis and she was put on a last ditch prescription kibble diet by Royal Canin called Gastrointestinal Fiber Response. She took to it well and stopped vomiting. I mention this because I noticed that Royal Canin has a sensitive wet food that's available in stores/online that may be worth trying. Keeping it stinky always helps! Fingers crossed for your gal.
 

TooPatient

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Maybe Rachel Ray for a few days and then one of the special diets...

Two hours after TikkiCat and I am mopping the floor.
 

Matata

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Two hours after TikkiCat and I am mopping the floor.
Has she been checked for this: https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_megaesophagus

Has she had a recent dental exam? That much vomiting is going to take a toll on her. It's possible she has inflammatory bowel disease which can be difficult to diagnose without taking a tissue sample. Maybe talk to your vet about treating her as if she has it and see what happens. Prednisolone for awhile and a prescription diet.

She may also be sensitive to an ingredient in all the foods you've tried. Some cats are sensitive to the white coating used on the inside of canned foods. It's frustrating going through an elimination period to try to find a culprit. I've been there with my IBD cat.

Also, changing foods so much can exacerbate the problem. Cats usually do better with gradual transitions to new food. The tuna heavy diet can be problematic too sometimes leading to vitamin K deficiency even though the highly processed food has essential vitamins added in.

Have you tried Stella & Chewy's or Radcat (raw food)? If all else fails, I'd try switching her to a raw diet. Lots of excellent info on this FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawcats/
 

TooPatient

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Has she been checked for this: https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_megaesophagus

Has she had a recent dental exam? That much vomiting is going to take a toll on her. It's possible she has inflammatory bowel disease which can be difficult to diagnose without taking a tissue sample. Maybe talk to your vet about treating her as if she has it and see what happens. Prednisolone for awhile and a prescription diet.

She may also be sensitive to an ingredient in all the foods you've tried. Some cats are sensitive to the white coating used on the inside of canned foods. It's frustrating going through an elimination period to try to find a culprit. I've been there with my IBD cat.

Also, changing foods so much can exacerbate the problem. Cats usually do better with gradual transitions to new food. The tuna heavy diet can be problematic too sometimes leading to vitamin K deficiency even though the highly processed food has essential vitamins added in.

Have you tried Stella & Chewy's or Radcat (raw food)? If all else fails, I'd try switching her to a raw diet. Lots of excellent info on this FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawcats/

Dental check a few months ago was fine. I don't remember if she was checked for that or not. Will look into it!

I need to compare the foods again and see what is common. An allergy is definitely a possibility. I hate swapping food so much on her when this happens, but when she eats something once and then refuses to eat it again I don't know what else to do. I have tried just leaving it down figuring she will get hungry then giving the same type again for the next meal and the next. She just refuses to eat anything at that point until I have in because I worry about her starving and having issues from not eating.

Maybe time to make her food again and see if we can't do a sort of elimination diet for her. Add things one by one so we can see what she reacts to...
 

Matata

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Starfacet

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My cat also has an auto immune disorder that he's had for years but was only diagnosed recently by my new, awesome vet. He gets a shot for it every 3 months. Some sort of steroid I guess. It's helping him be healthier over all.
This will sound weird, but we also let him have small amounts of lactose free milk. He loves it and I think it's helping with added calories and he doesn't throw it up.
 

babs23r

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Have you spoken to the vet about a prescription cat food for cats with GI issues? I think that is your best bet.
 

rockysalamander

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We have a senior kitty that has always been a vomiter. We tried every kind of food out there from Friskies to prescription brands. We never found a connection nor could Tufts. We have occasionally used an anti-nausea medication. Of the many things we tried, that was the most successful.

The most common cat food allergies are corn, seafood, beef, lamb, and chicken. Chicken can trigger some cats, thus the prescription diets can be an issue (they spray most of them with chicken to improve flavor). So, basically everything in cat food. Yay pet parents! Natural Balance has two limited ingrediate diets (Green Pea Salmon, Green Pea Chicken). Royal Canin has a duck based diet and rabbit+peas. If you cat is a tuna-love, start with 100% of the food she is eating and then over at least a week, slowly introduce the new food by mixing them together.

One other option that some elderly kitties like is to cook ground chicken and rice (90% chicken to 10% rice). If you add a lot of bones, you'll get some bone-broth effects. No onion, garlic or seasoning. This is my elderly girl's favorite. If you go this route, you have to supplement with taurine.

The good news is that a healthy indoor only cat requires...wait for it...the calories in about 12 dry cat food kernels per a vet conference I attend as a tech!
 

ecf8503

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I'm a veterinarian (worked in cats-only practices for years).

Vomiting is not normal - there is something going on, but it may not be seen on physical exam or via bloodwork. When they did bloodwork, did they check thyroid function as well as kidney values? Those are 2 of the most common diseases in older cats. If that's all normal, it may be worth getting some x-rays taken - I once saw a cat that had been vomiting every day, and everything checked out fine on physical exam and bloodwork - the previous vet never bothered to take a radiograph, turns out he had a nickel in his stomach!

There may be a microscopic problem such as inflammatory bowel disease, or maybe even the cancer lymphoma, in the walls of the intestines - this is only diagnosable via biopsies of the intestines. It may be food ingredient sensitivity as well. Pancreatitis, gall bladder / bile duct disease, thyroid and kidney conditions, cancer, foreign bodies, ulcers, etc can all cause vomiting - the list of differentials is very long.

Many cats don't do well on beef, mine included, so if she's already not getting that then that's one less thing to worry about. A word about grain-free diets - they have recently been associated with the development of heart disease (cardiomyopathy), and the grains themselves are rarely the culprit in food sensitivities, and are actually quite nutritious in many cases. My cats don't care for grain-free most of the time anyway, so it may be worth trying a "regular" food for your gal. If you do choose to go limited-ingredient, you have to feed it exclusively for several weeks before you can say whether it's working or not.

@Matata knows what she's talking about, and has given you much information so far. I'd get back in touch with your vet and go over things - she is vomiting for a reason. If your vet doesn't seem inclined to pursue additional diagnostics, it may be time for a new vet.
 

TooPatient

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Have you spoken to the vet about a prescription cat food for cats with GI issues? I think that is your best bet.

I haven't yet because she is SUPER picky. Texture, flavor, and smell have to be just so or she won't eat it.
 

TooPatient

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I'm a veterinarian (worked in cats-only practices for years).

Vomiting is not normal - there is something going on, but it may not be seen on physical exam or via bloodwork. When they did bloodwork, did they check thyroid function as well as kidney values? Those are 2 of the most common diseases in older cats. If that's all normal, it may be worth getting some x-rays taken - I once saw a cat that had been vomiting every day, and everything checked out fine on physical exam and bloodwork - the previous vet never bothered to take a radiograph, turns out he had a nickel in his stomach!

There may be a microscopic problem such as inflammatory bowel disease, or maybe even the cancer lymphoma, in the walls of the intestines - this is only diagnosable via biopsies of the intestines. It may be food ingredient sensitivity as well. Pancreatitis, gall bladder / bile duct disease, thyroid and kidney conditions, cancer, foreign bodies, ulcers, etc can all cause vomiting - the list of differentials is very long.

Many cats don't do well on beef, mine included, so if she's already not getting that then that's one less thing to worry about. A word about grain-free diets - they have recently been associated with the development of heart disease (cardiomyopathy), and the grains themselves are rarely the culprit in food sensitivities, and are actually quite nutritious in many cases. My cats don't care for grain-free most of the time anyway, so it may be worth trying a "regular" food for your gal. If you do choose to go limited-ingredient, you have to feed it exclusively for several weeks before you can say whether it's working or not.

@Matata knows what she's talking about, and has given you much information so far. I'd get back in touch with your vet and go over things - she is vomiting for a reason. If your vet doesn't seem inclined to pursue additional diagnostics, it may be time for a new vet.

Thyroid and kidney were definitely included. Those were some I wondered about too. I am pretty sure the one vet did an x-ray as part of something else I had checked. Need to double check that. (I have a primary vet then an emergency vet for after hours and days the primary is booked solid and we can't wait.)

She is somewhere between almost 18 and almost 19 years old so I am reluctant to do anything needing anesthesia unless we have tried the less invasive options first.

I think I may have a couple of options she may eat consistently. Going to try stabilizing her on that and see if it helps her stomach to not be swapping food every couple of meals. After that, probably an elimination sort of diet since I know certain things (beef, turkey) affect her worse than others.
 

Tacori E-ring

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My 17 year old cat vomits frequently too. She gets a lot of hair balls so I think that's part of the issue but often drinks water too fast which gets her sick.
 

TooPatient

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My 17 year old cat vomits frequently too. She gets a lot of hair balls so I think that's part of the issue but often drinks water too fast which gets her sick.

She definitely eats fur! I keep her brushed, but she will lick it off of blankets (washed daily) or pounce on it on the floor (swept multiple times daily). Crazy cat!
 

TooPatient

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Suzie vomited once on Monday. Nothing yesterday or so far today.

She seems to have decided she will eat Sheba tuna or salmon cuts in gravy. We have been splitting it across closer to 7-8 meals per day. Hopefully I can cut her back down to 4 meals later! Will still be following up with the vet in case she notices something more serious, but for now I am glad she is eating.

Oh.... Stopped to say hi to the kitties from the shelter and mentioned our senior girl we adopted from them a couple of years ago and her frustrating habit of demanding a food change every few months. The volunteer knew who I had adopted based on the food changes! She did that to them too...
 

TooPatient

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Loosing my girl. Taking her home for as long as she is comfortable. Her blood work is great but XRay showed fluid in and around lungs. Vet drained the fluid and found bad infection. Long story short, we are heading home to snuggle and I will make the call when I have to.
 

Ellen

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I'm sorry.
console2.gif
 

Gabbycat

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I'm so sorry to hear this. It's such a hard thing to go through. Cherish your remaining snuggles and know that making the call will be the last and greatest act of love you can give her.
 

stracci2000

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Oh, no. I am so sorry.
I lost my special boy in March, and I still grieve for him.
It was wonderful of you to adopt Suzie as a senior kitty.
Lots of hugs to you and your family. It's never easy.
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

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Oh no- so sorry from the bottom of my heart. Hugs to you and kitty.
 
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