Any ideas of what is wrong with my cat???
By nelly5
@nelly5 (1424)
United States
May 23, 2007 10:01pm CST
Okay, I have a cat who is almost 1 year old. Ever since I got him (when he was just a small kitten), he has always vomited no matter what kind of food I feed him. I started him out on hard food. I have changed from one brand to another to another and to another and he still vomits. I thought maybe he was eating too much food, so I started to really monitor his eating and only feeding him just very small amounts at a time...didn't help. I changed him to all soft food, and it still didn't help. He doesn't act as if anything is ever wrong with him. He isn't lathargic, he acts perfectly normal, well as normal as he can, he is an ornery cat. But what I am saying is I don't understand what is wrong and why he would be vomiting so much because he doesn't act ill. He can be playing and running around, will vomit and then go right back to whatever it was that he was doing before he got sick. My mom said that maybe he has allergies, because this has happened with my sisters dog, he was getting sick a lot and she took him to the vet and the vet said it was allergies. The vet told my sister to give her dog benadryl for the allergies, she did and it helped. What are your thoughts on this? I am just looking for some advice before taking to the vet if I can figure this out with saving money and not making a trip to the vet, it would be great. Thanks for any advice you can give.
6 people like this
14 responses
@mummymo (23706)
•
24 May 07
It could be allergies I haven't had any experience of that so I am not sure. What I would say though is that my cat Tia has had very similar problems all her life and our vet says that it is because she is so fluffy that the fur irritates her stomach so even although there aren't any sign of those awful furballs a lot of the time it is still the real cause of her being sick! You didn't say how often your cat is actually sick - ours can be sick for several days in a row and then nothing for a week or more! Hope this helps and I know that vets aren't cheap but maybe you should make an appointment anyway just to put your mind at ease! xxx
2 people like this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
25 May 07
Yes, that is how my cat is too, he will go in spurts of vomiting. He may vomit every day for two weeks and then go a few days or even almost a couple of weeks without vomiting. I am going to buy him some hairball treats today. I did buy him some different food last night. It is suppose to be more natural, no added preservatives, no artificial flavors or dyes. I hope it helps. Thanks for your response. Have a great day.
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
25 May 07
my cat also vomit at least twice or three times in a month. I feed her can food with carrot and spinach plus grains. She doesn't drink much water because the can food already moisturizes her enough. I noticed that if we didn't play with her, she will vomit and I have to clean it. She is indoor cat so she is not as ctive as outdoor cat, therefore if she doesn't play much, she won't need to eat too much if you know what I mean. Since then we bought her more toys that make her jump and run a lot and keep feeding her regular amount.
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
25 May 07
My cat isn't vomiting 2 or 3 times a month, sometimes it is every single day for 2 weeks straight. He has lots of toys and is rather active for being an indoor cat, only because he is crazy, seriously he is always flying through the house like he is chasing something or running from a fire. Oh and the more natural food that I bought him last night says that it is specifically for indoor or less active cats. Thanks for the response, have a great day.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
24 May 07
One of our cats started throwing up randomly and the vet said that he probably had an upset stomach. They put him on an OTC medicine (1/4 of a pill of Pepcid, up to 4 times a day for 3 weeks) and it solved the problem. Our vet always suggest trying hairball remover first and seeing if that helps, then move on to something else. For our Vet changing food is usually a last resort.
I do know that when our female cat gets sick from the food - over eating - she vomits a few minutes after eating.
Since this has been going on for so long, I would make a Vet appointment (sounds like he should be due for his yearly anyway), bring your list of food you have tried and a list of when he normally vomits. This will help the Vet accurately diagnose his problem.
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
I am sure that it isn't something the an OTC could solve. It is so strange how it is so random. He doesn't get sick all the time. I am positive it isn't because of hairballs. We have seen no hairballs. I don't think I could even remember all the foods we have tried, in order to write them down, I may have to take a pad of paper and a pen to the store with me while I walk along and try to recall which ones we have tried. Thanks for the response.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
24 May 07
When our cats throw up we never see hairballs either. Per our vet, even if we don't see hairball being thrown up, it doesn't mean they don't have hair in their stomachs. It just means they don't throw it up. Think about it cats clean their entire bodies with their mouths, hair is going to get in their stomach. She told me at one point that many owners never see a hair ball, but if they bring their cat in for surgery, the vet finds hair in the cats stomach.
Giving your little one hairball cat treats for a few days can't hurt. If it works, it will save you the expense and time of taking him to the vet.
1 person likes this
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
25 May 07
We called our vet, because our cat was throwing up. He told us to be sure he took worm pills and change his food. The only food our cat can and will eat is Meow mix-hairball control. He has done good for the last two months. I wonder if maybe your kitten had gotten sick from the food recall list. That is one of the symptoms.
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
25 May 07
No, my cat has been vomiting since he was just a little kitten. But when the food recall came out, it did frighten me because of his vomiting but I checked his food and none of what he was eating was on the recall list, thankfully. I am really hoping that it was just a reaction to the food he was eating. He started some new food last night, oh I hope this works...so does my husband...lol Thanks for your response, have a great day. =)
@RenaeT (681)
• United States
25 May 07
HI Nelly, My cat is also a chronic vomiter. It is so annoying. She especially does it in the middle of the night. I used to feed her Meow Mix, then, my sister told me to get her off that garbage food! So, I put her on Purina One and she did MUCH better. She also gets real tuna. She is now on a prescription food called Renal LP by Royal Canin. She has kidney problems so I've got her on a low protein food. She still vomits alot. We nick named her Barfy. In fact, Just today, I came home from work to . . .you guessed it, barf on the hallway floor!! ERrrrrrrrrr!
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
25 May 07
Ugh, yes, I know how aggravating it can be. The new food I bought for my cat last night is called Maxximum Nutritional formula. It says it it is free of added preservatives/colors and flavors. I really hope this helps. He ate it for the first time last night and has not yet vomited, but I can't say just yet that it is because I changed his food, time will tell. I hope it works. Oh and I feel sorry for you and your cat, hopefully you will find something to help control the vomiting in your cat too. Good luck and thanks for your response. Have a great day.
@eyewitness (1575)
• Netherlands
24 May 07
It sounds like your cat is eating good but when he's outside you won't notice what else he eats.We have two cats doing the same thing.It's because outside of the house they go to other places to eat more and eat everything they see.That's not good for a cat and that's why they are vomitting so much.We call our cats trashcans.Because that's what they do.Eating lots of garbage.
@CatVegas (709)
• United States
24 May 07
I would stay away from cat foods with alot of dyes in them. 9-Lives seems to have alot....We feed our cat Sheba and also Fancy Feast. Both of them have no fillers or dyes and she loves her Hill's Science Diet dry food. We have kept her on that as that is what she was getting at the shelter before we got her...For treats we give her Fiskies Indoor Cat Treats. They are great for tarter control and also good for her digestive system. And we give her Frisies Lickens...Both are great for tarter control. But she has no problem on vomiting unless she eats to fast at times...The Fiskies Indoor treats also help with control on fur balls. You won't always see them in the vomit as it might just be a few hairs, but it is enough to make them throw up....I hope this can help....
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
Thank you so much for the response. I am writing down the names of the foods and treats you listed. I will take my list to the store with me in hopes to find a good food for my cat. Hopefully I can find something without a lot of dyes and fillers in them, that my cat will like. I have given my cat those friskies indoor treats before and he didn't vomit those, now that he is getting sick on the other ones, I will be going back to those again. I really hope it is a dye allergy, and that is all that is wrong. It pretty much sounds like it. I am so thankfull for everyones advice here at mylot. Maybe I won't have to take him to the vet for this issue. Thanks again, have a great day!
@kareng (59167)
• United States
24 May 07
I would schedule a vet visit for sure. This has been going on way too long. I wouldn't think this was allergies that could be treated with benadryl...but possibly a food allergy to an ingredient in cat food. A lot of major and popular grocery store brands contain 90% fillers. Corn and corn meals is one that a lot of pets are allergic to.
Hope your kitty is ok!
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
Thank you so much for your response and trust me he is fine. He runs around here like he is king of the castle. He doesn't ever act like anything is wrong with him. He just simply vomits and then goes right back to doing what he was doing. I am going to buy him some new organic food today, so hopefully that will help but he has not gotten sick in 2 days, now that I am asking for advice,...it is just strange. Anyhow, thanks again and I hope the new food will work. Have a great day! =)
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
24 May 07
Well I would definately take him to a Vet - just to make sure. Vomiting in cats can be caused by lots of things - an allergy does seem most likely if he isn't showing any oither signs of illness, but it's unfair on the cat not to get him tested just to make sure. Maybe he has worms that will cause vomiting, or perhaps he has "fur balls" from groorming himself, that will irritate the stomach lining. Trouble is, unless you know for sure what the problem is, any form of self-diagnosis, could cause more harm than good - for example some shop-bought medications for worms could irritate his allergies. So -please take him to a Vet. Getting him properly fit and sorted out is surely more important than saving a bit of money.
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
I understand your view of taking him to the vet but I first am going to try changing his food to see if that works. If it works, then I won't need to spend the money to take him to the vet (I just lost my job last friday). But If it doesn't work then he will be seen by the vet. He has been treated for worms, I treated him for worms myself. Thanks for the response, have a great day.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
24 May 07
May he be eating something other than what you give him? Maybe he snatches bits of food -- human type food? Or maybe he has access to some plants?
Certain ingredients in different human foods and certain plants are bad for or at least unagreeable for cats.
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
I wouldn't say that he is snatching any bits of human food, if he is, I don't know where he would be getting it. As for the plants, I only have three houseplants, and they are hanging to where he can not reach them and is not able to climb on anything by them to get them. I am really agreeing with the mylotters who say that maybe it is an allergy to food dye. I am going to get him some new food and hope that it works. Thanks for the response, have a great day.
@5000ml (1923)
• Belgium
24 May 07
This isn't going to help you much, but I looked around on the Internet when my cat was vomiting almost every day (he's almost a year too) and I found some people who simply said their cat just vomits and they can't do anything about it. There's nothing wrong with the food or the amount, there's no allergy and the cat isn't sick, he/she just vomits every now and again.
With my cat it was because he was eating too much and a certain brand of cat food didn't agree with him. He never acted sick either, he'd just vomit and then carry on like nothing happened! I think you could definitely take your cat to the vet, perhaps he is allergic to something, but it might just be that the vet won't be able to find anything :/
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
Ugh, I hope it isn't going to be that way, that he just vomits all the time..geesh. I first thought it was because he was eating too much, but even after I would regulate his eating, it didn't make a difference...still vomits. I am going to try to change the food and see if maybe it is an allergy to the food dye...I really hope that is what it is. Thanks for the response and the advice. Have a great day.
@bkfuels (1603)
• Canada
24 May 07
Well if I were you I would not worry about this too much. I own seven cats and I have to clean up vomit every day. All cats throw up hair balls especially the older they get. Is this what your cat is vomitting or is it actual food? They cannot digest all of the hair that they lick. If I went to the vet every time my cats threw up I would be going every day more then one time. I also have all long haired cats. Do not worry about it it is normal.
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
I understand that you have seven cats, therefore you have to clean up vomit every day, well that is understandable since you have so many cats, but I only have one and I feel that he should not be vomiting every day or every other day, or even every couple of days. He is not vomitting up hair. Yes, it is actaul food that he vomits. I am really leaning towards the food dye allergy...hopefully that is what it is and I can get this under control. My husband and kids are so sick of seeing him vomit..ugh, it is rather gross. Thanks for the response, have a great day.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
24 May 07
could be a food dye allergy.my calico has this.
i had to switch her to an organic kibble instead.
as soon as i did,the vomiting stopped.
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
Wow, thanks for that, and you know that makes so much sense if I am understanding this correctly. You are saying the dye for coloring the food could be making him sick, right. Now I am really going to have to check this out, I have to say when I was feeding my cat a certain type of 9 lives that had many different colors in it, he would vomit much more than he does now..also, he has some really colorful treats, that I just ended up throwing away b/c he vomited those every single time he ate them...hummm, good answer, I hope I can get this figured out and I will certainly be looking into the organic kibble food. Thanks again =)
1 person likes this
@pred123 (29)
• United States
24 May 07
hmmm. Id definetely go see the vet. Could be something just wierd but not bad( for example my cat is 5 and it has snorted its whole live. but he doesn't mind it) or it could be like a disease. That would be bad. If it doesn't bother him and they say its not anything big, then your jsut gonna have eto get used to it. Hope all goes well with him.
1 person likes this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
24 May 07
Oh gees, I don't think I can just get use to it, I am so sick of cleaning up vomit. I am really hoping that the responses here that say something about food allergies are correct. I hope that after I buy him some organic food, he will quit vomiting...ugh. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my discussion. Have a great day. =)
