SPENCER VOMITS ALL THE TIME

[purrley]

Hi I need a bit of advice, comments on a problem with Spence (my chocolate Siamese).
I bought him from a breeder about 7 years ago and right off the bat he had problems with his stomach. I took him to the vet and he diagnosed giordia (parasite) - even let me look at the little guys under the microscope. I notified the breeder and she thought that would be impossible since she always served city water. Anyway - got him cleared up and a year or so later he was diagnosed with Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). This was a hospital stay where they gave him intravenous fluid to prevent dehydration. After that I just couldn't get him fully recovered so back to the vet. This time the vet said Spence was allergic to his own teeth - therefore all teeth were extracted except the Canine teeth. So he has his fangs, but the rest are gone. So now he's a full time wet food eater.
Problem: Spence eats like crazy and sometimes, but not all the time, vomits his entire meal on my rugs, middle of the bed or wherever. Sometimes its just the dry heaves. I've been able to help him by giving him a Tagament (1/2). Spence is in a multiple cat household - the other cats have no problem and I like to leave food out for the others to eat at their leisure. I've had Spence to the vet since and they can't find anything else wrong with him. He weighs what is normal for a oriental physique. He is an oriental Siamese. Any advice - you know what happens to rugs when Whiskas chicken and gravy stays on them too long.

[catwoman]

Oh, poor Spencer!

I had a couple of thoughts when I read your post:

1- Denver city water recently had parasite issues (not giardia ... something else.) It depends on what the city's source is, and how much rain you've had lately.

2- What about hairballs? My Thelma, who has chronic hairball issues, throws up right after eating whenever she is "working" on expelling a hairball. Does Spencer throw up hairballs ... maybe not the first, but the second or third time he vomits?

Bless Spencer's little heart. I sure hope he's better soon!

Dianne

[catwoman]

One other thought ... sometimes Thelma's throat will get irritated after struggling to expell a hairball. My old vet gave her a round of steroids and it helped her throat recover from a bad bout once.

It could also be the Spencer is simply eating too fast (common in multicat households.) Whenever I treat my cats to tuna, Thelma gobbles hers so fast she immediately vomits it back up.

[ September 26, 2001: Message edited by: catwoman ]

[4 feline house]

The breeder is misinformed. Although giardia can be transmitted through water, the most common form of transmission in cats is through the feces. Also, this organism is frequently found in public water supplies. As long as Spencer ever shared a litter box with any other kitty, he could get it. I had four little fosters who had giardia, and they never vomited, they just had some funky gel-like diarrhea, which I understand is virtually the only symptom.

Do you know your vet really well? The reason I ask is that pancreatitis is NOT caused by being allergic to your own teeth - if THAT'S even possible (my apologies if someone proves me wrong). If you know your vet really well and trust them really well, then I'm sure you're comfortable with the advice you are getting.

But otherwise, I would strongly suggest a second opinion.

Also realize two other things - purebreds lack the "mongrel heartiness" and can tend to be sickly, especially if alot of inbreeding is allowed.

And, cats vomit. One of their mysteries.

Hydrogen peroxide can do wonders towards cleaning the stains out of the carpet.

Give little Spence some "get well" sugars for me :( .

[lizbud]

Purrley,
Just wanted to say that I agree with
4 feline house on this.This breeder is very
questionable..I feel so bad about Spencer!!
How well do you know this particular breeder?
Breeders should know more about the animals
they breed for sale to unsuspecting kitty
lovers!!
Again, I am so sorry that Spencer has to be
so miserable,and also that you are left to
deal with these problems. I know you must feel so bad for him!!

[purrley]

Thanks for the replies. In answer to some
questions - I do know the breeder very well and in fact have bought to other Siamese cats from her that I've had no trouble with.
The hair ball thing I will look into. I usually don't treat by kitties for hair balls but I do have a hair ball remedy on hand that I will try on Spence. As far as the vet goes - I have changed vets recently and haven't yet had Spence seen by the new vet. When my previous vet pulled out all of Spences teeth (without notifying me first) I was livid, but after it was all over he gained back the weight he lost and was doing really well until this vomit thing go worse. I suppose I wont worry too much as long as he doesn't lose weight or get dehydrated - just clean up the messes almost every day. :(

[purrley]

Oh another thing - Spence is indeed a ravenous eater. It's like he doesn't thing he's going to get his share and yep, almost always throws the whole thing up right after. :(

[purrley]

Makes sense to me Spencer LOL :D :D

[catwoman]

Your previous vet didn't even ASK YOU before pulling out all of Spence's teeth? That is horrible! I'm so glad to hear you've changed vets ...

[purrley]

Yeah catwoman - you can image how upset I was - I took him in for just a teeth cleaning. I felt so bad poor Spence had a bloody drool for about a week. I guess its a good thing that cats are gulpers, otherwise, I'd have to make kitty soup :)

[4 feline house]

In Texas it would have been illegal for him to perform surgery on your cat without your permission. He could (and maybe should?) lose his license. That's the most horrible thing I've ever heard. Even if all his teeth were rotting out of his head, and there was absolutely no other treatment and no way to save them, he still can't do it without your permission.

[Karen]

Poor Spencer, well, maybe he does a good "vampire kitty" impression at Halloween with just his fangs?

I too wonder if he's just eating too fast. Any way to feed him separately, just a little at a time to see if that helps?

[Deb]

On the topic of cats who vomit after eating too fast, I overheard a tip recently from the local pet food store owner: put a tennis ball in the dish (only if it's dry food, of course) and then they will have to nose around it to get at the food . . . usually slows them down enough to do the trick. Apparently works quite well, although I haven't needed to try it myself yet.

[catwoman]

Purrley,

What about a food allergy? Have you tried changing the type of food Spence eats?

Also, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It can have the same vomiting symptoms. The "regular" blood test vets do doesn't test for it, but my vet says there's another test that can show the indicators.

I just can't get Spence off my mind ... :eek:

Dianne

[purrley]

Spencer - laughed like hell - thanks.

Thanks Dianne for your concern - you know that's a very good possibility about the food Spence eats. I'm getting ready to take him to my new vet and have him checked out. Actually if you saw Spencee you'd see that he looks perfectly healthy, but he's kinda got a runny nose so I really want to have that checked out. My, my this kitty of mine has sure cost me a lot of money throughout the years - but you know what - it's nothing in comparison to all the love and happiness he's given me in spite of all the health problems. :)

[wolflady]

purrley, so sorry to hear about poor spence!! I absolutely cannot believe that your previous vet would have pulled all his teeth without consulting you first!! Oh, how mad I would be!!!
Both of my cats have the tendency to eat their food really fast, and almost always will throw it all up. So, what I've done is give them multiple small amounts...so they get their full course throughout the course of the day instead of gulping it all at once. It has seemed to work for us. Thanks for the tennis ball tip, Deb! I may have to try that with my boys as an alternative to putting small amounts of kibble every 15 minutes...CATS!!! :rolleyes: Gotta love em'!

Keep us posted with Spence, purrley!! I hope you're new vet is much better than your previous one! I too am curious...is it possible to be allergic to your own teeth?? Be sure to get a second opinion on that one... :(