Zoe is vomiting

[Zac and Zoe's Mum]

Hi Emeraldgreen

Thanks for the reply - I'm glad to hear your cat is getting better. I can't think of anything that has changed recently. We do have a new kitten (I must post some pictures of her!) Zoe isn't that keen on her, but she's been here 2 months now and plays happily with our other cat Snowy leaving Zoe alone. She isn't allowed outside, except on strictly supervised walks around our garden, so it can't be pesticide. She does like to nibble grass, and I know this makes cats sick, but she's always done that. Anyway she hasn't got access to grass at the moment.

The strangest thing is that she spent 18 hours in hospital and wasn't sick once, even after eating and drinking!

My vet suggested chicken as well. We're going to cook her a little mushy rice and mix some chicken through it. that should be nice and bland.

At least she isn't acting ill. Apart from the vomiting she seems perfectly happy.

[Emeraldgreen]

You know, when you mentioned the grass thing, it reminded me of hairballs. I can't believe I left hairballs out of my last post! A few of my cats really struggle with hairballs while my other ones are just fine. The ones that have the issue are real grass grazers and it does seem to help them bring up the hairballs. I wonder if Zoe hasn't had access to the grass, maybe it has been more difficult for her to bring up an 'offending' hairball.
My cat Tiger often gets quite ill for a few days if he has a hairball. He throws up everything, food and water and just sleeps alot and looks really miserable. Then, sometimes 4 days later, he finally throws up a monster hairball. He is a long haired cat.
I hope that it is nothing more than a hairball and that within a few days Zoe will be back to her normal self. But if she isn't, I hope the vet can get to the bottom of it!

[Zac and Zoe's Mum]

She does get hairballs from time to time, but she's never had a problem bringing them up - right in the middle of our cream carpet, usually . She also used to eat far to much at once, especially dry food, which also comes straight back up.

I'll suggest the hairball to the vet - he was thinking she might have some sort of bowel obstruction, but couldn't feel anything. Nobody likes to poke and prod Zoe too much because of the danger to her liver.

[Medusa]

I can't imagine what might be causing the vomiting. I just wanted to wish Zoe a speedy recovery and that, hopefully, you'll be able to figure out what's causing the vomiting. As for the wailing before vomiting, both my Puddy and Yodie do that. I think it's because they really hate to vomit. They're not in pain but it sure sends chills down my spine and, when I hear it, I think "Uh oh, that's the vomit cry." I sure hope Zoe feels better soon.

[columbine]

Smudge is a longhair, and upchucks the occasional hairball, but since the vet suggested adding a bit of fiber to his canned "treat food" he has them less often, and they're smaller. I think some of the ingested hair is being passed through. He's certainly a lot more comfortable in the litterbox, anyway (he used to be constipated all the time). I think the only kind of drugstore fiber supplement that's been proven safe in cats is psyllium (which is the usual generic fiber stuff) but some cats enjoy a bit of canned pumpkin mixed into their food. A few like it just plain!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that Zoe is so sick. I hope that she'll start feeling better soon. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Please continue to keep us updated about her.

[Zac and Zoe's Mum]

Thankyou all for your kind thoughts .

Good news - we think the mystery is solved!

We've been keeping detailed notes on her food and water intake, as well as when she is sick. When we showed them to the vet this morning he noticed a pattern. She seems to be getting sick after eating one of her favourite (make that ex-favourite!) foods - seafood and chicken mornay. He thinks she has developed an allergy to it. This explains why she wasn't sick in hospital. It's now been 12 hours since she last vomited and she's managed to eat about 100g of food in that time (a nice beef dish!).