My cat keeps throwing up!

[casey26]

My cat, Casey keeps throwing up, like 3-5 times daily. We took him to the vet about 2 months ago, and he put him on this food (Hillside Science WD) since he was about 4 lbs overweight, and Prilosec OTC since he was occassionally throwing up then. He quit throwing up for a while, and since we recently had our first child, we got plants. Casey ate some of the plants, but we have since put them out of his reach. This has been about 3 days since he's had any plants at all. He is still throwing up and showing no signs of an appetite. What he throws up looks like his cat food, and is really watery. Our vet told us before (after he ran some blood tests) that it is very difficult to figure out what exactly is causing him to throw up. (that is why we aren't taking him back there quite yet) Any help or even suggestion would be a great help! Thank you!

[caseysmom]

I would be worried about some kind of blockage. Is he pooping, is he keeping anything down?

[casey26]

Yes, he is still pooping. I just wonder if it it takes plants this long to get out of his system?

[jazzcat]

I'm going to alert Christa to this post. She's had the same type problem with Brodie. Maybe she can help.

[casey26]

Thanks Jazzcat, any help I can get is very much appreciated!

[christa]

Hi Casey . . . Yes, I have had the exact same problems with my cat, Brodie. You can read our *story* in these threads . . .

Brodie Thread 1

Brodie Thread 2

Our vet ruled out a blockage but we still wonder if maybe there isn't something in there. We have taken him off of hard food completely. The only food that he can eat is Hill's Diet D/D, which is a hypo-allerginic food. So far, he's only thrown it up a few times, and I think that when he does throw it up, it's mostly due to hairballs, . . . but as far as feeding him dry food, that is out. I have no idea why. But like you, he was throwing up several times a day, no matter what we did, and it sounds exactly like your cat. We did every test imaginable . . . we thought he ate litter . . . we thought he ate plants . . . we thought he ate SOMETHING . . . but looks like it would have run through his system by now. It hasn't!

I wish I could help more . . . I will be happy to answer any questions you have. I have been experiencing this for a year now so I probably have a lot more answers than I do realize. There was a time there that we thought he was a goner . . . thankfully he's still with us.

By the way, welcome to PT!

[casey26]

Christa,
Thanks so much for your help. Have you ever tried Prilosec OTC? We were told to give it to Casey an hour before he ate. It was helping, but I really think he got into some plants, and they were really toxic to his system. This is just frustrating since we recently had our first child, and it is a lot to constantly clean up. We are getting ready to move into a house, and my wife really doesn't want him throwing up all the time after I clean all the carpets. Casey is my boy, so I am trying to figure out what is wrong. I am not leaving food out for him tonight. Tomorrow morning I am going to give him his medicine, then set his food out. Hopefully the break from food for 15 hours or so will help clear up his system. Hopefully he will keep drinking water, since I only left that out. If there is anything else you think I should try, please do not hesitate to suggest. We haven't changed litter or anything, so it can't be that.

[Catty1]

Christa - was it Brodie I suggested you try yogurt on? Just takes a little to see if it does any good...and plain stuff.

Might help the other kitty too...

Or if there IS a tiny thing that was swallowed and is blocking...would a stool softener, laxative or even some warmed olive oil be worth a try?

I am not an expert....just trying to think of things...

Catty1

[casey26]

Catty 1, those are good ideas too. Keep them coming! I am going to try to feed him a little at a time. I just gave Casey his medicine this morning, and I will feed him a little bit in about an hour.

[casey26]

Is there a typical time frame for when an adult cat eats, to when he shouldn't throw up his meal anymore? I fed Casey 1/2 as much as normal at 5:30, and he still hasn't thrown up yet!

[christa]

Catty1: Yes, you as well as others have suggested yogurt and I have tried. Brodie loves it and would eat it all the time. Unfortunately, Brodie also has skin allergies and it seems that the yogurt might have been causing his skin to flare up. I had to take him off of it. I'm trying to get his skin cleared up, hoping that it was just the yogurt and not the food he's on too. I'm already feeding him the 2nd most expensive food available. If we have to feed him the most expensive food available, I'll have to get a second job!

Casey: I would definitely suggest feeding your cat smaller meals more frequently. We did that with Brodie and he did better. It may be that Casey just eats too fast.

[casey26]

We've fed him smaller meals the last 2 days, and he's done a lot better! Thank you for your "listening ear" and for all of your help. It is VERY MUCH appreciated.