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pallen123's avatar

Cat vomiting and losing weight. Can't get to bottom of it. Suggestions?

Asked by pallen123 (1519points) March 14th, 2011

Veterinarian ran blood tests but nothing conclusive. Said it could be kitty lymphoma. Gave her prednisone but didn’t help. Cat vomits most of what she eats. Very very thin. Any suggestions for keeping her food down?

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12 Answers

SpatzieLover's avatar

How old is your cat? Are there any other symptoms besides the vomiting/weight loss?

pallen123's avatar

Cat’s maybe 8–9 yrs? That’s pretty much it. Vomiting and not using litter box for vomiting and such.

WestRiverrat's avatar

Have you and your vet eliminated a bowel obstuction? My neighbor’s dog had a bone fragment lodged in its small intestine that caused similar symptoms.

SpatzieLover's avatar

At this point, I would exhaust my efforts trying to get her to eat, keep down food and keep her calm and comfy.

What we do in this situation is to offer (fresh, organic if possible):
*Unsalted Butter (our cat is living with cancer…he begs us sometimes hourly for a few licks)
*A beaten raw egg—(if this doesn’t work, make it a scrambled and see if kitty will be tempted by it)
*Chicken or beef broth (no salt added/organic) put it out on a saucer room temperature
*Plain yogurt (by the spoonful or put it on a saucer for licking)
*Freeze dried Salmon or chicken treats (Halo or other)
*Cut up parsley leaves
*Cooked liver or freeze dried
*Meat baby food or pureed cooked meat
*change the cat’s water frequently and offer fresh spring water instead of your tap water (this often entices your dear one to re-hydrate a bit more)

I would also offer a heated blanket or a heating pad placed under a blanket in a comfy, well-liked spot in your home.

We have a very fragile cat in our home, along with three healthy ones. He is keeping himself going by resting, eating, then resting some more. We were preparing ourselves to euthanize before the holidays. It was looking quite bleak. Then, he had some more butter, a good rest and woke up purring, kissing us, and playing like a kitten.

Don’t give up hope unless your kitty is showing signs that she is in pain or is failing. If the vomiting doesn’t subside or go away completely, then it’s time to make a decision.

Is the vet certain there isn’t a bacterial infection? That has been the cause of vomiting with our cats. I have learned that prednisone has it’s place, but does not work for every animal. You may need a strong antibiotic to help you through this.

sliceswiththings's avatar

Do cats ever use their litter boxes for vomiting? Wow.

Buttonstc's avatar

Get a second opinion from another Vet (or however many it takes to get to the root cause).

The feeding suggestions given by SL are excellent but they at least know what is wrong with their cat.

It’s obvious that something is seriously amiss here and I wouldn’t rest until I knew what.

Once it’s diagnosed, there may be a treatment for the cause.

I had a cat with the same symptoms and the first blood test picked up nothing abnormal except hyperthyroid.

But she was already more listless than usual so the thyroid meds did nothing other than make her more so.

Several weeks later (when she was already starting to look yellowish) a repeat blood test showed her liver to be totally out of whack.

But by then there was little to be done. By the time most cats show any signs of illnes at all, they are usually VERY VERY ill.

It is instinctive for them to hide any signs of illness or weakness and they’re very good at it.

I would urge you to try another vet until you find one who can get to the root of the problem.

The vomiting is just the symptom. You need to find out the cause of the symptom or else things will just keep going downhill.

If there’s an intestinal blockage or infection it has to be dealt with. There are so many possibilities here. Find a more curious vet. I wish that’s what I had done.

syz's avatar

If your vet is unable to give you an answer, have her/him refer you to a specialist. You need an Internist to find an answer rather than just guess.

theninth's avatar

Agreeing with everything @SpatzieLover said. Very plain foods like well-cooked chicken, white rice, scrambled eggs—add a little bit of flax seed oil after the food is cooked and has cooled. Lactose-free, whole-fat milk is good, too. Whole fat for the extra calories, and lactose-free to prevent more vomiting/diarrhea.

Feed the cat little tiny bits, but feed it frequently (and ask your vet to re-check for hyperthyroidism!) We had a hyperthyroid cat who had all the same problems, and one of the best solutions was very small feedings many times a day until we got his medication levels right. Otherwise, he was so hungry he would eat too fast and then get sick, so he was getting no benefit from the food at all.

stevenb's avatar

I would go out right now and buy baby food. My cat live a year and a half longer than the vet thought she would by feeding her that. Get the turkey and gravy, ham and gravy, beef and gravy, and chicken and veggies.

The protien level is good and seemed to bring my kitty back for a while. She was nineteen when she finally passed. March 11, last year. Please try it. I always bought gerber. She liked it best. Please know I feel your pain.

Coloma's avatar

Did they check her thyroid? Those symptoms are textbook!

anartist's avatar

I would worry about poison. Especially if the cat stops eating more than 24 hours. If that happens, you don’t have much time. A few days without eating and the cat’s system will begin to shut down and he or she might die.

majorrich's avatar

another thing to check for is Feline Pancreatitus.

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