. . .and my wife is freaking out about it. The cat has a long history of gastric issues and used to vomit a lot. Then we had a long period of infrequent instances. Then we started letting her go outside in front of the house, under supervision, and of course she would head right for the lawn to munch on grass, which would cause the vomiting to start up.
After finding blood in her stool, we took her to the vet again and were told that it was likely the grass that caused the bloody stool, so no more outdoor time for her. She also gave us a probiotic to add to her wet food in the morning, which we’ve been doing religiously. But the barfing is continuing, and a few days ago we found blood in her stool again. On the last visit the vet mentioned possibly doing an ultrasound, so now we think it may be a good idea to have it done. Anesthetic is involved, which makes me nervous, but my wife is convinced that they’re going to find something horrible, and was actually in tears the other day.
This is an otherwise active and healthy young cat who is not losing weight, whose eyes are bright and clear, and who is very affectionate and sociable. According to the people that we inherited her from, she’s always had an iffy gut.
Anyway, she goes in tomorrow and there is angst in the house. Just thought I’d get it off my chest.
I used to have a cat that puked no less than three times a week, on average. Every vet who ever saw him thought this was unusual, but never found a single thing wrong with him that could explain it. He was sixteen and a half when his arthritis prompted him to tell me it was time for him to go. He puked 2-3 times a week right up until the end. Some cats, apparently, just puke a lot.
Here’s hoping it’s just an iffy gut, and your kitty is okay. Good luck.
Thanks for that. Having never had a cat that did this, I’m not familiar with the syndrome. We’ve tried a soft food diet and a kibble diet and a grain-free diet, but nothing really seems to make a difference, other than feeding her very small amounts of food several times a day. A $500 ultrasound isn’t my first choice, but we need some peace of mind.
Khan was free-fed until his last six months or so, when his teeth had deteriorated to a point that we switched him to wet food. But in his whole life (I got him at about 8 weeks), any time I changed his food - whether because I thought it might stop his stomach problems or I just happened to go to a different store that didn’t carry the brand I wanted - he always puked a little more for a day or two. And the little *$&! always ran to a carpeted room to do it. I tried cat grass, I tried grain free, I tried senior formula - any new food was summarily ejected for the first day or so. I could tell by the volume that he was keeping at least a little of whatever he ate, and there was never any sign that he was otherwise unwell.
I had another cat who was of the "I can see the bottom of the bowl, we’re all going to starve to death!!1!!!11!!" persuasion. If he felt he had missed out on food, even for an hour, he would then overeat to the point where he puked still-edible-looking kibble back into the bowl. I lived in a constant state of listening for cat puke for over a decade.
I’m always the first one up in the morning. I’ve learned that I need to make sure to put on my glasses and house shoes before venturing into the outer rooms.
Some cats just have sensitive guts. I’m not a vet, but it’s been my experience and informal education that bright red blood means the problem’s in the lower gut and is most likely irritation. It’s when the stools are nearly black that the problem is a bleed higher up and is a bigger issue. Here’s hoping there’s something that just isn’t agreeing with her.
Well, we have her back, not too much the worse for wear. She’s still under the influence and just sort of sits next to her dish staring at the wall. But the preliminary verdict is that they saw no abnormalities or masses. We’ll talk to the vet later today about it, and there is blood work still to be checked. But things look pretty good for now.
My friend’s cats also puked often and since she locked them in the basement every night I suggested maybe there was something in the basement they were ingesting that was the cause. No, that couldn’t be it blah blah blah. Cats kept puking, one took a terrible turn for the worse, but eventually got better for no good reason other than sleeping upstairs at night so Mom coud keep an eye on her. Anyway about the same time for some reason they tested for radon in the basement. And discovered radon levels that had to be mitigated. Now I am not saying her cats had cancer or radon poisoning but it could not have been helping their health to sleep in the basement containing radon everynight for years. I think they still puke on command though.
My little Monster was always a consistent puker, as well as a fastidious groomer who also coughed up her share of hairballs. So I started her on some of that hairball remedy that comes in the tube at the local PetSuperstore, and that pretty well fixed both problems.
Puzzled about the anesthesia. My oldest cat has bladder issues and has had quite a few ultrasounds to check the thickness of his bladder wall. He has never had to be anesthetized for them.
It’s basically a muscle relaxer so they can get an IV in and shave her belly hair. I was surprised to learn that she put up quite a fight, as she’s a really mellow cat. They had to give her something a bit stronger, which is why she came home stoned.
The vet has recommended an EN diet, so we’ll give that a try for awhile. If things don’t improve, she recommends doing vitamin B-12 injections, as she’s slightly anemic. Next after that would be steroids, which I really don’t want to do.
I sympathize with your wife. I freak out whenever anything goes wrong with my cats, and imagine the worst. What I hate the most is they don’t understand why you’re doing terrible things to them, and that it’s because you have their best interests at heart.
I was recently really concerned because my older cat Merlin was puking a lot and losing his hair. It turned out he had bronchitis and allergies. Now when we go to give him his antibiotic pill, the hate just rolls off of him. But he started feeling better right away.
He must be one mellow fellow. Videos I’ve seen online look like the animals undergoing an ultrasound are pretty stoned, but methods probably vary from clinic to clinic.
She ate quite a bit last night, then at some point came in to sleep next to me, which is her SOP every night. But usually she’s up at the crack o’ dawn and this morning is still sleeping as I write this. Poor thing must have been exhausted from the ordeal.
Last update. She finally woke up and came into the room limping. She’s had problems with a dislocation in her left leg in the past, but I thought we were done with that. I can usually pop it back in for her and gave it a try. Then set her down on the floor, and she made her way to the spare room and hid under the bed, which she never does. Called the vet who told us to give her a couple more hours.
Around 10:00 she emerged, looking and acting more like herself, still with a bit of a limp, but not hopping on three legs. I think the muscle relaxers may have had something to do with that dislocating again. :mad: But she was able to jump up on the window sill and back down without apparent discomfort.
Hospitals are dangerous places be you man or beast, it would seem.
I am always anxious when I have a cat anesthetized, because sometimes it seems like I get back a totally different cat. Like they’ve been reprogrammed or something, or they boot up to Cat 1.2. And they are really so little.
So Cat 1.2 now needs his teeth fixed again. I wonder who I’ll get back this time?
Anyway, glad your kitty seems to be okay.
I’ve noticed this about cats–they like to eat grass and throw up. I had one who did that, so we moved her inside, so she ate the plants, so we moved the plants, then she started eating all the plastic she could find. Like, digging the liner out of the trash can so she could eat it, and then throw up with little bits of plastic (ew). Cats are weird.
It’s so worrisome when any of the animals depart from their usual behaviors. They’re such creatures of habit that anything different sets off all my alarm bells.
Wishing you and your kitty all the best (with many head butts and chin scratches).
