icarus | Kitty's sick.

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Kitty's sick.

My kitty's thrown up three times in the last 24 hours.

It's not hairballs, there's no clumps of fur.

wildernessguru thought maybe some of his wet food had gone bad (we feed him the kind without the tons of preservatives, etc.) and I've noticed Fuzzhead hasn't been eating it right away in this hot weather. But this morning he threw up some dry food and a treat WG fed him last night (virtually unchewed), and WG told me that he threw up earlier this am, too.

What could be wrong? Cat lovers,

tartanshell -- any theories?

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Maybe he's working on a hairball? A very stubborn one? That's usually the case with our cats. I give them a little petroleum jelly (on the paw, so they lick it off) and it clears up right away.

That's a possibility. WG noticed that he didn't try to "hawk it up" like he would with a hairball however. Hopefully it's something that simple.

Icarus

Same thing happened to my cat, and it turned out to be something needing medical treatment. She was diagnosed with inflammtory bowel disease, which means that her intestinal wall and stomach get inflammed because of a food allergy (yes, it can develop very quickly to an old food they've been eating a long time)and she cannot digest anything properly. If your cat continues to throw up, and begins losing weight, get it to the vet IMMEDIATELY. This condition, untreated, will kill a cat because they slowly starve :( Various steroid meds and special food will help greatly. Lots of cats get the condition, but at least it's treatable.

This just started last night, but we're keeping a close eye on it. If it continues he's going to the vet. I take no chances with my kitty. This sounds rather rare (I hope) and I'm looking at what he's throwing up to see if maybe he's eaten a plant that's toxic or something.

We've also been inundated with the smell of burning plastic every morning for the last couple days, so that also could be a cause. It's enough to make us choke (I think it's from a construction site) so it might be affecting him.

I'm also not leaving his wet food out any more if he doesn't eat all of it.

Icarus

I would agree with the possible hairball, but you didn't say whether kitty was drinking and urinating okay. If not, I'd say a trip to the vet is in order. Animals can get very dehydrated very quickly. Is he lethargic or acting normally other than the throwing up?

He is drinking lots of water (in fact, he insists). I'll have to ask WG (the cat box man, really, I have a good deal with him) if he's peeing. I think he is though.

It's not a hairball. He's not, er. hawking it up, there's no fur in the mix. That's what has me worried.

Icarus

Drinking more water than normal is a sign of several things including diabetes - combined with the vomiting, could be something going on there. Probably should have some bloodwork done and check for fever.

Well, he just went to the vet a month or two ago and got a clean bill of health, and drinking more water than usual doesn't seem too surprising since it's been so hot this past week. Hmm.

Icarus

Cats can get intestinal viruses or stomach bugs, just like humans (it's much rarer with them, I think). One cat of mine threw up like that several times once, and we took her to the vet's. The vet said it was a stomach virus (duh) and gave her fluids on an IV, since she'd become a bit dehydrated. You can tell if the cat is becoming dehydrated if the eyes seem a bit dry or sunken, or she looks a bit "deflated" overall. If so, defintely take her to the vet's. But first (since it's expensive, and the bug will pass on its own after a day or so) see if you can get her to drink water, by yourself.

Regarding dehydration, you can also do the pinch test with the fur. Since their skin is so loose, you can pinch and pull up a bit of it, and if the cat is dehydrated, it will stay up in the pinch instead of flattening out. Or it will flatten much more slowly.

It also makes your cat look at you like you're nuts.

He's seems a little dull and not as peppy as usual. I should probably go home to check on him at lunch. Oh. Wait. WG will be home this afternoon.

He is drinking lots of water.

Icarus

Well, if he's drinking lots of water (and not throwing that up), I would refrain from taking him to the vet (if it were my cat). It might be that he's just getting over a stomach virus.

More water than usual?

Slightly more. He's still peppy, but somewhat out of sorts.

Icarus

Take him to the vet. In this heat, vomiting leads to dehydration really, really quickly and you can lose a pet that way.

B

The only time our Himalayan had similar symptoms, he also wasn't using the litterbox. He had apparently ripped off some packing tape from a box and eaten it. It was lodged in his stomach and he had to have surgery. Darn cat seems to love chewing tape...it's hard to keep him away from it.

Find out what his litterbox status is and take him to the vet today. That's quite a bit of vomiting in 24 hours for a cat. Good luck!

Hmm.. could be just about anything. But most likely it's nothing serious.
Is he behaving more or less same as usual? I'd wait another day, if nothing changes I'd take him to the vet, better safe than sorry. But as us humans sometimes cats (and dogs) have those days.

Tummy bug? Foreign object ingestion? Could be either. If no food stays down for 24 hours, should see a vet - cats that go more than a couple of days without eating get elevated liver enzymes and start spiralling down quick (part of being an obligate carnivore). Also, dehydration should be watched for. Pinch up the skin on the scruff of the neck and let it go - if it snaps right back, is fine. If it is slow to settle back, is getting dehydrated. If it stays in the pinched position, go to the vet now now now.

Anything coming out the other end?

is your house well air conditioned?
Sometimes my cats have a problem with the heat in the summer. Some of their symptoms are throwing up, seeming lethargic, and drinking a lot of water to try and stay cool.
Our main AC sometimes doesnt cool the whole house well enough, so I usually bring them into my bedroom (where i have a seperate AC) for a while, and that usually clears it up.

Then again, my cats are particularly sensitive to it because of either their breed, or coat type. (two siamese, who are always delicate, and two maine coons with coats that could rival a bear.)

either way, it could be something to look in to.

That's a possibility, but yesterday was in the 70's. You'd think this would have happened when it was hotter.

Still, he is a Maine Coon and we don't have AC. We shut all the drapes, leave the windows open, and there's the cool tile in the bathroom.

Icarus

you never know. He might have got himself overheated somehow either doing something strenuous, or in whatever place he was napping.

one thing you could give a try, if he'll let you. Is a bath. Not too hot, but not cold either. The time it takes him to get dry afterward will get his temp down to where it might clear up. We do it with my oldest siamese, Luna, when she's having trouble.

If you do that, and it doesn't help, then it's time for a vet visit.

Blame Bin Ladden!!!
Instead of poisoning cocaine, he decided to poison pet treats, which will cause massive pet sickness, and emotional instability amongst Americans. Perfect for execution of his world domination plan.
No worries. Just have her skip a meal. Next time you feed her, feed with dry food mixed with some soup or broth. If sickness persists, take her to the vet. My doggie had been sick after doggie treats as well. That is why I suspect Bin Ladden ;)

Poor kitty.

*pets*

I always pretty much panic and call the vet in situations like this, so I'm no help at all.

I'm trying not to panic. Not doing very well at it. But trying, yes, trying....

Fortunately WG is home. And the cat barf by the cat dish is only barf number two -- he didn't have time to clean up before leaving for work.

Icarus

I would advise a wait-and-see, as long as he's drinking water and being relatively active. Whenever my cats have non-hairball vomiting and it's not just a stomach virus/bad food/tried to eat bugs, they're pretty good about advertising the fact that it's something more serious. Nothing chills me faster than a cat lying in the middle of the kitchen floor and just watching me when I enter the room.

Of course, by morning of the second day, I'm completely in a panic and calling off work and racing to the vet as soon as they can fit me in, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice.

*wishing I had long-distance veterinary superpowers*

You're right. He's looking fine, but this morning when his cat sick wasn't cleaned up he caught my attention and raced over to where it was. He didn't like it near his food bowl you see, and wanted me to clean.

WG and I, after reading

tartanshell's response, think it's worms. He has had a kind of foamy liquid cat-sick in the past, exactly what she described.

Worms we can deal with, yes we can.

Icarus

He's a Maine Coon? My MC mix (Strider) has the most delicate stomach of all my cats, and it's not unusual for him to throw up sometimes, usually when he eats too quickly. Maybe it's a breed thing.

But, since your kitty doesn't (apparently) have a history of throwing up, this might be a sign of a problem.

I agree with what others have said, that this could be a hairball or a virus.

But another possibility is that it could be worms. (Nothing you did wrong, and he's not "dirty" if he has them. Worms happen, and they are incredibly easy to get.)

It's not at all uncommon for a cat with roundworms to vomit. Usually, it's clear, kind of frothy-looking bile. Sometimes you'll actually see thrown-up worms, which is just gross. But if a cat has a stomach full of food and feels the urge to vomit up a worm (ew, I know), you'd see the food in there, too.

And it's entirely possible for a cat to have worms and you not to know it.

I'd suggest taking him to the vet for a check-up and also asking your vet to give him a dose of Strongid-T or whatever wormer he uses. If Kitty doesn't have worms, it won't hurt him, and it's a good idea to de-worm a few times a year anyway, just as a precaution.

So, that's my two cents. (I'm flattered that you asked, and sorry I couldn't be more helpful.) I really don't think you need to worry unless he continues throwing up or starts showing other signs of illness.

Oh! One more thing--if there have been any changes to your and WG's routine in the last few days (stressing, gone longer than usual, etc), this could be Kitty's reaction to that. In my experience, Maine Coons are more sensitive to their people's moods than most cats.

Oh. He has had that foamy cat-sick in the not-so-distant past, and WG and I owe the vet a stool sample to check for worms. It's very likely this is worms, actually.

As for changes in schedules, yep. Big ones. For the last ten months I've been home for large stretches of time for school, and WG's been laid off. Now we're both working, so fuzz has to spend his days alone. On top of that, I've been really stressed about work (Commander Fuzzhead knows and has been hovering/snuggly), we've both been stressed about finances, and worse, he was accidentally locked out for the first time in his life the night before last. He figured out how to claw the door to be let in, but he slinked around the apartment nervously for a while after that.

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Kitty's sick.

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Vichka's theory

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