Getting to the bottom of vomiting

[MarleyMoo]

Since his gut resection, Ned does have little and often, and is very much a grazer. Because of his resection, I fed him tiny, east to digest portions regularly to help the gut recovery, and he thought that was the best thing in the world so it continued!! The resection was high up in his guts, and was approx. 2" and sutured cleanly. Also, he did not start this regular vomiting until a year and half after the resection, so with the inflammation expected post-surgery, we expected vomiting, if any, would be during recovery. That's why I believe the resection and this vomiting are probably coincidental, as for it to start 18-months after the surgery was plain odd! He hasn't vomited at all now for 3-days, and I'm just Furminating and zoom-grooming him every other day to remove as much fur as possible for when he grooms himself. I'll see what happens... finger's crossed this continues!!! I hate hearing the 5-6am wake- up calls of a vomiting Ned, bless him.
Thanks for all the info and feedback - I really appreciate it...
Liz x

[souffle]

I wonder of the resected area of gut is a bit 'tighter' causing some restriction in the speed that things pass though it which may well cause a back up effect and hence the vomiting? The fur wont help as there is not much change this would pass through easily. Maybe more frequent small means might suit him better to give him a change to filter food through more slowly?

[Kay and Penny]

I believe it can help if more frequent meals are offered, which means a timed feeder if your cat prefers wet food, as my Trigger does, as some cats bring up bile when excess acid irritates the stomach

I've just dug out my digital Petmate twin feeder, and am going to try a half sachet at 2.30am and the other half at 6.30am, to see if that helps

[MarleyMoo]

Yeah, I've been treating him as IBD/IBS, and everything I've tried to date has done no good, hence the next option being gut biopsies. As this is invasive, and he is right as rain in every other way, I'm still trialling things. I've been giving him good grooming sessions and, coincidental or not, he didn't vomit at all yesterday or today. My thoughts are ingested fur causing gut irritation, and the time it happens could be down to the fact he goes to bed on a night and grooms himself. May be completely wrong, but am hoping!
Silly cat! Happens with none of the others! I suppose with 13 cats, I was always gonna get an awkward to diagnose one!!
Thanks guys.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

All my cats bring up furballs and in Misas case very often, except Sasa who seems to allow the fur to go right through.

Misa is a sick-up merchant even with out fur in it, I put it down to gobbling and eating too much.

Have to say that he will deliberately eat too much to make himself sick to bring up a huge furball and I dont worry about it. Its just the bloomin mess he makes and that he heads for banks of plugs and has taken out my electricty o ne night...............mutter mutter.

[cazzer]

I wonder if it is IBD or IBS?   Vomiting is one of the many symptoms of it.     Also I spoke to one of our vets recently and it seems that there is a feeling now that fur balls should just normally pass out the other end.   But that  if a cat sicks them up that is a sign of possible IBD or IBS.   Certainly my own IBD cat does bring up fur balls whereas most of the others don't.     Has puss had any Zantac or famotine (sp?).    Karlo has the RC food and does ok on it, but am trying to get him off it.     He never vomited or had dire rear but would walk on his tummy as his belly was full of gas.

A biopsy would be needed to confirm this (we went down this route as Karlo had the corona virus) but most people with suspected IBD cats don't go down this route as its invasive.   

[MarleyMoo]

Thanks for the replies.

No, Ned isn't a hunter. The cats have a massive cat run attached to the back of the house, hence he doesn't get to hunt (except earth worms, which is a delicacy for him!) so I can rule that out for sure! For me, I am really questioning the grooming/gut reaction thing. It's nearly always at that time in a morning, 5-6am, and I am piecing it together that when they go to bed (they has a bedroom converted into a cat room!) maybe that's Ned's grooming time, hence the several hours until the gut reacts and he vomits... That's my only theory at the minute!!

I've ordered RC Sens control dry and wet from work, so will test him on that. He's has several hypoallergenic foods, but maybe the sens control may help more.

I furminated and zoom-groomed him again yesterday (the hair has that wire-wool feel once bundled together) and there was no vomit last night, but that may be coincidental.

I'll keep him well groomed and get him on the sens control and see where we are.

Thanks again guys, appreciate the replies.

Liz x

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Does Ned have outdoor access and if so is he a hunter?  As Helen has said my Biggles is a vomiter and after tests for just about everything under the sun had come back negative he was put on RC sensitive (which he is still on) with marked improvement but not complete resolution.  I kept a diary of his behaviour for several weeks and came to the conclusion that an excess of freshly caught, killed and eaten voles was triggering his vomiting attacks. 

I think I was right because over the winter months he wasn't sick at all, except when he stole and ate a whole packet of homemade gingerbread men from under the Christmas tree.    Come the spring  he had a few more episodes which coincided with the start of the hunting season (but also the moulting season).  The vet thought that maybe he just couldn't digest them properly (because of a weakness in his GI tract) and I'm sure that's a big part of the problem but I think a further complication is that if his prey has worms he gets them too.    I saw evidence of tapeworm in the fur on rear-end around the time he was sick this Spring.  It must have been a heavy load for it to be visible and yet the day I spotted it was only one month after his last wormer.  I treated him again and he's been fine since, even  though I know he is still hunting.

If Ned does hunt then the fur that you're seeing in the vomit may not be feline.    However, the vet did say to me that in cats with a sensitive digestion moulting can make them sick.

I should add that its RC chicken with rice wet pouches that he's on - the dry doesn't agree with him at all and even the smallest amount makes him sick.

[Kay and Penny]

you have virtually described my Trigger - he brings up bile (usually colourless but sometimes yellowish and very occasionally pink-tinged) 5 mornings out of 7, and always around 6am - big hairballs sometimes in it but not always

if I get up right away he is sure to be looking for food, and eats with gusto, although he remains very lean - his poo is often yellowish and loose

the only thing I think makes it worse is fish - even fish oil seems to make him worse - because he has been like this for years, and never seems to be ill with it I have never consulted a vet about it - I just watch his diet, and mop up after him

I have been giving food with fish to my other two, but as he pinches bits when he can I have decided to stop buying it to see if that makes a difference - it means a lot of label reading though, as a lot of meaty foods contain fish derivatives or fish oil

[MarleyMoo]

I should have been a bit clearer! Yes, general heavy moulting, not patches. He is just a hairy moose! I zoom-groomed him and like you said with the furminator, it was never ending!!  I have a Furminator too, so will get to work on him!!

He has hairball remedy (Katalax), but it's just the weirdest thing! Working as a nurse, I get all the vets putting their opinions forward, but even they are at a bit of a loss! Referral may be an option but I think it's something and nothing and trial and error may cure him. I will try the RC - all other hypoallergenic food has had no effect.

Thanks for your reply and the info.

Liz x

[Tiggy's Mum]

When you say a 'lot of fur loss' do you mean normal shedding but in large quantities or fur loss as in patchy fur? If as in patchy fur then sounds like diet could be the key. I know Carol's Biggles is a vomiter and she has him on RC sensitive wet with good effect. I also used RC senstive to clear up mystery diaorrhea in Riley, a bit like Ned he had tests and nothing untoward was found but the problem continued.

I know you are zoom grooming him already but if the vomiting is caused by him ingesting hair then an AMAZING tool is the furminator, I have the medium sized one (meant for dogs but fine for cats as it's only the head size which is bigger than the small cat version) and the amount of fur and undercoat that comes out is frightening  It doesn't even seem to ease up after you've been brushing a while, as a normal brush might, so I have to stop myself. Lu in particular LOVES it and will writhe in ecstacy while I use it on him.

[MarleyMoo]

Hi all,

I am posting to ask if anyone has any experience of intermittent but constant vomiting and causes. Ned, my 4-year-old tabby, is on and off with this, and after faecal samples, bloods, hypoallergenic diet, plus numerous other tests, I cannot get to the bottom of it!

When Ned was 1 1/2, he had a complete blockage and was opened up. There was an adhered mass, and we couldn't detect what is actually was, although we suspect a foreign body such as eating something he shouldn't have! He had a 2" gut resection, and we tested him for FIP due to the straw-coloured fluid in his abdo, but this was negative, and this may be purely coincidental and nothing to do with what's happening now.

He was fine for a year and a half after the gut resection, but for the last 6-months, he's been vomiting on an off. Quite often bile, sometimes digested food, often fur balls. This is often at the same time on a morning, about 5-6am. He does have a lot of fur loss at the minute, and I've been zoom-grooming him to remove as much loose fur as possible but there's huge fur balls in his vomit a lot of the time.

Medically, the only option left really is a gut biopsy, but I'm wondering about the irritation his fur may be causing his gut. He was on hypoallergenic food for months in case of food allergy, but this made no difference at all. He was on steroids, but the vomiting still occurred, albeit less frequently, and he's been weaned off preds.

Has anyone ever had any experience of this? Other than the vomiting, Ned is bright, hydrated, bouncy - no other symptoms or problems, so I feel t a loss.

Any advice of experience much appreciated,

Thanks! Liz x