# Elderly cat vomits every day



## muzzy543

Hi, 

My first post. 

My wife and I are at our wits end. We have a 15 year old cat, Poppy, who has been vomiting about once a day for the last 5 months. After numerous visits to the vet we are no closer as to knowing why.

We have tried all sorts of drugs, including some intended for humans. Sorry, I can't list them as I haven't written them down. Poppy is currently taking steriods (Medrone V 2mg), half a tablet every other day. This is reduced from 1 a day as our vet wants to wean her off them. The drugs at a higher dose seemed to work, the current dose make little difference. The vet says that the cat can't permanently be on the steriods.

Poppy has been on a "sensitivity" diet for the last 4 weeks and that hasn't had much effect either and is also expensive.

When Poppy started being sick 5 months ago the vomit was more frequent and more volume than now so the drugs have made some difference however the cat is routinely sick every night while we are asleep. She started losing weight - she was quite overweight before so now she is about the right weight. The weight loss is continuing but not rapidly.

Last night the vomit was quite dark but sometimes it is watery and sometimes it contains food. Sorry to be graphic but I wanted to give as much information as possible.

Our vet is quite keen to open Poppy up to see what is wrong but we are less keen seeing how she is fifteen years old and otherwise appears to be happy, painfree and in good health. I think the vomiting is bothering us more than Poppy but we are fed up with facing vomit to clear up every morning.

We are open to any advice or ideas, please help! Sorry for the length of this initial post.


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## Ianthi

Chronic vomiting of this duration is a concern especially when it's accompanied by weight loss which shows she's not absorbing nutrients. There are numerous reasons and success depends on identifying and addressing the underlying cause. Firstly has Poppy had a bloodtest to rule out metabolic reasons like kidney disease etc? Physical examination to rule out masses etc?

My first thoughts are inflammatory bowel disease ( upper gastro-intestinal if only vomiting involved and stools are normal ) and it sounds as if this is what the vet suspects in view of steroid use. Have you tried Prednisolone? This is usually very effective with this condition. Of course you also need to address the diet and eliminate the offending food/food ingredient which is responsible for this allergic response. Has vet suggested an elimination diet using a novel protein source first? This is normally the first step and symptoms resolve though the inflammation will also need to be treated.

What were you feeding her before onset of vomiting? This could help to pinpoint which food or ingredient in it is the offending agent.


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## TIGGS1

hi 
I am soz to hear that poppy is not well I found this on the web might be of interest 
Elderly cat vomiting every day - JustAnswer
Ask Questions, Get Answers from Experts ASAP | JustAnswer  they also have on-line vet - answer questions

Expert: Terri Riba
Dear friend,
Cats dont get "bugs" but they do get infections. I would suspect an abscessed tooth, an infection or a GI upset or acid reflux. she may not appear underhdrated, but still .Add water to canned food and feed her very slowly.
Cats that eat dry can have bouts of dehyration.Indigestion is caused by inadequate chewing. Vomiting is very common. When acid reflux builds up in the stomach, they begin to vomit. Even if they have always eaten this,, they often become intolerant to corn and gluten which are used as filers in most supermarket cat foods.Vets push science diet because they sell it but it is not a great food either as it too contains corn and gluten.
Lack of fluid in the bowel also leads to vomiting, Ingested hair can also be a factor.Anorexia for any extended time leads to liver damage and causes nausea and vomiting as well.
If you feed her wet canned food - some water added.
Do not - mix dry and wet - add a half pepsid a/c tablet, crushed up into the wet food one time a day.
Put hairball remedy or even plain vaseline on her paw for her to lick off.
If her tummy needs a rest, feed baby food with no onion or garlic for a few days.
If she wont eat, and your cat is not diabetic begin by giving her two droppers (cc size) of unflavored pedialyte every ten minutes for an hour. Next water down(plain water) canned cat food or baby food chicken or turkey with no onion or garlic and give only one dropper every ten minutes for another hour. Wait two hours and repeat both. When she feels hydrated she will lick up the gruel on her own.
Give her droppers of unflavored pedialyte a few times a day to make sure she stays hydrated.
You should have a basic blood panel drawn. 15 is not old - mine is 18.so she can still have many good years to live.
soz I am not sure what else to suggest but I hope she gets better soon TIGGS1x


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## muzzy543

Hi, thanks for replies so far, I need to re-read later and digest as I am at work. 

I forgot to say, yes we have had blood tests and also an ultra scan but no conclusive results. Under physical examination no lumps could be detected. Also at the very start, Poppy was diagnosed with bad teeth and had those extracted. She was on antibiotics at this time and the vomiting stopped. As soon as she was off them the vomiting started again. 

I think we have tried Prednisolone as it sounds familiar.


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## Ianthi

Good to hear the ultrasound revealed nothing untoward. However, depending on the skill of the operator it should show up intestinal thickening which is classic in cases of inflammatory bowel disease. Of course one must bear in mind interpreting a u/s is dependent on the skill of the operator. I'm also assuming they haven't sampled any tissue for biopsy?

Interesting the vomiting ceased when on antibiotics and now it sounds as if could well be bacterial in origin. In fact, I would remind the vets of this.
I know ones like Helicobacter can cause vomiting in cats but often goes undiagnosed.

Stomach Infection with Helicobacter in Cats | petMD


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## TIGGS1

Ianthi said:


> Stomach Infection with Helicobacter in Cats | petMD[/URL]


I didn't know that about helicobactor interesting to know also thanks ianthi for the website tiggs1x:thumbup:


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## skizeewoo

i know this post is a little old now but it has immediately caught my attention.

one of my cats jabjab i would describe as a cat who vomited. he had always been prone to it and mostly it was fur balls. however, just to explain the wider situation. i got into a very bad relationship with a nasty alcohlic, he moved in and basically for a long time screwed my head up. so much so i had a breakdown. this is relevant to jab as if this hadnt happened i would hopefully have got to the bottom of the vomiting far far sooner. 

he started doing it regularly (being sick) and it started to get more frequent. apart from that he appeared absolutley fine. took him to the vets who had a feel about - nothing. to cut a long story short in the end he was being sick at least 7 or more times a day. not very large amounts but consistently. in the interim i had taken him back to the vets but this was very hard to cope with due to my mental state. i put it down to both of them being stressed by me. anyway i instisted that he have proper blood tests and a abdominal scan. apart from a slight thickening in his intestine i was told it was probably his diet and to put him on potatoe and salmon. he hated it. and he still threw it up anyway. less than a week later i came home from work to discover blood in the litter tray. having 2 i didnt know which one it was. when i say blood i dont mean mixed in poo, just thick bright red blood. jab seemed a bit off but it wasnt until he went to toilet that i discovered it was him. it was far too late (early hours) to take him to the vet. next morning i checked the tray. more blood

i found him hiding in the wardrobe facing the corner. jabs was a little terror at the vets but i got him there and the vet knew straight away he was very ill indeed. he could take his temperature and he didnt even move. 

did further tests said there was something showing in his blood and he didnt know what it was??????!!!!!! suggested i take him straight away to the royal vet college in herts, which i did. several hours later waiting at home i get the call. not all the results back but he had several biopseys done, all of which showed cancer. he was riddled with it. mast cell cancer which had they thought, started in his intestines or spleen/liver/pancreas. i was devasted and told the, to do everything the could. cried all night and was going to go up there the next morning. got a call first thing to say they wanted to start him on chemo, i said ok. then another call. get up there quickly, he wont last more than a few hours. u can imagine how i felt. my precious little darling. got there and he couldnt even lift his head. it was heartbreaking. i made the decision no one ever wants to as it wasnt going to make it.

moral of the story. YOU KNOW YOUR CAT BETTER THAN THE VET. i knew in the back of my mind something was very wrong but was very ill myself to cope with it. i totally blame myself. he was suffering under my nose so badly and i was so consumed with my own selfish problems to face it. he has been gone just over a year now. his brother is still pining everyday and his health has gone downhill since then. he is now diabetic as well. all so so sad. I love my little boys more than anything in the world and i miss jab all the time. I would never go back to that vet again - ever. how could he have missed that amount of cancer?? how could he not have spotted things in his blood months before when i ist took him? so many questions now that i cannot answer.

sorry to waffle on so.


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