Cat vomits

[JoannaG]

1. Create one forum thread per pet. If you have more than one case, create a thread for each animal.
2. Your pet's name - Ferdynand
3. Approximate age - 6 years old.
4. Sex - Male.
5. Neutering status - Neutered.
6. Breed - No breeds, an ordinary cat.
7. Approximate weight - 13Ib
8. What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood) - Good behavior, big appetite, good energy.
9. Diet - Current diet for the past few months has been raw chicken and free-range turkey.
10. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication - mandatory vaccinations, drops against worms.
11. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time - Vomiting started in September, Ferdynand started vomiting all his food after every meal. The vomiting started 3 days after bringing the new dog home.
12. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? - Earlier, the vet prescribed antibiotics and dry food, but there was no improvement.
13. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them) - Yes, ultrasound and X-ray, blood test.
14. Current and previous treatment - raw food and celery juice, previous dry food, and antibiotics.
15. Other health concerns - I had previously noticed a bad smell from Ferdynand's mouth.

@Dr. Christina , @Dr. Jeff , @Dr. Sara .

Hello, I would like to ask for advice about my cat, which vomits very often. In mid-September I adopted a new dog, a Chiuchawa mix. 3 days after adopting the new dog, my cat Ferdynad started vomiting. He vomited after every meal and threw away all his food. We went to the vet twice, the first time he was prescribed antibiotics and some anti-emetic tablets, but after treatment, the problem returned. We also tested the blood, good results, attached. The second time, Ferdynand had ultrasound and X-ray tests performed. The vet noticed that the intestine was enlarged in one section and prescribed him dry food and additional anti-nausea tablets. The situation has not improved. I switched to a strict diet of free-range turkey and chicken in smaller portions, and also started giving Ferdynand celery juice. After about a week, Ferdynand started eating normally and since then he has not vomited after meals. His appetite, mood, and stools seem normal, and he has no additional symptoms that indicate anything is wrong other than him constantly snacking on plants and then vomiting. Sometimes it happens every day, sometimes every other day. I noticed earlier that Ferdinand's breatk did not smell nice, so I suspect that his digestive acid is very weak, for the first few years he was fed with conventional food from the store, he has been on raw food for over a year, and then on raw free-range food for a few months . Sometimes he vomits white foam, sometimes bile. The vet wanted to do a biopsy, but I refused. The vet also noticed that he had dental problems and inflammation, but I noticed that after giving him celery juice, the inflammation began to subside, at least that's how it looks from my point of view, I still need to confirm it with the vet. Can I ask for help in solving this problem?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Joanna!

Welcome to HA! Thanks so much for making your first post.

I'm sorry to hear about Ferdynand's health challenge, tho am glad to hear that his BEAM is still good.

Have you tried any commercial raw diets, like Small Batch, Primal, etc?

How does he get on with your new pup?

@Dr. Jean Hofve, any other questions?

BTW-I am leaving the office right now, and will review his diagnostic tests later or this weekend.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Good morning Joanna!

Did Ferdynand see a vet internist at Dublin Bay?

I ask because there are other GI tests that they may have run. And there may be a referral report that we could see.

His low phosphorus may be secondary to his gastroenteritis.

Have you used any probiotics for him?

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Thanks for your detailed post! I do have a few questions though.

Does the cat go outside at all? Has he had a stool check for parasites? (Wondering about the "worm drops")

How were the dog and cat introduced? Was it a gradual, staged introduction or just a casual "here's a new dog" kind of thing? How did they each react? How are they getting along now?

Does the cat have ready access to high places where he can quickly get away from the dog if he wants to?

Is the raw diet just meat or meat/bones, or is it supplemented with vitamins and minerals? Meat alone is not a balanced diet.

Did the vet examine Ferdynand's teeth thoroughly? Any mention of plaque or inflammation? Mouth odor is most commonly (though not always) coming from a dental source.

For a start, I would suggest flower essences, such as Jackson Galaxy's "Safe Space." But you might want to look at all the stress remedies and see if that one or another is more suited to his personality and situation.

Thanks for any additional info, I'm sure we can figure out how to help Ferdynand!

 

[JoannaG]

Good morning Joanna!

Did Ferdynand see a vet internist at Dublin Bay?

I ask because there are other GI tests that they may have run. And there may be a referral report that we could see.

His low phosphorus may be secondary to his gastroenteritis.

Have you used any probiotics for him?

Hello, I'm very sorry for the long answer, but unfortunately, I couldn't answer earlier.

Yes, Ferdinand saw an internist in Dublin Bay. Ferdynand and I went to two veterinarians, the first one prescribed antibiotics and probiotics and said it might be gastritis. We also did blood tests and I was told that low phosphorus could be caused by vomiting. Unfortunately, after completing the antibiotic treatment, the symptoms did not subside. I went to another vet where we did an ultrasound and X-ray. The vet prescribed special dry food and, from what I remember, also antibiotics, but the symptoms did not go away.

I started giving him small portions 7-8 times a day raw meat, a teaspoon at a time, and then there was progress. I also started giving him celery juice. Ferdinand was on raw food ordered from a pet store, but it happened several times that he and my other cat did not want to eat this food (I suspect it was not fresh), so I replaced it with turkey, chicken, and sometimes beef with meat for humans.

I changed his food to human meat when he started vomiting, I thought the quality of this meat would be better. For over a year until September, he was fed raw animal food, and all health problems started after adopting the dog, exactly 3 days after adoption. I have read Dr. Clare Middle's book on the nutrition of dogs and cats and have already made changes, ordered chicken hearts and livers, and tested venison from the human store.

At this point, Ferdinand is not taking any probiotics. He gets meat mixed with wild berries and barley grass, I also add some cooked broccoli, today I sprinkled his meat with hemp seeds, and he also got a piece of wild raw salmon. I add vitamin C, B12, and zinc to the meat. All products are raw, free-range, or organic.

He doesn't vomit every day anymore, but it still happens. I have noticed that it is much better when he eats smaller and less often. Today, for example, he didn't vomit at all. For me, the problem was that he kept asking for food so that I could have overfed him.

My dog did the same and kept asking for food. My dog also vomited bile three times. So now after reading the book I started weighing my food, there was no vomiting today so there is a little progress. I've only started weighing my food for two days and no vomiting so far, so I hope it works.

Is there anything else I can do? Ferdinand can't eat bones himself, he is not taught, should I grind them and add them to his meals? Do the attached ultrasound and X-ray photos raise any doubts?

 

[JoannaG]

Thanks for your detailed post! I do have a few questions though.

Does the cat go outside at all? Has he had a stool check for parasites? (Wondering about the "worm drops")

How were the dog and cat introduced? Was it a gradual, staged introduction or just a casual "here's a new dog" kind of thing? How did they each react? How are they getting along now?

Does the cat have ready access to high places where he can quickly get away from the dog if he wants to?

Is the raw diet just meat or meat/bones, or is it supplemented with vitamins and minerals? Meat alone is not a balanced diet.

Did the vet examine Ferdynand's teeth thoroughly? Any mention of plaque or inflammation? Mouth odor is most commonly (though not always) coming from a dental source.

For a start, I would suggest flower essences, such as Jackson Galaxy's "Safe Space." But you might want to look at all the stress remedies and see if that one or another is more suited to his personality and situation.

Thanks for any additional info, I'm sure we can figure out how to help Ferdynand!

Hello, I'm very sorry for the late reply, but unfortunately, I couldn't answer earlier.

Ferdinand never goes outside, he is an indoor cat.

No stool sample was taken for the presence of parasites. He gets worm spray.

The dog and the cat were introduced to each other immediately, without quarantine or getting to know each other; only recently I read that it should be done gradually.

Previously, for a year I had a dog that I found on the street. The dog was already 10 years old and sick, so after a few months the cats got used to the dog and there were no major problems.

I thought it would be similar this time. My current dog is 1 year old and a volcano of energy. She is a mix of a Chihuahua and another dog. The dog kept chasing the cats and they were not happy with the situation, the dog still does it, but it is a little better. Cats tolerate dogs, but there is no love between them.

My knowledge about dogs is still very limited. Half of the rather large living room is separated by a grid, so the cats have their own space that the dog cannot enter. But not in other places. When they go to bed they all sleep together in my bed and it's fine, the only problem is when Coco, my dog wants to play and the cats don't.

The diet from September consisted only of meat. Just a few days ago I finished reading DR Clare Middle's book on the nutrition of dogs and cats and I started making changes.

The cats are 6 years old and have been fed dry food and canned food for 4.5 years. Already then, Ferdynand started vomiting, but only from time to time. About 3 years ago I took him to the vet, we did blood tests, he had high cholesterol. The vet suggested changing the food, but also to dry food and food from sachets or cans.

It was only when I started reading more about healthy food for animals that I replaced the meat with raw meat from the pet store. It was a mixture of meat with bones and other ingredients necessary for cats. His cholesterol leveled out.

When he started vomiting last September, I started buying better quality meat at the local grocery store. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that there had to be many more additions. The cats were fed good dry and wet cat food (at least that's what I thought) for 4.5 years. Then, for over a year, raw meat with all kinds of additives, a mixture of raw food from a pet store.

Since September last year, they have been eating only raw human meat without any additives, so for 5 months now. I changed their meat from the pet store to the one from the human store because sometimes it happened that the cats did not want to eat meat from the pet store (maybe there was something wrong with it)

The vet mentioned something about teeth three years ago that he would have to clean them, but nothing more. Only at the last visit, I found out that Ferdinand had dental inflammation and that we would deal with it later, I had to go to the vet again about his teeth.

At the beginning, when I adopted Coco, the cats were under quite a lot of stress, now they are better, but it is more about tolerance than love. Now I add wild berries, barley grass, vitamin C, B12 and Zinc to the animals' meals, also hemp seeds, I ordered chicken hearts and liver, and venison from a verified store, I also get wild salmon. All food is free range or organic, depending on what is available. I am afraid to give them eggs and low-fat yogurt because these foods feed viruses.

Is there anything more I should do?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Is there anything else I can do?

Yes! Let's start focusing on building, balancing and preserving Ferdynand's cellular energy which will help all of his organ systems work better.

You've already implemented some awe-some holistic actions, so perhaps see how he responds before adding anything else (like homeopathy).

And very importantly, focus on optimizing his BEAM and happiness/quality of life!

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4 simple symptoms - behavior, energy, appetite, and mood - could help you track and increase your pet's health

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[Dr. Jean Hofve]

You do need to add calcium, as it is the most important supplement. Zinc by itself can cause lots of problems, they need a balanced mineral mix including not only calcium but potassium, magnesium, and other trace minerals. Not sure what you mean about eggs and yogurt "feeding viruses," it doesn't make sense given how the digestive tract actually works. Eggs are excellent and contain many trace nutrients not present in meat, particularly choline. Yogurt is fine but make sure to include the fat! Cats have quite a high fat requirement, and fat deficiency is common with homemade diets. Goat yogurt would be great as it contains lots of medium-chain fatty acids not found elsewhere, as well as a little calcium.

I'm still unclear why he gets "worm spray" if he has not been diagnosed with worms.

Just FYI, cholesterol is totally irrelevant in cats.

If he has dental disease, this can certainly be contributing to stress, inflammation, and therefore the vomiting, so perhaps find a way to take care of this soon.

Also, perhaps increase playtime for the dog, so there is less reason to bother the cats!!