Cat professionals/vets...feedback, advice on sick cat

[kwolf68]

I have often come here for advice on various things and it's usually great feedback, so I'll do another.

Here are the vitals

Feline: Calico, approx 12-13 years old, completely indoor cat

Symptoms: Can't eat hard food, vomits it up pretty immediate after eating (the vomit has NO blood, just partially digest food and clear mucus). Can eat some soft food, but has thrown that up at times too. She has lost weight. She grooms herself fine, purrs and seems to be reasonably happy. However, she does hide in the closet in my office. I go in there and talk to her and she responds and will come out. But she often returns soon after coming out. She no longer rests on my desk or my lap like she used to. Her behavior (outside of the vomiting) clearly indicates something is wrong.

Other notes: Took her to the vet and the blood panel appeared fine. I was concerned about an increased WBC that could possibly indicate cancer, but the blood count was good.

We have been giving her fur ball medicine and she hates it, but we get it into her. The vomit does NOT include hair or blood, so I don't know if she has a fur ball obstruction.

Tomorrow she is getting an ultra sound.

Thoughts?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. You might also post this in the Pets Group.

kestrel91316 is a vet, she posts there fairly often.

[kwolf68]

2. Thanks...

I'll move the thread

[fizzgig]

3. my friend recently had a similar issue with her older calico

money's tight, so she asked the vet to do the least expensive diagnostic test. the vet opted for an xray and it showed the cat hadn't had a bowel movement for time. there was a lot of upheaval in their lives around the time, so it looks like the cat's reaction was to stop pooping. kitty laxatives and antidepressants have taken care of the problem. i don't know what other symptoms or changes in behavior she had other than excessive vomiting, though.

hope they can find out what's wrong with your girl.

[grasswire]

14. canned PUMPKIN is a great remedy for constipation

It worked extremely well for my elder cat last year. Plus, he liked it quite a bit.

[fizzgig]

19. i never thought to mention that to her

that was recommended to me when my fat cat had some issues earlier this year.

thanks for the reminder :)

[Kali]

4. how long has this been going on and is she pooping?

presume vet asked these questions as well. ultrasound or xray my show an obstruction.

not sure for cats, but overweight dogs are at risk for pancreatic problems and lack of appetite + vomiting are symptoms

is kitty getting enough water?

[kwolf68]

5. a few months

but has gotten worse lately. if she is pooping, its not much. i "think" she pooped a couple days ago and it was not much and it was runny.

[ceile]

6. My 14 y/o was like that for a long time.

It was strictly her food. I was feeding her what my diabetic cat eats and it just wasn't for her. I have since changed everyone's food to felidae platinum and have had no issues. She still throws up, but it's usually a hairball or if she scarfs her food.

[kwolf68]

7. Looks like Pancreatitis

We're going to start her on antibiotics and a steroid today and follow up in another week. There was something on the ultra sound near the pancreas that could be an issue, but it was really not conclusive.

I am sure removing tumors, if even possible, isn't cheap.

[MichiganVote]

8. Try the sensitive stomach foods or the food minus grains. Comes in soft/wet cans too.

[applegrove]

9. My cat Monster was throwing up blood on occasion so I took him into the vet. Turns

out he had pancreatitus. I took him home and fed him a special diet. He was still happy and not showing signs of pain. He had no blood in his vomit when he did get sick. A few months later he started getting sick all the time so I took him in again. He was given steroids and I took him home. The Dr. had told me they could do an ultrasound but if it turned out it was cancer, like it likely was, there was nothing they could do. So I didn't have the ultrasound. My cat continued to get sick. And then he started to show signs of pain...though he was still very social he was hiding in dark places all the time. When I could not longer touch him for all the pain I took him in and had him put to sleep. It was really hard. But he is now on my desktop so I stare at the big guy every day.

[applegrove]

12. Monster also started to loose weight at the end.

[applegrove]

16. The doctor said that if he was on the steroid and started to loose weight hand over fist it was

cancer.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. Did the blood check cover thyroid? How is her heart rate?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. It sounds like it could be pancreatitis.

My cat Teddy got that, and he was pretty sick for awhile (in and out of the vet's for about a month) but he recovered - even though he was also diabetic. He left us a couple of years ago at the age of 17, but not from either affliction. The symptoms you describe are similar to Teddy's. I'm glad you are getting your cat to the vet; pancreatitis can be quite serious and it's also pretty painful. Hope kitty gets well soon.

[LeftyMom]

13. If it helps any

My trick for older cats who are sick/losing weight: kitten food. I swear, it works like a charm.

It won't solve the underlying issue, but it might help to keep her going while you figure it out.

[emilyg]

15. Try a jar of baby food - chicken/turkey.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. cats love babyfood

[libodem]

18. Have you ruled out constipation?

Toonsie got very sick once cuz she couldn't poop.

[grasswire]

20. also, worms can be a cause of vomiting

But I'm sure your vet has covered that possibility.