[Pineapple]

I'm just curious when you decide it is an emergency and go to the vet for health issues (assuming your cat is generally healthy)? My cat had acute vomiting this morning, literally 6 times in a 5 minute period (I think due to a new hairball remedy that I gave her 30 minutes earlier). My SO took her to the E vet and test results just came back normal (I'm home trying to study).

Our last cat died of kidney failure from getting into a flower arrangement, and if we had taken her right when vomiting started, she may have lived (we waited 24 hours thinking she had just eaten something that didn't agree with her, and took her when she started acting lethargic - at that point it was too late). So sometimes I am a bit paranoid, and the last 5+ vet visits for illness with our cat or dog have been things we could have treated at home.

 

[Penguin_Dreams]

I'm so sorry to hear about your last cat. I also lost my previous guy to kidney failure and he definitely would have had a better chance if I'd caught it a day or two earlier.

Vomiting and diarrhea over a 24 hour period would definitely make me go to the vet. One round of multiple vomiting in a short period would make me monitor them extra carefully, but I wouldn't go to the vet over it. If the cat recovers in a few hours, is drinking water, broth, or eating a bit, I wouldn't think it was a cause for concern.

I've had hairball problems with my girl and am still working on a solution that works for both of us. What hairball remedy are you using and how often does your cat hack up a hairball?

 

[rightsaidfed]

I've called my vet twice since I got my kitten, but in both cases they told me not to come in. I, too, am nervous about waiting too long, but also want to balance the wasted trip (and bill). I tend to wait too long to see a dr. about my own health as well so I feel like I'm a pretty bad judge of this.

The first time I called my vet, my kitten was having what looked to me like an asthma attack. She told me that if he's breathing, he's fine and to keep an eye on him to make sure he's eating and using the litterbox normally just to make sure he wasn't trying to cough something up.

The second time was a little more complicated. He threw up maybe 3 days in a row - more of a regurgitation as it was neat little piles of kibble. I would wake up to it once each day. He was still eating, playing, pooping. On the 4th day he woke me up hacking and throwing up. There was already kibble vomit outside my door, and now he was vomiting a clear/whitish foam.

Again, the vet said to make sure he's eating and pooping normally and to only come in if he appears dehydrated and if the vomiting continues.

In all cases he was fine with no intervention, and I still don't know what caused that 4-day bout of vomiting as it hasn't happened since.

 

[scottd]

My vet clinic has a vet on call 24/7/365(366). If I'm not sure if I need to bring in the cat or dogs, I just call and see what they think. We have 3 dogs and a cat. I also bring my rescue animals there so I have a pretty large account. They don't seem to mind my calls. The call costs nothing and it gives me peace of mind.

I have actually never taken my cat for anything non-routine. She's 8 years old and has never even had a cold or diarrhea. 1 of the dogs has had an infected anal gland 3 times and another had a bacterial infection thanks to something a guest fed it.

The dog with the infected anal glands has went through emergency once. We were out of town with him when it happened the first time and had to go to an emergency clinic. The second time we just made an appointment and took him. The third time it literally formed in a matter of minutes and we had to take him just as the regular vet was closing.

 

[snowy]

ET will vomit food immediately after eating once in a blue moon, but he is always more energetic and hungrier after vomitting, I suppose he ate too fast. Like we human, sometimes we do feel better after vomitting whenever we get nauseous, so me and hubby didn't think we need to sent him to the vet or even medicate him.

ET also had eyesore on his right 3X, each time we just use colloidal silver and he recovered. He completely lose appetite just approx 1mth+ after we took him in, we suspected hairball problem, gave him psyllium husk and he passed out large amount of hair and he was well again thereafter and haven't lost appetite (touch wood) since after I decided to give him psyllium husk daily. By the way, he hasn't vomit hairball so far too (touch wood).

 

[Pineapple]

Thanks for all the feedback! We just moved, so our "regular" vet (the one that's close) hasn't seen the cat yet. At least now we know she's 100% healthy, I guess. I used to be so casual about vomiting because I know animals will do it more than humans and get into stuff they shouldn't, but after our last cat passed, excessive vomiting, or vomiting with other symptoms, really freaks me out.

For hairballs, I use the fish-flavored goop. I bought a new brand, and the #1 ingredient is corn syrup. I'm wondering if that might have done it? The other brand I had didn't have corn syrup in it at all. She only gets them once in awhile, so I was only treating her when she started hacking, maybe once or twice a month. She did vomit up a big hairball right before I gave her the medicine this morning, so I'm not sure if the two are related.

 

[Penguin_Dreams]

Corn syrup? Yeah, it could have been a contributor to the vomiting. While I doubt a little bit of the stuff administered a few times a month is enough to be a huge concern, if she's got a sensitive tummy any little bit could trigger a reaction. Cats really can't process refined sugar very well. They can't even taste it. My guess would be the corn syrup coats the intestines to get the stomach contents out as fast as possible since the intestines aren't able to move stuff fast enough on their own. This also keeps essential nutrients from being absorbed in the intestines and if you're using this after she starts hacking it's a little bit after the fact.

Someone else here sent me a link to egg lecithin capsules on Amazon and said they worked well for their cat's hairballs. I'm still waiting for it to be delivered so I can't comment on how much it helps yet but I was kind of hoping there was a less expensive solution. That stuff isn't cheap.

 

[Luvmyfurbabies]

I'm just curious when you decide it is an emergency and go to the vet for health issues (assuming your cat is generally healthy)? My cat had acute vomiting this morning, literally 6 times in a 5 minute period (I think due to a new hairball remedy that I gave her 30 minutes earlier). My SO took her to the E vet and test results just came back normal (I'm home trying to study).

Our last cat died of kidney failure from getting into a flower arrangement, and if we had taken her right when vomiting started, she may have lived (we waited 24 hours thinking she had just eaten something that didn't agree with her, and took her when she started acting lethargic - at that point it was too late). So sometimes I am a bit paranoid, and the last 5+ vet visits for illness with our cat or dog have been things we could have treated at home.

I know exactly what you mean. My baby chewed on an Easter lily my daughters boyfriend gave her when I was out of town. The next day he just wasn't acting like his usual self and it was after hours so I called a couple of emergency vets for some advice. Long story short; I took him to the vet 4 times within a 3 week span. The lily had damaged his kidneys. Luckily with aggressive action and the fact that he was pretty much a baby still, he recovered. But like you, I take my babies in for everything. I lost a cat two years prior to "unknown" causes. He just started loosing weight and I was a new cat owner and didn't know much about anything. Like you, I always feel regret that I should of got him to the vet earlier. Never really got over it
They are my babies, so I just make sure now that I always have money put away so I never have to question whether or not to bring them in.
I'm sorry for your earlier loss and just know that your paranoia is a good thing I believe. It makes you more in tuned with your baby........at least that's what I tell myself..........hope he's feeling better.::daisy

 

[Luvmyfurbabies]

I guess I forgot to mention my point.

Everybody was telling me that he was fine, that maybe he was just tired. That cats have off days, some days like people, they just don't feel well. All of which is true. It's just that my heart as well as my instincts were saying there was something really wrong.
If I hadn't taken him in then it would of been too late and the damage to his kidneys would be irreversible.
Listen to your heart.

 

[Pineapple]

Thank you. With our last cat, the treatment was too late; she just couldn't go to the bathroom and wouldn't eat, and after 3 days of being on an IV and trying to flush her system and watching her get worse, we finally put her down. It was horrible. And, yes, it was a lily flower arrangement that she must have somehow ingested some of. We didn't know lilies were toxic. We don't bring live plants into the house any more.

 

[Pineapple]

Ok...so, with Pineapple (the current cat), yesterday the E-vet gave her subq fluids, and said to test her with some water after 6 hours then watch her for vomiting. We waited until this morning to do the water since it was too late last night to watch her. We syringed a bit of water at 9 a.m. and she is fine, so I have offered her some chicken baby food and her regular soft food (Innova), and she isn't interested at all. This is a cat that is ALWAYS hungry.

Yesterday the vet xrayed and did bloodwork, and it was all normal. Why wouldn't she be hungry?

 

[Luvmyfurbabies]

Maybe stress. But when two of my cats vomited after switching foods, I had a really difficult time getting them to eat. It was awful. After a day of this I knew I needed intervention. My vet thought maybe they were nauseous and gave me an anti-nauseous with an appetite stimulant medicine to help. They ate that night. Watch his eating closely. You could syringe feed if needed to.

 

[Pineapple]

Thank you for the suggestions! She finally did eat a bit of boiled chicken diced finely and mixed with some chicken broth. She didn't eat much (a few tablespoons), but it was a relief! If she doesn't continue to improve, I'll start using the syringe and/or take her to the regular vet later in the week. I think you might be right that it is stress-related.

 

[Pineapple]

Well, she just threw up everything that she ate today, so I'll be making an appointment with the regular vet. Cross your fingers.

 

[Arianwen]

Well, I am not long back from the vets. We found a lump on Jemima over the weeekend and booked her in this morning for an evening appointment. Thankfully, it is looking good!

 

[Ritzpg]

I am a nervous nelly, and Ritz is my first cat ever (first PET ever).
She's had two UTIs (stress induced) so I know what to look for.
She throws up about once or twice a month (eats too fast). While not normal, by now I know if it is 'normal' throw up (what she ate looks like what she threw up [I fed Raw] immediately after eating, hungry 15 minutes later) or not normal (any foam, liquid, not hungry).
Vibes for the vet appointment.
So yes definitely listen to your gut, your instinct. You know your cat best, you know what is normal for her/him, not normal for her/him. Your vet knows what is normal for the cat population in general.

 

[Pineapple]

Thank you!

She has finally stopped vomiting today and her appetite is back. The regular vet found a hear murmur (which the Evet had found, but had said it might be due to nerves). She is also having her thyroid checked since with the heart murmur, the vet said that could mean medication. It looks like if she has something, it won't be serious at this point in her life at least.