Cat stomach setting remedies?

[Sharon L.]

In mid-December one of my cats started vomiting every few hours. No hairballs, mostly bile. Went to the vet and he was treated for symptoms with metoclopramide for the vomiting and baytrill (sp?) as a general antibiotic. Worked, vomiting stopped.

Yesterday this same cat started vomiting bile every few hours again. I game him a dose of the left over metoclopramide which stopped the vomiting.

I have two questions. 1) Are there any other more natural treatments which would settle my cats stomach that I could use on an as needed basis?, and 2)  should I be looking more aggressively for underlying causes? The cat is male and appx 9 years.

Thanks.

[Bonkers]

  Yes there are more natural tummy remedies and slippery elm is the one I would recommend. More info on it can be found here. http://thepetfoodlist.com/forums/index.php?topic=781.msg5374;topicseen#msg5374                                                                 But I would be more interested in knowing the cause of the vomiting. Has the vet made a definite diagnosis? Also, did you change his diet in any way starting back in December?

[coontuffy]

Hi Sharon

Was any blood taken by the vet?
Particularly to check liver and kidney function?

Did the vet do any testing before giving the medication to you for kitty?

[Sharon L.]

There have been no changes in the brand of cat food, and I hope that Wellness hasn't changed the formula. I use Wellness grain free canned, and Wellness Core for dry and have pretty much since the recall.

The first concern in Dec was an obstruction as there was vomiting about an hour after eating or drinking for almost two days. The vet didn't think it was an obstruction, but  did ask me whether there was an increase of drinking which might indicate liver/kidney issues (there wasn't). The vet decided to treat symptomatically with follow up if the problem persisted.  Since the medicine helped I put it down to possibly eating an unappetizing bug or something.

The recent bout looked like it started with a hairball.  The big worry was that it continued every few hours or so afterward, at least until I dosed again with the metoclopramide.

The only other thing was that after being off revolution for a few months,  he was just dosed with revolution a few days previously, but he's had revolution before.

I'm going to keep slippery elm on hand, but If it happens again I should start thinking liver/kidney?

If the picture appears meet Flim (the cow kitty) and Flam (the tuxedo and the vomiter), a.k.a., the FlimFlam boys. Someone was going to throw them in a dumpster until a friend of a friend took them away and flimflammed them into my house 9 year ago.

[Bonkers]

  Sharon, If this continues I would definitely have a full blood panel run if the vet has not done so already. There are numerous ailments that could cause this to occur. I cannot speak to the Revolution but I have never used any flea products on my cats. I am sure someone here may have some comments about that. Sorry, but I cannot see your pics. Please try posting them again as we would love to see them!

[kaffe]

Hi Sharon!  So sorry to hear about the vomiting episodes that your kitty is having.  I woud really really try and search for the underlying cause for the vomiting.  Vomiting an hour or two after eating sounds like more than a hairball problem... it sounds like a metabolic problem to me... are there any other symptoms?  You said no increased water-intake, so kidneys may be fine.  Does your cat - when in one of these episodes - display:

-lethargy? or reluctance to play? sleeping a lot more than usual?
-sits in meat-loaf position a lot?
- salivation
- lip-smacking or teeth-ginding indicatingnausea?
- paleness around the gums ad ears?
- seems interested in eating but turns away from food?
- licks or tries to eat inedible objects like soil, plastic, moss, rocks?
- stools that are different in color or tecture from his nrmal poopies?
- are there dark coffee-grind-like debris in the vomitus?
- does the cat vomit when you give high-fat food?
- does he run a slight temp when he is in this "funk"?

Depending on the cluster of symptoms (and non-sympotoms), I would start with a full panel bloodwork - CBC, differentials, etc.  A pancreatititis tests might also be in order just to rule out pancreatitis.  An x-ray of the GI might also be helpful. 

Slippery elm does a lot to soothe the stomack and intestinal lining as indicated by Bonkers.  However, the best way to give slippery elm to a cat with tum-tum issues is to make a "syrup" of the slipery elm powder, which is easy to do.  I usually dissolve around 3-4 capsules slippery elm in 1 cup of spring/distilled water.  Bring that to a gentle boil, stirring regularly - around 5 - 8 mins.  When done, the liquid should be the cosistency of eggwhite  thick, gooey and slippery.  Refrigerate all unused portion. Give kitty 5-8mls every 4 hrs.  via oral syringe.  Fortunately, most cats don't mind the taste of slippery elm.

Another natural tummy calmative you can use is warm chamomille tea.  Give 5 - 8 mls every 2 -4 hrs as needed.  

Please keep us posted on how your kitty is doing.

[coontuffy]

Sharon......The flim flam boys are adorable!!!!!

Any chance that you Revolutioned both boys at the same time?
Any time I had to use Revolution, I always kept the kitties separated for a minimum of 2 hours so no one would groom.  For example, my Gadget who is semi feral, had a serious case of roundworms, which the Revolution is very effective against.  I kept Gadget in a room by himself for half the day, because I knew the others would be grooming him like crazy, especially if the smelled this on him.

I have a vague recollection of the instructions for the Revolution saying to keep kitties apart for 2 hours.

Just another thought.

Wishing you only the best for Flim and Flam

[Sharon L.]

Thanks all for the kind replies.

There has been no further signs of an upset tummy and appetite and activity are all good so my concern is less. I'm really beginning to think that this latest was an errant hairball and/or some inadvertent Revolution being ingested. And at the very least, if it happens again I'll be more sure of what questions to ask the vet.

Best.

[coontuffy]

Glad all is quiet

All the best wishes for you Sharon and the Flimflam Boys   

[GreyGhost]

The furkids are beautiful. Glad things have calmed down a bit. I would still ave some tests run just to be on the safe side. H-Pylori seems to be going on quite a bit these days. That would cause the vomiting among so many other things. Its also always a good idea to fast a cat or dog for 24 hours after vomiting to let the stomach rest and heal.
I found this Q&A that might help out.
http://www.suevet.com/cat_vomiting.html