12 yr old cat vomited four times in past week

[Anonymous]

We got back from the holidays last week and since then our cat has thrown up brown liquid on four separate occasions in four different areas (couch, radiator, two separate carpets). We haven't changed her diet and it's not food or hair that's coming up, it's vomit. Based on what I've read online, my guess is it's something serious. I'm about to call the vet but thought I'd post here to see what others have experienced. TIA.

[Anonymous]

take him in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:take him in.

I have an appt for tomorrow. Was hoping to hear from others what their experience had been so I can manage expectations, which at this point are that we'll get bad news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:take him in.

I have an appt for tomorrow. Was hoping to hear from others what their experience had been so I can manage expectations, which at this point are that we'll get bad news.

People can't possibly know what's causing it. You will just get misinformation or unnecessary stress here... With my cat, it was cancer. I sure hope that's not what yours have.

[Anonymous]

If it were my 12 year old cat, I would probably go to the vet.

That said, my general attitude is that cat's throw up. A lot. And if they are still eating/going to the bathroom as normal, I'm not super concerned.

[Anonymous]

My cat used to throw up All The Time. I brought her in last year when she had a UTI and I discovered that her kidneys were failing. Apparently, the vomiting was an early sign that I had missed for years. Once I put her on medication and a special diet, that seemed to help. She's had a few more UTIs and just had a really bad bout with constipation, so I'm afraid her kidneys are in worse shape than ever. She's almost 19 now and is down to under 5 pounds, so we'll see.

[Anonymous]

A few years ago my cat had a spell like this. It got really bad and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong- we thought it was the end. A couple thousand dollars later she snapped out of it. Their best guess was pancreatitis but that seems to be the default when they don’t know.

More recently she was vomiting again, but not as much as that one time, and tested positive for a uti (and may have some other kidney issues, still working on that).

[Anonymous]

Hmm my cat vomits fairly frequently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm my cat vomits fairly frequently.

OP here. This is new behavior. I didn't think anything of it the first, second or third time but after four I figure this is a call for help.

[Anonymous]

Op, can you give an update on your kitty? What did vet say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, can you give an update on your kitty? What did vet say?

After $500 to do bloodwork and urine analysis, there's nothing conclusive. Her kidney values have been slowly increasing but the vet doesn't think that's what's causing her to get sick, which has continued to happen. She threw up five times on Sun, twice on Monday and once last night. So we can either do xray and/or ultrasound to see if there's an object or thickening happening somewhere to cause her to get sick (so another $450 each), give her anti-nausea medication/injection to stop the vomiting or give her probiotics. She's still eating and her activity level seems the same so the more wallet friendly option is to do the medication and/or probiotics. But if there's an underlying issue, an xray or ultraound is our best bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, can you give an update on your kitty? What did vet say?

After $500 to do bloodwork and urine analysis, there's nothing conclusive. Her kidney values have been slowly increasing but the vet doesn't think that's what's causing her to get sick, which has continued to happen. She threw up five times on Sun, twice on Monday and once last night. So we can either do xray and/or ultrasound to see if there's an object or thickening happening somewhere to cause her to get sick (so another $450 each), give her anti-nausea medication/injection to stop the vomiting or give her probiotics. She's still eating and her activity level seems the same so the more wallet friendly option is to do the medication and/or probiotics. But if there's an underlying issue, an xray or ultraound is our best bet.

hmm... sorry to hear that but i think you will end up doing (at least) xray, don't you think? maybe you should also look for a more reasonably priced vet service. that seems high. where you at?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, can you give an update on your kitty? What did vet say?

After $500 to do bloodwork and urine analysis, there's nothing conclusive. Her kidney values have been slowly increasing but the vet doesn't think that's what's causing her to get sick, which has continued to happen. She threw up five times on Sun, twice on Monday and once last night. So we can either do xray and/or ultrasound to see if there's an object or thickening happening somewhere to cause her to get sick (so another $450 each), give her anti-nausea medication/injection to stop the vomiting or give her probiotics. She's still eating and her activity level seems the same so the more wallet friendly option is to do the medication and/or probiotics. But if there's an underlying issue, an xray or ultraound is our best bet.

hmm... sorry to hear that but i think you will end up doing (at least) xray, don't you think? maybe you should also look for a more reasonably priced vet service. that seems high. where you at?

Tenleytown. I'll call Friendship Animal hospital to see how much they charge but if anyone knows of a place where xrays or ultrasounds are more affordable, let me know.

[Anonymous]

NP here: The cat could have chewed on a string, elastic, ribbon, etc. while you were gone and have it in her stomach - hence the importance of either xray or ultrasound or both. (I know they show different things - perhaps ask which).

Mine did that - they get bored when we're gone for a week and go hunting for stuff - ONE bit of a ribbon must have not been thrown away when I wrapped presents, it ended up underneath a counter or something and she found it. Damn cat! In our case, they found it on the xray and could see it wasn't tangled up but thought it would work it's way out so we watched for it in the litter box and voila!

But that amount of vomiting is extreme, you need to figure out why.

However, it might also be ok to give an anti-vomit med to see if simply calming the cat's stomach down allows it to stop vomiting - it can be a cycle - you vomit, makes tummy reactive, so there's more vomiting.

My vet is in North Laurel, MD - and is expensive but GREAT - but that's a hike for you. I will say, vets in DC are more expensive because they are paying REALLY high rent vs. the more suburban places (same holds true for apartment rent, business rent, childcare costs, etc)

When I lived on Capitol Hill, I loved Union Veterinary Clinic, but wow, was it expensive! But I've found Boston and DC vets more expensive than the suburbs, it just is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: The cat could have chewed on a string, elastic, ribbon, etc. while you were gone and have it in her stomach - hence the importance of either xray or ultrasound or both. (I know they show different things - perhaps ask which).

Mine did that - they get bored when we're gone for a week and go hunting for stuff - ONE bit of a ribbon must have not been thrown away when I wrapped presents, it ended up underneath a counter or something and she found it. Damn cat! In our case, they found it on the xray and could see it wasn't tangled up but thought it would work it's way out so we watched for it in the litter box and voila!

But that amount of vomiting is extreme, you need to figure out why.

She continues to get sick. Any chance this could be an allergy? I haven't changed her food and I don't want her to continue to suffer but it would be nice to buy new cat food and find out it's an allergy vs $700 for xrays and it's nothing. It feels like going down the rabbit hole.