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Super Contributor
Posts: 414
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

My 14 year old cat is throwing up...

My Sera was a rescue baby (I adopted her from the Humane Society when she was 6 months old, 14 years ago), and she has always been a nervous Nellie. Everything stresses her out. When she gets super stressed, she'll throw up. It's not hair balls...but seems to be more intact food. We've always tried to keep her environment calm, but trips to the vet's, vacation trips my DH and I go on, are enough to have her vomiting.We even use the pet pheromones diffusers around the house to try and help keep her calm doing this more stressful times.

We moved from MO to OR a year ago, and she traveled via 2 plane trips (no direct flights) in the cabin with us, under the seat in front of me. We had to have her tranqulized for the entire trip. For the most part, for being an old girl, she has done remarkable well in settling in her new home, so there have been a lot more reasons for the stress vomiting, if that's what this is. She'd seen the vet in the past for this, and since her health (other than this) is great, it was no big concern in the past.

Lately, she has been throwing up on a daily basis. We took her to the vet and her xrays show that her kidneys are small and misshapen (apparently normal for her age) and her bronchial tubes are getting thick, so the beginnings of asthma (again, apparently normal for her age), but they could see nothing on the xray like a "mass" and her blood work was all normal and really very good. She's not lost or gained any weight, and in all other ways seems really healthy.

The vet recommended going with a bland diet (baby food) for a couple of days. She never vomited once while on the baby food. Today was the first day we put her back on her dry food and she within an hour threw it up. This afternoon, I tried can food, and she threw that up. Both the dry and the can were Innova brand which the vet recommended. She is now back on the baby food, and the next time I try her cat food, I am to mix just a little bit in with the baby food. If this doesn't work, we're looking at her getting steroid shots to help with the apparent inflamation she must have.

I've come to realize that hopefully part of the problem is she's wolfing down her food, so instead of being putting all day's ration in a bowl...I'm divvying it up in smaller servings on a plate...but that idea didn't help today.

I don't want to make her go through any invasive, heroic testing and treatment, because the stress would be horrendous on her. Have any of your furbabies gone through anything like this, that wasn't related to Inflammatory Bowel Disease or something serious? I'm looking for some helpful, positive stories...as this whole thing is tearing me apart. My husband was wanting us to get away for a few days the end of May, but just the idea of leaving her is too much to think about. With no family up here, and a bad experience with a neighbor who watched her while we went home for our DD's wedding, I just don't feel good about leaving her now.

If I don't respond immediately to any replies, it's because I'm doing a few things around the house and have a couple of errands to run. But I will be checking in periodically for any suggestions or ideas. I really appreciate anything anyone can share that might help.

Edited to add she's an indoor cat...and has never gone outside. This is a single cat household...and I don't see her ever accepting a new "friend".

TIA.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
~ Ian Maclaren