Diagnosing a vomiting cat
 

My 10 year old cat has been having problems with vomiting up bile for
a long time now. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to his vomiting
but it seems like that's all he does. He doesn't have any loss of
appetite and in fact, he's always hungry. The vet instructed me to
give him 5 mg of Pepcid AC once a day for two weeks and then bring him
in to see if that's helped.

What I'd like to know is, what do veterinarians usually do for cats
that vomit? What tests do they usually order? There are so many tests
he's probably going to have to have and I just want to make sure he
gets all the right ones and without emptying my wallet. It's always
helpful to me to find out what other's have been through so I have a
good idea what my cat and I will have to go through. I think he has
liver disease (according to his las blood test) and after doing
research I'm getting a little worried. Though, the fact that he has a
good appetite makes me a little less worried. It's when they stop
eating that really makes me nervous.

in article , Mike at
wrote on 7/2/04 12:40AM:

My 10 year old cat has been having problems with vomiting up bile for
a long time now. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to his vomiting
but it seems like that's all he does. He doesn't have any loss of
appetite and in fact, he's always hungry. The vet instructed me to
give him 5 mg of Pepcid AC once a day for two weeks and then bring him
in to see if that's helped.

What I'd like to know is, what do veterinarians usually do for cats
that vomit? What tests do they usually order? There are so many tests
he's probably going to have to have and I just want to make sure he
gets all the right ones and without emptying my wallet. It's always
helpful to me to find out what other's have been through so I have a
good idea what my cat and I will have to go through. I think he has
liver disease (according to his las blood test) and after doing
research I'm getting a little worried. Though, the fact that he has a
good appetite makes me a little less worried. It's when they stop
eating that really makes me nervous.


Vomiting is very hard to diagnose a cause and sometimes in the end it can't
be found. I would want to check for thyroid, diabetes and possibly IBD but I
imagine just about anything might cause it. Hope you do get a diagnosis and
kitty is OK.

in article , Mike at
wrote on 7/2/04 12:40AM:

My 10 year old cat has been having problems with vomiting up bile for
a long time now. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to his vomiting
but it seems like that's all he does. He doesn't have any loss of
appetite and in fact, he's always hungry. The vet instructed me to
give him 5 mg of Pepcid AC once a day for two weeks and then bring him
in to see if that's helped.

What I'd like to know is, what do veterinarians usually do for cats
that vomit? What tests do they usually order? There are so many tests
he's probably going to have to have and I just want to make sure he
gets all the right ones and without emptying my wallet. It's always
helpful to me to find out what other's have been through so I have a
good idea what my cat and I will have to go through. I think he has
liver disease (according to his las blood test) and after doing
research I'm getting a little worried. Though, the fact that he has a
good appetite makes me a little less worried. It's when they stop
eating that really makes me nervous.


Vomiting is very hard to diagnose a cause and sometimes in the end it can't
be found. I would want to check for thyroid, diabetes and possibly IBD but I
imagine just about anything might cause it. Hope you do get a diagnosis and
kitty is OK.

Though, the fact that he has a
good appetite makes me a little less worried. It's when they stop
eating that really makes me nervous.

They'll probably want to do more bloodwork and maybe x-rays initially to see if
there's a blockage. Sometimes they will just treat the symptoms after
that...maybe with a food change or reglan. My late cat was on reglan syrup for
the last weeks of his life, he hated it, though. Apparenly some vets will give
you reglan injection to administer yourself but my vet wouldn't. The vet might
suggest a diet change to one of the non-allergenic foods, lamb and rice or duck
and rice, or whatever that stuff is. Is your cat having normal bowel
movements? If so, he probably isn't blocked.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Though, the fact that he has a
good appetite makes me a little less worried. It's when they stop
eating that really makes me nervous.

They'll probably want to do more bloodwork and maybe x-rays initially to see if
there's a blockage. Sometimes they will just treat the symptoms after
that...maybe with a food change or reglan. My late cat was on reglan syrup for
the last weeks of his life, he hated it, though. Apparenly some vets will give
you reglan injection to administer yourself but my vet wouldn't. The vet might
suggest a diet change to one of the non-allergenic foods, lamb and rice or duck
and rice, or whatever that stuff is. Is your cat having normal bowel
movements? If so, he probably isn't blocked.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)