BS: Cat Puke Question???

Subject: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Bobert
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 04:57 PM

My female cat has been throwing up after eating every three ot four days and I asked the vet and he said that lots of cats do it...

Frankly, I'm gettin' a tad tired of cleaning up kitty puke...

Anyone had this problem with a kitty and if so do you know of any treatments short of takin' the cat out in the woods and givin' it the gun???

BTW, I do like the cat other than this one little situation...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:01 PM

It's morning sickness, Bobert. You're about to be a daddy.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:07 PM

Sometimes they eat too much, too fast, and when they get overfull, it comes back up. Some cats will eat the result, and that's fine-- problem solved. If that IS the cause, then the simplest solution is to broadcast the kitty kibbles out loose, like chicken feed, over a wide area. That slows down the gobbling so they know when they are full and quit eating. Of course until they eat it up, you get to step on kibbles, so give some thought to where you will try this. We broadast-feed our kitties twice a day in a secion of the laundry area where we only go to do actual laundry-- out of our own traffic path.

OR it could be that kitty is trying to bring up a hairball, in which case others (like your vet?!?!) will have some ideas on how to help this occur.

~Susan

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: peregrina
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:14 PM

hair ball medicine ever day for a while helped my large throw-uppy cat with this. squeezes out of a tube like brown toothpaste, made of liquid paraffin or something plus malt; my cats love it.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: artbrooks
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:19 PM

Is it lumpy, with un-digested food, or basically smooth and yellowish? If the latter, it might be a sign of serious liver or kidney problems. We recently had to finally put a cat down who had liver cancer, and he was puking yellow 3-4 times a day.

Is she an indoor/outdoor cat? If so, look at the barf for blades of grass. They sell cat food that allegedly contains "outdoor green flavors", which might help if that is the situation.

And does she follow the normal cat pattern? That is, go from the tile floor to the carpet, and then puke?

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:21 PM

Ya'll beat me to it! And NO 'self feed'. In other words, YOU limit the amount of food she gets. Don't just keep the kibble bowl full all the time. Some cats (and a few dogs) will limit themselves on self feed and stop when they are full. Others never do. (Tends to make them fat too, as well as sick up)

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:32 PM

I've now had 2 cats who are/were pukers. Neither of them ate too quickly (the one I have now is so picky he barely eats anything at one sitting) or were over-eaters. I just got used to cleaning it up....and turning on the light before walking barefoot around the apartment...

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 05:47 PM

My cat has a thick coat and sheds a lot. When she cleans herself, she gets hair in her system. So we do the following:

brush her
feed her Science Diet Hairball control food
give her Laxaire (that brown lubricant) once in a while
make sure she gets water

With cats, it pays to notice how they like their water. My previous cat liked it best straight from the bathtub - a tiny stream absolutely fresh and cold.

The present cat likes to drink in my bedroom just before retiring. There's a stainless steel bowl next to the hamper which I fill every night. She knows that I am right there to fend off any timberwolves, so she feels safe as she drinks.

I hope it's nothing serious.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Jack Campin
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:00 PM

It's quite often food intolerance - to a specific species (like beef) or a particular organ (kidney, testicle). Try changing to a food of different basic composition.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Peace
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:06 PM

Strain it before you drink it, Bobert.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:08 PM

I have one that used to puke every day, I think it's fur ball realted, and I've recently started with a dab of petroleum jelly (the old fashioned remedy before the tube of beef-flavored petroleum jelly came along) and it is abating. It is yellow, but she's had fur balls in an empty stomach as we try to get this cat to lose a half-dozen pounds or so. I'm sick to death of washing bedding or throws or covers or rugs or spraying and scraping puke off of floors. I'm with Bobert--I like the cat, but I'm tired of it.

The other one doesn't throw up as often, but any time he can get at grass he'll eat it and then heave. Science Diet fur ball food seems to make it worse, actually.

I hope it isn't liver disease, I've lost one to that, and she didn't puke. I can't afford the vet bills. I'm tired of it, to the point that I've resolved that once these two are gone, I probably won't get any more house cats. I'll keep dogs in the yard and let them in occasionally.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:16 PM

Look, I have a cat that will ONLY drink soft tap water from a coffee cup sitting on the bathroom counter!!! She refuses any other water, any other cup/bowl....but at least my cats don't sick up!

The dogs eat books tho. Does that count?

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:33 PM

Mikey (think 'he won't eat it, he hates everything!') will only drink from the bathroom sink. Every morning around 0430 I am greeted with a headbutt and a few meows which is my cue to turn on the faucet. He is also the puker but I don't hold any of this against him because he is just about the cutest little think I ever did see.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:39 PM

Becca...NOTHING is cute enough to induce me to get up and turn on a tap at 4:30 AM! I can ignore dogs bouncing on my head for an hour because I will NOT feed them before 6 AM. Mr will. He gets up when they start dancing on his head. They know better than to try that with me. I just cover my head and roll over. Ignore Button.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Helen
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 06:53 PM

Hi BeauBear,

(Do you lay awake at night thinking of these strange problems to post on Mudcat? Just a sneaking suspicion.)

Some people we know had a cat which started puking a lot more than normal. They found out he is allergic to prawns (that's shrimp to you non-Ozzies). But also there was another problem, which I vaguely remember as being a physiological condition of his oesophagus or the swallowing mechanism or something like that. I don't see these people very often but I'll ask them when I see them. It took the vet a long time to figure it out.

Do we still have the resident vet here at Mudcat? I have to confess I have a mental block remembering her name. I thought it was Jeri - but I think I'm thinking of a member of the Harplist.

[I'm really sorry, Vet-Lady!! Your posts have always been good reading, on all subjects, so that's why it's embarrassing having this mental block about your name.]

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 07:17 PM

It was Jenellen....in NW USA...haven't seen her for ages. Jeri is a 'retired' human nurse! LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Helen
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 07:32 PM

Oh well, same profession (medicine), different clients! I knew her name started with J.

Thanks Sorcha.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Jeri
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 09:39 PM

I'm a retired Public Health tech who was a vet tech for a couple of years. JenEllen is the vet, wherever she got off to. Cats puke and some cats just puke a lot. Maybe it's hairballs, maybe it's how fast they eat, maybe they ate something that didn't agree with them or licked something their stomach objected to, or maybe you just looked at them funny. If the cat's otherwise healthy and holds most meals down, don't worry. Either watch where you walk or shoot the cat and buy a mini-horse. They aren't usually interested in your lap, but they're physically incapable of barfing. I'm pretty sure you can't house train them, so you have other substances to deal with.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Scooby Doo
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 11:00 PM

There is no medicine for everything which is natural.


Scooby

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 11:19 PM

So it's probably NOT morning sickness, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Peace
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 11:59 PM

No, he doesn't have morning sickness. Were he a seahorse he might . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Cats
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 08:19 AM

So last Saturday night we were all in the cottage singing and playing following 'Crying The Neck', Jon had his new bouzouki out, Bathsheba our long haired pussy sitting very prettily in the open case when she promptly threw up a hair ball, all over the velvet lining!! Jon wasn't amused, everyone else was! Bathsheba does bring up hairballs regularly even though we give her hairball biscuits to make it easier and she is also brushed every night, which she loves!

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 09:01 AM

My puking cat hates to be brushed -- she's old, and her hips are arthritic. She's unlike any other feline I've every known in that she frequently gets off the carpet before heaving, but unfortunately this courtesy does not extend to the kitchen sofa. You haven't lived until you've cleaned cat puke out of the workings of a La-Z-Boy sofa.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 09:05 AM

Blurry eyed Boberdz here...

Between a concert last night and getting home in time for the last half od the debates I'm about half ready to puke myself but...

I didn't really ask this question for myself but for The P-Vine... I have her convinced (ha) that Mudcatters are the smartest group of people in the universe and so she asked me to ask ya'll about the cat...

My idea was to quit feeding the sumabich... That woulda worked but the P-VIne said "Fine, and I'll quit feedin' you, too..." so I needed Plan B...

We are gonna try brushin' the cat every couple days and see how that works... If that don't do the the trick then I'll give her the gun... No, I won't... I just like sayin' that... Nevermind...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Rapparee
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 10:17 AM

Keep her out of that 'shine they make down there. Poor kitty's hung over.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 12:36 PM

I've considered shaving the cat. But I'd probably die of scratches trying. The lather would be the hardest part, I think.

;-D

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 03:11 PM

From: Bobert
Date: 26 Sep 08 - 04:57 PM

My female cat has been throwing up after eating every three or four days and I asked the vet and he said that lots of cats do it...

Frankly, I'm gettin' a tad tired of cleaning up kitty puke..

ANSWER: Change the channel on your TV, off the political news!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Cats
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 05:10 PM

Bobert, when I got Bathsheba she had been shorn in places as her fur had been left to knot together by her previous owners and when she was rescued the centre had to cut off the hair as it was so knotted. We began brushing her with a soft glove than has a bobbly pad on the front so she could get used to it. She loved being stroked so this was a first step. After she had got used to that we moved on to a soft brush and then a wire and soft brush. Now we hold the brush out and she runs to it and pushes herself against it. At the same time every night she comes and stands on her 'brushing spot' and if we don't take any notice she soon lets us know it is time for her to be brushed. Isolde saw Bathsheba being brushed from the time we rescued her as a kitten and she has always been used to being brushed. Be gentle. It takes time.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: peregrina
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 05:18 PM

You can get plastic brush things that attach to a surface and let the cat brush itself when it wants to. Not enough to prevent hairballs, but a help.

I think that hairball medicine that comes in a tube is the only way to make sure the hair goes down and out with the food instead of up...

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Ed T
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 08:50 PM

Here is a poor guy's cat diary:


http://www.katpuke.com/olddiary.html

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: ranger1
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 09:16 PM

Bobert, my dear, I am afraid to tell you, but you have joined the ranks of bulimicat owners. Our older cat used to barf at will, and only in hard-to-reach areas such as behind the 300 pound antique dresser or in our shoes. Five years after the ancient kitty passed on, I still check inside my work boots before putting them on. I think we finally got the last of the fossilized puke off the floor the last time we rearranged the furniture. Nothing like little post-mortem surprises to make you not miss a cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 11:15 AM

One paper towel (dry) to pick up the puke.
One paper towel (wet) to wipe up after that.

Q. What's the big deal?
A. The big deal is that the owner thinks s/he is Master of the Universe and doesn't want the cat puking on the carpet. Once you realize that the cat is Master, this problem will go away.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 12:03 PM

Save it!..It makes great soup!

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 12:15 PM

Kiddie wipes work well for clean up, too.

Put 2-3 smooth (river)rocks in the food dish so that she has to work to get at each kibble; it slows down the eating and was recommended to me by a vet. Big enough that she won't try to eat one of them!

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 12:17 PM

Reminds me of a filksong, (Cynthia McQuillan?)
Chorus:
Cats they shed & cats they throw up.
Cats they defecate and spray. (yes they spray)
And I'm gonna be a multi-millionaire
The day that I can make these products pay!

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Nancy King
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 12:50 PM

Ah yes, nothing like a nice puddle of cat puke to brighten the day... Or several, more likely.

If it's only every 3 or 4 days, it's probably not kidney disease. When my Roscoe had acute kidney disease as a result of the Great Pet Food Poisoning, he was throwing up every few hours, to the point where it was dry heaves or just a bit of mucus (still unpleasant to clean up, mind you...), but now that the kidney thing is basically under control as a result of hydration and diet, he just throws up every few days. Usually in several spots in quick succession, just to make things interesting.

My previous cat gave lots of warning when he was about to heave -- enough time to move him off the carpet. Roscoe offers no such courtesy, and has managed to mess up every carpet in the house at one time or another. What a charmer.

I do think it has to do with eating too fast. I don't have a place such as WYSIWYG has for broadcast feeding, but I think I might try Kat's idea of putting rocks in his dish.

Good luck, Bobert.

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Bee
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 04:46 PM

Get a dog. I have yet to meet a dog who won't joyfully eat cat puke, and look hurt if you rush to clean it up first.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Becca72
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 05:20 PM

eeeeewwwww

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 03:33 PM

I'm going to try that rock idea. Thanks, kat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: peregrina
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 03:40 PM

If it's hairballs and your other measures don't work, it's a lot less disgusting to clean up the non-fish food.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 03:41 PM

You're most welcome. I hope it works for you.

Bee, my dog turns up his nose at any of it unless it is very freshly eaten, then spewed cat food, no hairballs included!*bg* But then, he is one of the smartest dogs on the planet, being a McNab border collie an' all.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: Bobert
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 05:46 PM

Fir now I'll try the rock idea... Yeah, I've seen those kittie accesories where the cat walks thru it and it helps with the fir... I'll get one of them, too...

Then, if they don't work, it's the gun...

(You wouldn't shoot yer cat, would ya' Boberdz???)

No, the gun is for me...

B;(

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: lady penelope
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 06:03 PM

Don't think much of your vet if his only comment was "a lot of cats do it..."

Actually you may have to try different types of food. Some cats are happy eating dried cat food, but many won't drink enough water for their stomaches to tolerate this. So you may have to introduce wet cat food and you may have to try various brands to hit on one they can tolerate.

As Sorcha says, you may also have to limit the amount of food you put out at any time.

If your cat goes out regularly, you may have to put up with a certain amount of puking if your cat has a tendency towards experimental outdoor quisine (i.e. will insist on trying everyting at least once to see if it's edible) never mind eating grass etc. for getting rid of furballs and also dealing with quisine experiments that have gone horribly wrong....

Normally once you figure out what sets them off, it's usually fairly easy to keep ahead of a cat's puking regime.

Subject: RE: BS: Cat Puke Question???
From: JennieG
Date: 03 Oct 08 - 01:15 AM

Our two cats have both dried and wet (mixture of tinned and fresh) food. The wet stays down, the dry always stays down in one cat but not always in the other. Mind you, she is a real guts; eats too quickly sometimes, so of course what goes down has to come back up as speedily as it.......I'll spare you the picture.

Just seems to be the individual kitty's innards.

Cheers
JennieG