My older cat is sick

[skimomma]

My poor sweet kitty seems to be sick and I'm having a hard time sitting tight. This is long.  Sorry.

 

She is 18 years old and still very spry and healthy.  You would never guess her age.  I clean all of the litter boxes daily and two days ago I noticed that there was markedly less to clean.  I have two cats so I was not sure who might be having a problem.  There was less number one.  The cats eat raw food and I usually mix in a little water so I increased the water on the next feedings.  Yesterday, there was even less to clean in the boxes.  Both cats were acting normal.  

 

Our boxes are all in the basement so I don't go in that area except to clean the boxes daily.  This morning, I went to clean them and noticed two very large piles of vomit, both obviously fresh after their evening and morning feeding.  My older cat occasionally eats her food too quickly and will run to the basement to vomit.  Then she (yes, this is gross) eats it again.  So it was not alarming to see the rejected food but was unusual that it was not eaten and even more unusual that it appears to have happened after two consecutive feedings.  Huh.  And again, the boxes were not the normal level of dirty.  

 

An hour or two later, the older cat ran into the basement and I could hear her vomitting.  So, I went down to find a new puddle but this time very thin, brown, and very very foul smelling.  Alarmed, I called the vet.  

 

We have one vet clinic.  The next closest one is two hours away.  They are closed on Wednesdays routinely to do farm visits.  So, I had to call the emergency line and leave a message. While I was waiting for them to call back she vomited twice more, the same smelly stuff but a far lesser quantity and then a third time that was much more clear/watery. The doctor called back and listened to everything I wrote above.  He asked if her stomach was hard or swollen.  It is not and no indication that it hurt her for me to touch it.  He asked if her gums were pink.  I gave it my best effort but she would not let me look.  (Yes, I was beaten by an 18 yo cat).  He asked if I had changed food or if she had access to anything poisonous.  No and No.

 

I could tell he was not nearby and that seeing her was going to be a big hassle, if not impossible.  He recommended that I not feed her and take away her water until the morning, then try feeding her a tiny bit of water to see if it would stay down.  If not, I should call back.  Adding up the tossed food and the empty litterboxes, I am concerned about denying her food and water for another 12+ hours.  She is very clearly HUNGRY.  

 

He also said that in a case like this, it will either resolve itself or won't.  If it does not, given her age, there is likely nothing he will be able to do.  I did a quick internet search and it sounds like there are all kinds of reasons this could be happening, one of which being a simple hairball obstruction.  She is prone to hairballs.  It seems to me that is probably under the category of "resolves itself."  

 

Any thoughts?  Should I really deny her food (which she is begging for) and water?  She has not vomited since the call to the vet about 6 hours ago.  I confess that I broke down and gave her a teaspoon of the mildest grain-free canned food with a teaspoon of water about an hour ago.  She gobbled it up and is still boring a hole through my head with her hungry stare.  She has thus far kept it down.  I don't want to risk doing any more damage but also don't want her to be miserable and/or to get sick from dehydration.

[Pawz4me]

If she were mine I'd continue giving her small amounts of food at regular intervals as.long as she's keeping it down. I tend to think what the vet advised is too long to fast an elderly cat.

[City Mouse]

I would do what the vet said and take away the food and water. I have had to do that for sick kitties several times.

It isn't anymore cruel to the kitty than it is when a sick person is put on a restricted diet.

If you really can't not give her anything, then just stick with water only for a while.

[Paige]

I have an elderly cat (she's my profile picture and 19yrs) who was very sick a few months ago. I guess she's still very sick, but I thought she was literally going to die any minute. She was much like you described before she got worse. My daughter cleans the boxes and mentioned that she hadn't done anything in them for a while and she was puking more than normal. She's always been prone to vomiting. Does your cat have problems with her kidneys or have they been checked? Mine was in renal failure and her labs were very bad. I thought about putting her to sleep. but a vet said we'd give her a chance and she perked up, which prompted me to try a little harder. Now she's on a protocol that has really turned her back into her old self.

 

She gets 100cc of fluid a day subcutaneously

Zantac and a blood pressure med daily

an appetite stimulant every few days

potassium supplement in her food

phosphate binder in her food

probiotics in her food

 

Her hair is growing in well, she no longer smells, she eats and drinks on her own again, and she even jumps around! When I first took her in she had to stay for the afternoon for IVs because she was so dehydrated, but that was a 1 time thing. I can do everything at home now and she gets seen every 6-8weeks. She lost almost 4lbs in just a month or so and now she's up to her normal weight again.

 

I know not everyone is willing to go that far, but it only takes me about 5-10 min a day and the expense wasn't so bad once I found a vet to write me prescriptions instead of making me come in. Kitty didn't eat regularly for about 3 weeks. At first she ate only bowls of straight treats (and just nibbles), eventually I syringe fed her pureed cat food mixed with plain yogurt for about a week, then her appetite came back and she's been mostly fine since. She's still fragile because her labs are terrible, but it's been 6mos since I was sure she had to be put down and now I have no idea how long she'll be around. It could be months or years! 

 

Kidney disease is very common in old cats and they will get nauseated and vomit. You could try giving her 1/2 pill of OTC zantac and see if it helps. That's what Kitty gets every day and her normal weight is 10lbs. I would do everything possible to get water into her if you don't want to put her to sleep. FWIW, the first vet we saw would have killed her with his (non) treatment that was also 10x the cost of the vet we see now, so it may be worth getting a 2nd opinion. 

[Pawz4me]

I would do what the vet said and take away the food and water. I have had to do that for sick kitties several times.

It isn't anymore cruel to the kitty than it is when a sick person is put on a restricted diet.

If you really can't not give her anything, then just stick with water only for a while.

 

Fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) is the concern. It can develop very quickly, especially if the cat is older and overweight or was previously overweight. And it's believed to be slightly more common in female cats. Just eating less than normal for a few days can trigger it in some cats. So I'm always very wary of fasting an already sick cat.

 

Also, if the nausea is related to excess acid (very common in older cats) fasting is only going to make it worse. Those cats need small, frequent meals.

 

My own vet (who I've been with for over 30 years and many cats) has never advised fasting a cat.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Pawz4me

[SparklyUnicorn]

I would probably still give my cat food and water.  I don't really get the advice of the vet.  I'm not a vet, but what the frack.  The cat is 18 and clearly wants to eat.  If there is nothing they can do even if it is serious, then there is nothing to do.  I wouldn't want to torture my cat without feeling like there was a very good reason.

 

 

[skimomma]

I did end up giving her two more tiny portions of food mixed with water throughout the night.  The morning seems to be a mixed bag tipping in the positive direction.  There was a small amount of clear vomit with a small but dense hairball in it.  But no food or that smelly stuff.  It appears she has gone number two but otherwise the boxes are just about empty.  I'm beginning to wonder about my younger cat too due to the box situation.  Older cat is still is good spirits and begging for food.  I fed her another tiny portion for breakfast and will do so throughout the day.  

 

I'm confused about the vet advice as well but I really don't know anything about cats.  I could tell he was frazzled and it is very likely that a vomiting 18yo cat was insignificant in whatever else he might have been dealing with.  He was impatient and distracted on the phone which is not characteristic of him.  

 

I am willing to go to almost heroic lengths, both financially and effort-wise, for my cats but this one is very very sensitive.  I am the only human she fully trusts and she is a love bug, but it took literally years to get her there.  She was rescued as a nearly-starving 2yo from a cat collector then spent a full year in a crowded shelter.  Going to the vet (or anywhere) is sheer torture for this cat and she will hold a grudge for weeks after a trip.  We have never successfully gotten a pill down her.  My vet tech neighbor couldn't do it either.  No matter the vehicle or devise, she somehow coughed up every attempt.  The one time she needed meds, we ended up having to have them injected after the pill fiasco.  So, given her age and temperament, I would not go to invasion measures, even at home, by me, to extend her life.  She would be miserable.  Our vet knows this and perhaps he was gently trying to say "this might be the end."  Or he might have just been in a hurry.  I did say that I suspected she had already not held anything down for about 36 hours and questioned the fasting recommendation, but he continued to stick by it.

 

Luckily she is not and never has been overweight.  She also has not lost any weight.

 

Getting a second opinion would be difficult due to the distance to another vet (2 hours) and my poor kitty's absolute terror of the carrier, the car, vets, the outside, and everything else.

 

I'll be keeping an eye on her and keeping fingers crossed but am feeling much better about it today.  Thanks for the input!