Help me make a decision about our cat

[sdmay3]

We adopted a cat at the shelter almost a year ago. From the very beginning she would occasionally vomit her food after eating. At first we thought it was just hairballs so we would giver her hairball treatment from the vet and make sure she was combed very well. Then we took in a stray that had been hanging out oround our house for several months. We took him to the vet and got all of his health problems under control.

Well the original cat began vomiting after every meal solid pieces of food. It doesn't even look like she is chewing it up. I have taken her to the vet time after time and he cannot find anything physically wrong with her. We have done several little things to try and keep her from eating so fast. Now we are using the moist food and it isn't making a difference. Meanwhile she is losing weight.

We had the cats boarded at the vets office while we went on vacation this summer and she didn't vomit one time there. She did gain several ounces in the 5 days she was there. But they did have her in her own cage so she didn't have to share food. The staff did say that when they would try to handle her she was very mean. The vet stated last week that he thinks this had been an ongoing problem with her which is why someone left her at the shelter to begin with.

She wants nothing to do with anyone in the house except when she wants food. I am considering taking her back to the shelter because 1) I just don't think she is happy here, 2)She is losing too much weight which scares me, 3)I can't afford to keep taking her to the vet.

But when I adopted her I knew that there would be vet costs and I know that cats can be temperamental. I don't want to give up on her. I am afraid that if I take her to the shelter they might put her to sleep. If I give her away if they have problems too they might just drop her off somewhere.

Please just give me some advice.


Updated to say... I appreciate everyone's advice. We still have our cat. i switched her food again. (Back to a food she was on before. It used to make her vomit too.) Well anyway it has now been almost 2 weeks and she hasn't vomited one time!!!! Even her attitude has changed. She is being a litle more loving. Thanks for convincing me to keep trying!!!!!

[Quaker_Parrots]

Have you thought of maybe putting her on a feeding schedule? (and crating her when it is feeding time? and seperating her from other pets when she eats) She might do better with keeping her food down that way. Also, is there a possibility she is depressed? could the vet prescribe something for her behavioral probs?

[sahmsfreeb]

cat one sounds like she is too anxious.
she is gobbling food because she thinks the other one will eat it before her. i imagine she had to fight for quite alot b4 she met you.
feed her in a separate quiet room at the same time every day. also talk to your vet (over the phone) about pepcid.

my cat has sour stomach. she vomits for no rhyme and reason. i have traced it back to the food. although she will vomit the food that doesnt make her sick. for my tanya it is a combination of fur, and catfood formula. my tanya will also vomit with an empty stomach.
my vet suggested a 1/4 pepcid (not the calcium one) for tanya. (although i havent done it yet bcause well... tanya is a brat. lil squirmy and head strong)

you need to give her time... she most likely was abused or not hand reared.. (meaning she does not know how to behave around humans) just tell her you want to work with her and to make her life a nice one.

trust me cats understand the human tone. just dont tell her you want to get rid of her... or she will quit trying and just get nasty...





as we speak my tanya is really really po'd at me and hisssed and swatted at me over the phone. she doesnt like the car and it was a 3 hour trip to grandmas.




GL! keep us informed!

[sdmay3]

Have you thought of maybe putting her on a feeding schedule? (and crating her when it is feeding time? and seperating her from other pets when she eats) She might do better with keeping her food down that way. Also, is there a possibility she is depressed? could the vet prescribe something for her behavioral probs?



We have been doing that for months and it hasn't made a difference. We feed them 3 times a day. She is allowed so much food per day and we divide into 3 portions. We seperate the cats when it is time to eat.

I almost think she is scared of us. I wonder too if whoever had her before us abused her. If you just reach to her to pet her she runs off to hide. But I would think that after almost a year of being here that she would know that we aren't going to hurt her.

I am going to try to get another vets opinion. Its just that I can't work right now and hubby is laid off. I don't know where I am going to come up with the money. Our vet is very good about letting you make peyments and post date checks. All of the other vets want full payment up front.

[Eyore]

I have a cat that is 12 or 13 years old. She has been a puker since I have had her. She goes in stages. She won't be sick for a while then all of a sudden she is sick alot. The vet was never able to find anything wrong with her. I think the most she has ever weight was 6.5 lbs. She just don't gain weight. I did put her on cat food from flintriver and she did seem to do alittle better on that, she gained some weight. Had her on it for years although it is a little expensive. The past few months I have her and my other cats on Purina Indoor Formula and she doesn't seem to get sick as much but I think she is starting to lose more weight. Her back end on the sides looks sunk in anymore.
I think I will be ordering another bag just for her again and see if it helps her out again.
Another thing I have heard is if your dog or cat eats to fast put a ball in there bowl so they have to work at it a little more. I tried that with her but she still got sick. Here is the link to flintriver if you care to check it out.
http://www.flintriver.com/Default.htm

[antlovers]

Have you considered leaving dry food out and available at all times? I feed my cats canned food three times a day, but keep dry food available 24/7 for them.

Also, have you had her checked for kidney failure? This is a common problem for older cats, but can affect any cat. Two symptoms are weight loss and throwing up.

Have you also considered that she may not be a people-friendly cat? I have a cat that I've had since birth (her mother was my cat). This cat is now five years old and she has always been leery of people...including me! She doesn't like to be petted and she hides in the house all the time. I know for a fact that she has never been mistreated in any way. It's just her nature to be unfriendly. She doesn't even like other cats. It doesn't bother me. I love her for who she is and I allow her to be herself.

That being said, my daughter once adopted a cat who refused to come out of the bedroom. The cat NEVER adjusted to her new home and my daughter eventually gave her away. The cat was unhappy the entire time my daughter had her (we think it's because of her dog). She went to a petless home and adjusted perfectly well.

After being so long winded I guess my suggestion would be to:
1. Accept the cat's personality for what it is and;
2. Try something different - different feeding routine and different vet.

Good luck to kitty. Sounds like she needs it!

[sdmay3]

We tried putting the ball in the food. It didn't help. We used to have the dry food out all the time. And all she did was eat. It seemed like one night she doubled in size. I rushed her to the vet and she had went in two weeks time from 9 lbs to 14 lbs. Right no she is down to 8 lbs. I am going to get her kidneys checked as suggested. By the way by our vets estimate she is about 2 years old.

[janelle]

My cat throws up at times as well. He likes to eat grass and throw up so I have to watch him when I put him out. I try not to let him get to grass. He seems to need it for his stomach. I also got the hairball food but sometimes he will eat a lot and throw up. I guess some cats have sensitive stomachs and it's their way to doctor themselves.

He isn't like my last cat I had for eighteen years, He threw up regularly. I trained him to go into the basement to do it. When I heard him starting I would scold him and he would run to the basement, but never pick up the cat if they have already started throwing up. I was always concerned they would inhale it back into their lungs. I would grab a piece of paper or something and he would throw up on it.

My cats never lost weight though or if they did they gained it back. I think we will just have to put up with it and get a good rug cleaner. Someone said the Woolite rug cleaner was great. I bought it and it does work great on the stains.

[Urban Cowgirl]

sounds like she is choking down all the food so she does not have to share. She is not even stopping to chew. I would try scheduled feeding in separate rooms for both cats and see how that goes.

[CowNcalves]

We had the same problem with the cat we got from the shelter. He would eat so fast and then up it came. We switched cat food, tried putting it in differant areas but nothing worked until I left food out all the time for him. If he was out of food for just a couple of hours, one we gave him food, he would scarf it down so fast that it would come right back up. It took him about 6 months before he realized that he wasn't going to starve to death if there was no food. We have had him for 2 years now and have had no more problems :D
Hope things work out for you

[rlynn411]

I have a cat that about 12 years old and she has always been a puker. And for about the first 10 years we had her she was far from social.

A friend found her dumped along a highway in New Jersey and brought her back to Ohio. The first 10 yrs she has been here we were luck to see her let alone hold or pet her.... so we figured she don't bother anything and shes just not a people person. As far as the puking, she isn't a very big cat and she has yet to starve to death after all this time.... and at one point she even got a bit plump then slimmed back down..... she just "rents" her food!

Now, in the last four years she has become more socialable. (which happened shortly after the death of one of our other cats), so she was the last last of the original 3. In fact she has got so friendly with me ( and only me) I feel like she stalks me day and night..... I move, she follows....... all day...... every day. Makes me crazy sometimes seeing how it took over 10 years for her to become this way!

I would think as long as she doesn't waste away to nothing and shes not a threat to your other cat and kids if you have them, I would just go with the flow with it. If you do decide you can't keep here check around for organazations that won't put it down. In our area we have Pets without Parents, which is a rescue type of place and a place called Cat Welfare..... both won't put an animal down unless it is sickly with no chance of recovery.

Good luck to you in what ever you decide.