Before I kill him?

[rancher hicks]

I have a cat about 8 yrs old. He has always been an outdoor cat until last year when he got a wound and was limping. I decided to either treat him myself or have him put to sleep since I'd already spent $200.00 at the vets to have him treated for a wound to his foot. How he got the sore i don't know.

Anyhow I'm unemployed so I couldn't afford another vet bill. So I brought him inside and he got better except for the limp which I've decided is artheritis. Previous to this he was always an outside cat choosing to be out even in the nastiest of weather. He is fixed by the way.

The problem was and is, is that he throws up alot. Sometimes even in the food dish as though he were eating and up chucks the food back into the dish. (dry food, canned food is to stinky and no different). Well he just did it again and I'm tired of it. The carpet is soiled in places and I'm tire of cleaning up after this cat.

I haven't noticed worms and it's like he hasn't chewed very well or at all. The last time he was at the vets she never mentioned a problem with his teeth so I doubt that is the problem. He doesn't act sickly as he plays and chased Norma Jean my DD's young cat.

Has anyone had this problem? It wasn't a problem perse' before he was indoors cuz her vomited outdoors. What could be wrong with this cat?

Thanks for any advice

Rancher and Merlin

 

[lasergrl]

Most cats do not chew other then a couple of the kibbles, so thats not the problem. cats with no teeth often eat dry and dont vomit it.
What I would try, is cat lax, and a hairball formula. Has more fiber. Sometimes chronic hairballs can do this. If no improvement sensative stomache food, or true hypoallergenic food may help. Something like wellness formula, fish and potato or something like that. Some cats just vomit, alot. If you dont have the money to do a vet work up that may not even gove you an answer, Id start with those things above.

Oh, and sometimes my cats will vomit in the bowl, if they had been out of food since the day before, and I refill. they gorge. If you think he may be gorging try feeding smaller meals more often.

 

[Tala]

Hairball???
Even if you didn't see any wormy stools, it sure wouldn't hurt to deworm him. Even my sister's indoor only cats seem to get tapeworms everytime they pick up a flea (she lives in an apartment and suspects the fleas come from neighbors)

Or sounds like he might have a bad habit of gobbling down his food too fast/overeating. Do you free feed? Try give him a specific measured amount several times a day instead of just filling the bowl. One of my sisters' cats has a tendency to overeat and puke, but she is also long-haired so we also suspect hairballs may affect her as well. Limiting the amount of food to several smaller meals helps, and giving a greasy hairball remedy occasionally.

Maybe your vet could give suggestions over the phone without another bill?

 

[noodleroo]

My guess would be hairballs. At the worst, it could be an intestinal blockage. When I was a little girl, our vet recommended vaseline. Our cat loved it! He licked it off our fingers. With what I know about petroleum products now, I don't know how he survived to be 20 yrs. old. Anyway, they sell hairball medecine in the grocery store these days. Won't hurt to try it, IMO.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

My parents had this problem with their almost 20 year old cat- they put her on a senior lower calorie cat food and measured intake. This helped some, but didn't alleviate it entirely.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I have a 14 year old Boston Fartier, I mean Terrier. He has 2 twisted back nees, & is blind from glaucoma. We have spent thousands on him at the vet, but I would do it all over again. He's my buddy. Don't give up on your cat, he needs you.

Bug..... short for bug eyed b@$^@*% He's my man! Excuse his posture.

 

[HeatherLynn]

You can also try switching foods. I have bought some hairball formulas or sometimes just a different brand. I have one who does the same thing but only when someone messes up and buys the wrong stuff. I think his is more allergy than anything else. I swear you give him the right brand and he keeps everything down. Try a lamb and rice formula. They have some that are no more than regular food at walmart. You might also just add a bit of oil to his food. I add olive oil to help alleviate the hairball issues. We had at one time 4 long hair cats. Hairballs were an ucky ucky issue. The oil seemed to really help. This can help with an intestinal blockage also. The vet had us giving I think 2 tablespoons a day to one that had that issue. It worked, thankfully.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
The stuff from the grocery store is something like 90% soybean oil.

I just dose up some tuna fish with olive oil for my cats, but I think you can get tuna that is already canned in soybean oil.....same difference I guess.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

My DD's cat is a chronic up-chucker. lol. Never did take him to the vet, a friend suggested switching him to a hairball or sensitive stomach food - didn't do that though - did research (didn't want to spend a junk load of money on food for 1 of at the time 9 cats that everyone would eat and mean I'd be spending money out the butt on cat food) - so researched and found out most cat foods have too much grain and some cats are more sensitive than others to it and can't process it and it upsets their stomachs - thus upchucking. SO picked a food with less grain in it - cheap brand still - and mix a bit of olive oil in with the food (I use a little 6 oz spray bottle and when I refill the auto feeder I mist oil on the food and mix it with a spoon to get it on all of it. ) Of course I also trick my cats into eating HEALTHY foods - if we cook healthy dinner (say rotisserie chicken, potatoes, carrots, ect) I blend it all up on a chopper and put it out for the cats with chicken grease

they eat it up.


Also it could just simply be that he needs greens in his diet that he was getting outside. Let him out for a couple hours a day to eat grass, or get a pan/dish and use miracle grow soil, and some kind of grass (cat grass, fescue, ect - something thats a rich green though) seed and let it grow up a few inches before setting it where he can get to it, this will allow him to get his grass/fiber intake in the house without going outside and will help atleast to a degree with the upchucking if not cure it if thats his issue.

Good luck - don't give up on Mr.Cat he sounds like a good one!

 

[rancher hicks]

Well ok folks I'll try the olive oil thing and the hairball thing too. We have two other cats in the house now but he's been doing this for a long time. I didn't mind so much when he was outside but we have carpeting and I'm tired of cleaning it up. We don't give him canned food but I will try the wormer also in a little canned food.

I used to like cats but now I really , really hate them. I guess I'm just tired.

Thanks Rancher