Okay, here is how it is: we "adopted" a stray female cat about four weeks. She is 10+ years old, according to the vet. Got her shots, she had to have IV as she was severly dehydrated and undernourished. She has had 2 good baths, and her hair is beginning to grow back nicely. Lately, (yesterday) she has been occassionally been throwing up her food (it looks to be unchewed). There was also a long, threadlike worm, white/tan in one mess. Our other four cats seem to be fine. She doesn't go outside, won't even ask to go out. Clean litter box, fresh water, little canned food, dry always available. What else should I be doing for her. I know she may need different care because of her age. She is really looking so much better than when we first found her. Oh yeah, the kids named her "Scruffy". Any ideas?
She might have worms. I'd get her back to the vet and see what they say. Good luck - poor little kitty!
Take a fresh stool sample to the vet and have it identified. Then worm with the appropriate meds for whatever the sample showed. Don't be tempted to use something over the counter. In her "Scruffy" state, you need the exact med and dosage. OTC wormers for cats can be dangerous, especially for one in less than tip-top condition. I'm surprised the vet didn't do this on initial visit. Or if he did, she may need a second dose.
Ours will sometimes throw up food when trying to get a hair ball up. Usually just my maine coon when I forget to give him his hair ball stuff once a week. If her hair is med. or long and just growing back she is probably licking it alot and may be trying to get up a hair ball. That would explain the throwing up food. But the worm is a whole nother thing. The worm could've also gagged her and made her throw up food. Sounds like either another trip to the vet or maybe you can call them and ask about it first. Good luck and I'm sure she appreciates everything you are doing for her... sounds like she had it rough. All of ours were either strays or from the shelter. The maine coon was dumped at the shelter as a scrawny little kitten... could you imagine... he's a beautiful, huge 20lb+ cat now.
Sounds like roundworm to me. Get meds from the doc. don't forget to do a second dose at 10 days not earlier or later but at 10 days or you will have to do the whole thing again. Has to do with the cycle of the worms and egg hatching. I have 11 cats and all at one time or the other will throw-up food. Sometimes is is hair balls, sometimes it is nerves or just an upset tummy. Occasionally it is worms. You might also waht o have her wormed for tape worm too while you are at it. That is a different med but they can be done together I believe. The vet can advise. All of mine were strays at one time or the other. I live in a resort area and people thinkit is great to get a cat or dog for the summer and dump it when the summer is over. Good luck, she is a lucky kitty!
Thanks, for the confirmations, yes, her is long and coming back so pretty. When we first decided that she had adopted us, she had clumps of hair missing on her back, front of her neck and legs. She had fleas bad, too. The vet didn't seem to think we should spend any money on her considering her age. But I asked for shots, and she got some IV of something. We decided to give her a good home for as long as she lives. Her teeth are very crooked, bad breath, and she drops her food sometimes and makes a mess of her bowl. But we all love, because she's Scruffy. After all, God gave her to us.
Our trubble, who was being chased through the bushes by a snake as a tiny kitten when Dh found him, chewed and scratched bald spots when he got fleas... She may have an allergy to them like he does. I agree that it could also be nerves or upset tummy with the barf, our trubble has both... he is our little short haired fraidy cat. He won't even use the box if someone is present. :haha: The hair ball stuff I use is from walmart... it is hartz... fairly cheap... white tube with orange top... salmon flavored...works great. My maine coon (Simba... DD named him) just licks about 1 inch of it off of my finger about once a week. He still coughs up hair balls of course (hair is about 3 inches long ) but doesn't struggle getting them out with this stuff. Our third cat (from a shelter) is just a short haired b&*#@, named Tiga. We went through liver failure with her just before our wedding. :no: The condition of her teeth is probably why she doesn't chew very well... but then again, I find cat barf with whole pieces also. They just don't bother to chew sometimes. I don't think it's a big deal. Just be careful with the worm meds if she is still fragile.
One of our strays turned out to be allergic to flea bites. We use Advantage twice a year for her & it keeps her fine. Another stray kitten threw up almost daily for the first month. No worms, appears to have had a hard time adjusting to the food. His brother did just fine - no problems. On behalf of cats & cat lovers - thanks for taking the poor thing in & doing what you can to make her comfortable. God bless, Bonnie
I am a feline veterinarian in Los Angeles. Cats can pick up a couple of gastric (stomach) parasites, both types of roundworms, called Physaloptera rara and Ollulanis tricuspis. These will cause vomiting, primarily of undigested food, in an otherwise healthy animal. No test other than fiberoptic endoscopy will be able to diagnose them (do you have a spare $600 for the test??), but what I do if I suspect them is simply deworm with a product such as Drontal (not Droncit) or Nemex, both of which kill roundworms. At her age it is not likely to be the typical "kitten" roundworms. The stomach worms are easily treated, but you need to take precautions against future reinfection. They get them from eating bugs such as crickets, beetles, and cockroaches. I can't remember offhand if they can get them from eating mice too, but it wouldn't surprise me. If I think a patient is likely to reinfect, i have the owner use a monthly topical product called Revolution, which kills fleas, roundworms, hookworms, ear mites, and heartworm. It is VERY safe and effective. Otherwise, you can also just deworm monthly-to-quarterly with the dewormers I mentioned above. If the vomiting persists in spite of deworming, then go to Plan B( back to the vet for tests).
No more vomiting yesterday or today. Today she does have diarrhea. She gets a small amount of canned food in the morning, dry food is available all the time. No worms in her poop at all. Maybe it all came up. We are keeping the other cats' dishes from her reah so we know exactly what she is eating. No change in her behavior at all. I will get the wormer and give it to all five cats after Christmas as they haven't been done since about October. How does this sound? Thank you for all the helpful advice. It is probably a stomach bug .
I'd go with your plan. Sounds like stress or upset tummy... after all I guess she has to get used to actually having food to eat.. right? I'd just keep an eye on that diarrhea and her water intake. Make sure it's getting better and not worse... dehydration could be a problem if it doesn't get better soon.
Another note about your Scruffy, if her teeth are bad they will need to be pulled. Bad teeth can kill a cat, one of the ways is the bacteria can cause problems with their little hearts. It's amazing how even without teeth, a cat can and will still hunt and they still can eat dry food. As far as being ten years old, she might live another ten or more years! The oldest cat I have personally owned lived to be seventeen. I am hoping my geriatric cats that I have now go way beyong that. One of my older cats is sitting on my lap, purring, as I write (she approves of the topic). I am surprised your vet was not more optimistic. Does he/she like cats? I am with the others when saying a worming will probably help. Which reminds me, my cats, the horses and the dog are all due for theirs!!
I think if the kitty has worms, then she still has them. Not sure it matters whether you see them in the poop or not. My sister took in a dog once - found him as a stray and couldn't find where he came from, so she ended up keeping him. About 5-6 mos after she first found him, she discovered he had worms, and them some. The vet discovered the worms - and my sister hadn't noticed a thing except the pup tended to be a bit on the thin side. So - ?
I inheritated a 2yr old cat and a +22 yr old cat from hospice patient- the older one she had found as an asult, hit by a car on the roadside. Christopher Cat lived to be 24+ years old. .
The cats I've had sometimes threw up like you said and it was a result of plain and simple hairballs. They sell pounce hairball treatment treats, but my cats never liked them. The diarrhea and vomiting can also be associated to change in diet/ not used to a regular diet. (you know, readjusting to digesting real cat food) We have a cat that normally lives outside and has recently decided that she now lives indoors with us. She still hangs out near the foodbowl - she is still nervous about not having enough food :waa: I notice when she eats canned cat food, she gets the runs. Now she won't touch cat food, she prefers puppy chow. Anyone have any suggestions for getting her to eat cat food? - Jess
A good way to know if its worms is to feel her belly - is it hard and rounder than it should be? That's a sure sign of worms.
