cats vomiting

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have 4 cats who I feed with Science Diet.  All but one throws up regularly--each throws up about every other day.  Sometimes the vomit is clear or has a hairball in it, but often it comes out in a "rope".  I have also fed them other cat foods to see if the food was the problem, but they continued to throw up.  One of the cats has about a dime's worth of blood and mucus every time she goes to the bathroom.  A couple of years ago, another of the cats who throws up (Russian blue) was diagnosed with tapeworms and we treated them all, but I have not seen any worms lately.  The same cat licks almost all the fur off of herself--it was just on her belly at first, but now she is bald except for her head, back, and feet.  She's beginning to look like one of those hairless cats with all the wrinkles.  The vet gave her an shot for the licking, and it seemed to be working at first, but after a brief respite it came back worse than ever.  I am wondering if all 3 has worms, and that's why they are throwing up??

ANSWER: Well this is odd indeed but there are different things going on with all of them. The vomit that is ropey is full of hair also. You might want to use the hairball formula.

The cat that is licking herself sounds like she has a hormonal imbalance- this is not related to food at all.

She needs more than a shot- she might need long term treatment for this. What she has is called alopecia- which just is a term for hair loss, but hers is self induced.

We used to use a tablet called megace for this that worked well. However, I have no idea if it is even available anymore.

Sometimes thyroid problems can cause this kind of hair loss or even Cushing's disease.Either way, she needs a blood work up to find out about her hormone, liver and kidney functions.

Worms rarely cause a cat to vomit unless it is a rather large tapeworm. Then they usually vomit up the worm. We have had clients bring in tapeworms that were vomiting up that were almost 5 ft long unfurled.

One of the things you might want to do is elevate the food dishes, and then try either the Hairball formula or the sensitive stomach formula. I have had a lot of success with the sensitive stomach formula and so have others I know that have tried it.

So let me know how it goes with the diet change (do it slowly over 7 days) and what the blood work says. Also keep in mind that some cats are just vomiters, especially when there is more than one cat in the family.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for this detailed response.  I have one other question.  If you recommend hairball or sensitive stomach formulas, which brand would be best?  I have received so much conflicting advice about the best foods, and would like to know what you think.  Also, what do think about the cat that consistently has blood and mucus with every stool?  She quite often will deposit it somewhere other than the litter box too.  She is the only cat who ever does this, and she doesn't do it as often when we give her a "private" litter box in the garage.

Answer
Stick with Science Diet. That is the best food on the market. (I have been feeding and recommending it for over 29 yrs).

Just do the switch slowly. I would start with the Sensitive Stomach formula.

This cat might want a private litter box. Not all cats do well with other cats around. Sometimes cats will not use the litter box out of spite. Blood and mucous are also signs of food not being tolerated well or stress.

Try the new formula for a month and watch carefully for changes in her stool. I would give her a separate box also if it is possible.

Let me know how it goes after a few weeks.