HELP: 14 year old constantly throwing up

[LaneeMo]

About a month ago my 14 year old male began throwing up a few times a week. When he did it was brown in color and caused a bit of a mess but he was relatively unaffected. Slowly things progressed such that he was throwing up once a day and he was loosing weight (spine showing). When he was throwing up daily it smelled so bad it would almost cause me to pass out.

The vet prescribed Cerenia tabs daily for a week and a food change from the urinary diet he has been on his whole life to a gut biome prescribed formula. Given the meds and the prescription change he improved and all was well until I gave him some of his old food. He then declined quickly and resumed throwing up nightly. We are back on the medication and gut food alone and he is doing much better behaving just like himself.

Here is where I need help: My guy is 14 and I am not sure how to help him stay healthy. The vet also recommended a series of tests that would total thousands.

Has anyone had this happen? What can I do? What could cause this sudden change? I don’t believe that he has any blockage. He urinates and defecates. On the prescription food he eats just fine. I don’t want to spend so much as he is an older guy and I don’t want to put him under anesthesia ask the vet says he has a heart murmur.

Please help…

 

[Catzzzmeow]

I am so sorry to hear this. I am sure you are very stressed and want to help your baby be comfortable. Unfortunately testing could be the only way to really pinpoint what the problem is. The hard part is even if they come back with a diagnosis, you might not be able to really treat it and again more cost. At 14 (you are so blessed) it could simply be all due to age and body starting to break down. I have always had a very open hard talk with our vet when we saw decline. Did your vet do any blood work? That test might help pinpoint a bit of a certain organ is failing and not be as expensive as scans and won’t need anesthesia. @LaneeMo I also would stay away from your old food it seems like something in it is no longer agreeing with him. Your vet might say stick with prescriptive food.

 

[Yoda mom]

@LaneeMo ,welcoming you and your senior baby to the lair family. all paws are family. what is his name? photo?

I wanted to share my experience with a senior kitty (bengal macie mae) with throw up issues and lost soo much weigh was down to 6 lbs, lethargic hiding.

I did not have the funds to do the thousands of dollars of tests, imaging etc . and also had to consider her age . I did have a long chat with my vet for my circumstances. I asked the vet to please do a cbc blood test for around 200 to get a baseline., and a stool sample check for 15. her blood test came back over a year ago with kidney disease stage 2.

I used my care credit card approved over the phone that gets a 6 mos. promo for charges over $200. (***need to pay monthly minimum payments and totally have it paid off in 6 mos or will eat alive on 30% interest.. I stay on top of it and never paid any interest ). so I got an estimate for the office visit, cbc blood work panel and stool sample that came to around $225 for Macie Mae.

Vet put her on cerenia and got Hills a/d urgent care canned food. it is formulated to be syringeable and my vet gave me a food syringe. my vet understands my circumstances and approves the hills a/d urgent care rx food where I find it online first time autoship like chewy etc.

I syringe fed the first week., she was soo sick and skinny . ( I had to take her in the bathroom closed the door. straddled her with my legs crossed when she meowed at the door to get out. then I gently syringe feed slowly to the back side cheek, not straight back.)

I stopped syringe feeding and instead do a teaspoon of hills a/d urgent care in a small shallow stainless 2 buck dish from walmart and put it on top of a can to raise it.

She gained all her weight back and is active again not throwing up nearly as much. I had nothing to loose at her age and medical condition and feed what works for her.

she has not been back to the vet, I am taking each day as a gift.
every kitty is different .she eats the hills a/d urgent care teaspoon mixed with a little water day and evening along with her normal cat food Nutrisource cat and kitten dry food. I switched her to the nutrisource many years ago when she had bad throw up issues. it is formulated for gut health, non rx, I get on petflow etc.
with this combo of nutrisource and the hills a/d urgent care for over a year now she is doing amazing well .running playing with the pups and eating good and not throwing up daily .

tomorrow is Macie Mae's 12th birthday.

hugs n positive vibes for your baby. we are here for you . please keep us updated often.

I would personally stick with the rx food that works for your baby

(maybe check online for autoship discounts (you can cancel change and go onto the next company for discounts, I have had to juggle these and remember to cancel autoships and stay on top if it since the rx foods are soo expensive and limited budget here.) my vet is on board with helping me get the rx food at discounts. she told me to just call the office and let them know where i ordered thru so they can approve asap. some vets offices do charge a $6 fee to approve call in/faxes for approval, you can check with your vet).

sharing a pic of the hills a/d urgent care that works for Macie , gained her weight back and not throwing up daily anymore.

 

[Yoda mom]

@LaneeMo , thinking of you..checking in for updates

 

[Annejo12]

My kitty has been on cerenia. Is this a medication that they could be on for the rest of their life?

 

[LaneeMo]

Thank you all for your support! I took Eli to his former vet earlier this week (he was with her from 2-12 years of age until we moved further away). Long story short, he does not have any parasites and his bloodwork is perfect. She thinks he may either have an irritable bowel syndrome or cancer. With that said there is really no way to know without very extensive and expensive testing followed by a surgical biopsy. She has refilled the former prescription and provided a second to suppress his immune response. She also gave me three prescription food samples to try. If he eats them she can prescribe them as they may be easier for him to digest. She agreed to give him a fighting chance and to support him as long as he remains alert and happy. She also suggested that I monitor his weight at home because is continuing to loose weight. Nevertheless, I feel supported, understood, and less like a number or an endless bank account.

In the meantime, Eli is happy and enjoying each day and that is all I can really ask for.

 

[LaneeMo]

Here is my Eli with my daughter

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Loved your updated and that you and your vet are on the same page. The best thing we try to do is make every day a day they know how loved they are. The food might just do the trick! Please keep us updated on that little guy. It was a good sign bloodwork came back perfect…often when white blood counts are high it can indicate some form of cancers so that’s great…no issues.

 

[Toa and Ross]

What a beautiful and lovely family you have

 

[Yoda mom]

@LaneeMo , awh.. precious photo..he knows he is loooved.

lots of hugs n loving head smooches to adorable Eli, a handsome warrior. keep us updated on the food! will be helpful to all of us. glad you and vet on the same page for Team Eli! . great update stool sample and blood work purrfect!

hills a/d urgent care food was a game changer for my kitty with IBD. I did not do further testing. all paws crossed for the same good results I had with your trying different food to see which works best.

 

[LaneeMo]

Our sweet Eli passed away yesterday at home. Thank you all for your support.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Our sweet Eli passed away yesterday at home. Thank you all for your support.

Oh noooo. I am so sorry. She was truly blessed to know nothing but your love. I know your heart hurts horribly, but know she is always going to be in it. Fly high sweet baby.

 

[Yoda mom]

@LaneeMo , (((squeeze hugs))) I am so very sorry your sweet family member Eli got his angel wings. He only knew your love beyond measure, and that is everything. hold the precious of moments closest to heart. Remember the Love, soo much love. here for you. extra hugs to you and your daughter. lighting a candle for Eli. rest easy sweet baby. run free with my angels sharing stories of all the love known love in this world.

"Replied the glorious cat For I will whisper into their hearts That I am always with them I just am....forever and ever and ever."-poem cats.

 

[Toa and Ross]

So very sorry for the loss of your Eli.

 

[Beckinboots]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope your heartache eases soon.

 

[tuffysmommy]

So sad to read this. Eli fought as much as he could. I am with you in your pain. It will eventually get easier and Eli will always be there with you. Love and sympathy for you and your sweet family. Stay with the Lair for the small comforts. Many of us have been there. We totally understand.