Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 7/19/2008

Question
Please, I'm in dire need of both guidance and hope. Any words would be greatly appreciated.

I have a one-year old Siamese cat (indoor cat). About three weeks ago he started to experience some loss of appetite (not too severe though), but since this coincided with the fact that the female cats in the neighborhood were in heat, we thought it was because he was too preoccupied by that or that he was perhaps, a little bored of the  dry food. During one night, he actually escaped from our house and ended up in another, but we rescued him on the next morning. That event was around two weeks ago.

Last weekend he vomited all the food (we didn’t notice hairs). My mother also noticed that previously, he had not defecated for almost two days (by the end of the second day he did). We got scared so we took him to the vet and after the examination, he said that he had hairballs accumulated in his stomach and that was causing the vomiting and the loss of appetite. He injected him with some vitamins to give him more appetite, advised us to buy special food ( Royal Canin for Persians ) which would help him get rid of the hairballs and told us to give him two pills, one to supposedly protect his liver ( it smelled of vitamins anyways ) and another to fight back any possible infections. That was this Monday. On Tuesday, he vomited all the food again ( the small amount of the new food he had eaten), on Wednesday nothing happened and on Thursday we took him to the vet again. He palpated him once more and said the hairballs were “supposedly” getting smaller. The vet injected him again and we took him home.

That night the cat got worse: he vomited three times ( last two was only bile) and when I later went to check him he had blood coming from what I presume was his rectum ( bright red ). This was a couple of hours after he had last gone to the litterbox (the last time we saw him at least) . The stool was dry and it looked like he had trouble to defecate, but at least he did. When we called the vet, he said he probably bleed because of the constipation…

Today we offered him some wet food instead because he has been refusing the other. He also refuses to take the medication, or water. He drank some water in the morning and we gave another liquid to hydrate him but as of this moment, he refuses everything. He went to the litter box two times, one stool was soft, the other a little harder and both had a very strong odor ( unlike those when he is healthy ). A few minutes later he vomited, but only bile.

As you can imagine, the cat has weakened horribly, he is very skinny, shaky, weak…sad looking, I can’t bear to look at him anymore and we feel that we cannot do much for him at home if he keeps refusing the medicines, the food and the water. We were planning on taking him to the vet again so that he can inject him the medication or nutrients…or…something to make him better and perhaps get a blood test done. I don’t think the cat will hold on much longer like this though….

I know this was long, but I would like to hear another opinion..

Do you really think this is due to  “HAIRBALLS”? What else could it be? I’ve been reading stuff all over and I simply don’t know...

Again, any words would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.  

Answer
Bell -

Hairballs can certainly cause vomiting.  Additionally, hairballs can contribute to constipation.  Constant vomiting can cause dehydration which can cause severe problems.   Ask your veterinarian to take radiographs and do  bloodwork to determine if the problem is truly due to hairballs.  

A physical exam can detect many things - but there may be two  things that can cause the vomiting.  It is necessary to have the radiographs done to determine the extent of he constipation.  Even if the kitty is having bowel movements, he can still be severely constipated.  Bloodwork is necessary to evaluate liver and kidney function. If you kitty has other problems, then bloodwork can help to detect them.

You may also want to request IV fluids to help hydrate your pet.  In my experience, I often place cats on fluids to help correct the constipation.  

Work closely with your vet to help determine what is causing your kitty to be sick.   

When you cat is feeling better and begins to eat, feed your cat canned food.  Canned food is high is moisture which can help to prevent constipation and help hairballs to pass if they form.  If he doesn't like the canned food you give him, present him with a variety of flavors to entice him.  You will find that he will be a healthier.

Keep me posted; good luck with your kitty.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM