Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 11/12/2009

Question
QUESTION: my cat got sick a couple of days ago, he presented with vomiting, diarrhea and crying a howling cry.
we took him to the emergency vet and she gave him some ranitidine and the vomiting got better, the diarrhea was not horrible at this point, the next morning we took him to our regular vet and he said that he might have eaten something bad %26 he gave him a injection to help the nausea. my cat has had a history of renal insufficiency. but he said he did not think that was what was wrong. This morning when i woke up his diarrhea got really bad, not a lot comes out but he squats and strains, and only a little trickles out, he does not have a obstruction. we went back to the vet for the third time and she gave him a injection again and prescribed metronidazole, but he is still crying and straining to pass a small amount of diarrhea.  how log until these meds work %26 he gets better?
and can you give me any advice?

ANSWER: Straining doesn't mean that he still has diarrhea, what it means is that it feels to him like he has to go, but there might not be anything in there.

While you didn't mention his age, I am going to guess he is an older cat- at least older than 7. Some older cats will develop a diverticulum in the intestines and that will cause the vomiting and diarrhea.

A diverticulum is a pocket in the intestine where fecal matter can get lodged, thus causing some toxic buildup which starts the vomiting. If they are big enough they can rupture and these can be fatal.

They are not common, but anytime a cat presents with both vomiting and diarrhea they are something to investigate. Cats rarely ever eat anything that will make them sick like this other than house plants or antifreeze and these are not the symptoms of antifreeze toxicity.

So I think his main problem is higher up in his stomach, small intestinal area- which is very painful and that is why he is howling and vomiting.

It takes about 24 hours for some of these medicines to kick in. You might want to try some baby food rice and chicken on him- it does help with the stool, gives him something bland for his stomach and is low sodium.

Otherwise that is about all I can add. Please let me know how he does.


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

QUESTION: would the baby food have too much protein for his kidney problems?
also TD dental chow has a lot of protein, so I'm wondering how much the dental chow really helps a cats teeth?

Answer
T/D has no more protein than the average adult cat food and it is made specifically for tartar problems with cats and dogs.

I am confused here, how did we go from vomiting and diarrhea to T/D and dental issues?
I understand the concern about protein in baby food but how did T/D get into the picture here?

Baby food has a relatively low amount of protein for the small amount you will be feeding him. If he has kidney problems he should be on K/D and nothing else at all!!