Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 3/12/2009

Question
I have a 10 year old male (neutered) short-hair cat that I have had since he was about ten days old (I found him abandoned in an old garden in Greece - we live in Athens). He had his first attack of urinary tract crystals that created a blockage on New Years Day 2009 (he has never been sick with anything before). As a result, the vet said to put him on Hill's S/D for 2 months. At the end of February I changed him over to Hill's C/D with the idea that he would be on this for life. As he has always eaten dry food, I still give him a measured amount per day of dry C/D that stays out all day, and morning and evening he also gets a quarter of the small can (tuna-sized can) of wet C/D (half a small can per day in total). He is a large cat anyway, but also overweight at 8.5 kilos, and prior to the urinary tract problem had been eating Purina Pro Plan Light (dry) for several years (his weight has been the same for a long time, despite several attempts to put him on a diet, and now with the C/D I am watching his calories). Last night I woke at 2:00 am to find him throwing up every 45 minutes to an hour, and then at some point he had diarrhea. He seemed to settle down about 4:30 am, and when I got up at 6:30 am I gave him his usual amount of wet C/D, of which he ate half and then proceeded to throw it up. I know this is early to be concerned, but as he has never even thrown up a hairball in his life, and after the urinary tract problem, I am a bit worried. He is an indoor only cat, but does go out to a balcony and I do have a small planter with cat grass for him to chew. I have never seen him eat or be interested in any of the other plants on the balcony. I was wondering if you can tell me what you think it may be and what I should be sure to ask the vet to look for when I take him?

Answer
Gina -

You should have your cat seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. There are a myriad of reasons why your cat might be vomiting; because I have not had the benefit of giving your pet a physical exam, I cannot offer an explanation.

You should request another urinalysis and bloodwork to help determine why your kitty is sick.  The bloodwork will help to rule out an upset stomach or pancreatitis; perhaps the change in food is causing him to have gastritis. A urinary obstruction will cause vomiting, also.  Request radiographs to check for bladder stones.

Good Luck -

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM