Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 11/16/2010

Question
QUESTION: hi there!  i have a 1 1/2 year old male cat.  he has been very healthy aside from two uti's which resulted in "crystals in his urine" and yielded a change of diet to the Hill's veterinary prescribed food.  this was approx. 6-9 months ago and no more trouble urinating.  this morning before i fed him he vomited a yellow substance i presume to be bile.  i gave him food and he ate some of it.  an hour or so later he vomited again.  he ate some more of the food left in his bowl and vomited again a few hours later.  he ate the rest of the food in his bowl and vomited once more after about an hour.  he is playing as usual, he's not lethargic, and he continues to eat and drink.  the last two episodes of vomiting were accompanied by small bits of food, but still clear, yellow, foaming liquid.  while i was cleaning up after the last episode i noticed a horrible odor that i didn't notice the first three times.  it smelled like sulfur or rotten eggs.  any information would be greatly appreciated as this is something he has never done before.

ANSWER: Hi Shasta,
What you are smelling is probably his stomach juices combined with bile as you said. When a cat is vomiting bile it is recommended that you fast them for at 24 hours and then introduce the food back slowly. Cats rarely get pancreatitis but if you are feeding C/D then he is eating a lot of fat and that might be upsetting his pancreas.
Here is an article about vomiting in cats that might help. Basically you want to take his food away then give it back to him tomorrow. You can cook up some white rice (boil) and turkey burger or chicken and feed him some of that along with the rice. This is a bland diet that will help settle his digestive system and let you bring his food back in slowly. Pancreatitis is very dangerous so if he continues to vomit bile you should get him to a vet asap.
However, if he is still playing and happy, he might just have an upset digestive system. Here is an article on vomiting cats:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2122&aid=3576

From this article:
"How is vomiting treated? Because there are so many causes of vomiting, the treatment will vary (See Table 2. Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment of Vomiting in Cats).

In many cases of vomiting in cats, it is recommended to withhold food for at least 24 hours, and provide small amounts of water frequently. Then, a bland diet such as boiled hamburger and rice is offered in small amounts. If the vomiting does not recur, the cat is slowly switched back to his normal diet or a special diet over the course of several days.

For some cases of vomiting, it may be necessary to modify the diet permanently. Special foods may need to be given as a way to avoid certain ingredients, add fiber to the diet, decrease the fat intake, or increase digestibility.

If intestinal worms are present, the appropriate wormer will be prescribed. Few wormers kill every kind of intestinal worm, so it is very important that the appropriate wormer be selected. In most cases it is necessary to repeat the wormer one or more times over several weeks or months. It is also important to try to remove the worm eggs from the environment. The fecal flotation test looks for worm eggs, and if no eggs are being produced, the test could be negative even though adult worms or larvae could be present. For this reason, in some cases, even if the fecal flotation test is negative, a wormer may still be prescribed.

If dehydration is present, it is usually necessary to give the animal intravenous or subcutaneous fluids. Oral fluids are often inadequate since they pass through the animal too quickly to be sufficiently absorbed.

Antibiotics are given if the vomiting is caused by bacteria. They may also be given if the stomach or intestine has been damaged (eg., blood in the stool or vomit would indicate an injured intestine or stomach) and there is a chance that the injury could allow bacteria from the digestive tract into the blood stream.

In some cases, medications may be given to decrease vomiting. As a general rule, these drugs should not be given if the cat could have ingested a toxin or may have a bacterial infection, so it is always important to have an accurate diagnosis before use of these drugs."

I hope that this helps Shasta. He should be okay as long as he starts eating again tomorrow. If he is in anyway lethargic, still vomiting or depressed call your vet right away. You might also want to look around the house and make sure he didn't get into anything.

Hope this helps. Please let me know how he does.

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

QUESTION: i just spoke to my husband and realized that you were referring to his urinary tract special diet food as C/D.  i assuming that was what you referred to as C/D.  is there a risk of this diet interferring with his other organs?  this seems a bit like a catch 22?  if this is the case we get rid of the uti's but trade them for pancrease issues?  one would assume that food prescribed from the vet would be safe on all aspects of health?  thank you for any information and time.  it is greatly appreciated.

Answer
In over thirty years of recommending and watching cats on C/D I have never seen one get sick with pancreatitis from it. I have seen cats get obese from it so many sure you only feed the recommended 1/4- 1/2 cup a day for him.

C/D is a wonderful food that has saved the lives of thousands of cats.
There are other Hill's foods that have the same protective qualities for the urinary tract so if it is upsetting him your vet can give you another Hill's food that will help him.

Cats very commonly vomit so I would put this one episode off to a minor digestive upset unless he continues to vomit tomorrow as well.

If you look up pancreatitis in cats on the petplace.com you will see that the symptoms are much worse than what he is showing.

Call you vet if he vomits tomorrow even with no food.