Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 2/5/2012

Question
My cat who is about 1 1/2 has been throwing up a lot lately. Sometimes it's every other day, sometimes 3 times a week. We took her to the vet about 2 months ago and they said there was nothing wrong. They gave us some medicine to help sooth her stomach and told us to change her food to Purina One Sensitive System, which we did. This only helped for a little while. She is still throwing up. So we are trying a hairball formula and that doesn't seem to help either. Some of the bouts of throw up are larger than others as if she didn't even chew. I'm wondering if she's just eating too fast that her tummy cant handle it and so she throws it up? Should we take her back to the vet just in case something has developed over time?

Answer
Dear Rachelle,
I am having computer problems so cannot give you all the information I usually do. Please read some of my old answers for 7 keys to health, finding and working with a holistically trained veterinarian, Early Warning Signs and more.

Since there has been no great change in the pattern of vomiting, I do not think you need to return to your veterinarian unless she stops eating. See if you can find an integrative veterinarian in your area, or connect with a homeopathic one by phone so you will be ready if these hints do not help your cat.

First, no cat chews.Dogs and cats have mouths designed only to rip and tear the prey apart, then to crunch the bones so the piece is small enough to swallow. Food may sit in the stomach (acid pH) for 4 to 12 hours, so it does not necessarily mean poor digestion unless your cat is vomiting undigested food one or 2 days after eating.

Second - diet. No cat should ever eat dry food as it stresses the kidneys of many cats and can be implicated in vomiting. What is the best food for you - fresh or processed? The best (see some of my other answered questions for more information on this) is raw meaty bones and pureed vegetables. Next best is to purchase raw meat diet. Next best is very high quality (not veterinary clinic) organic canned food and NO dry food. Just changing the food may stop the vomiting.

Third - digestive enzymes and probiotics may be very useful. I suggest Mitomax as a probiotic (see my web site). For digestive enzymes: Pet Guard, Noah's Ark, Animal Essentials or NaturVet as good ones.

Fourth - immune boosting vitamins like Nu-Cat (from VetriScience on my web site).

Fifth - If you would learn Reiki (again see other answers for several paragraphs on this modality), you could Reiki the food before each meal and the cat as well.

finally - find an integrative veterinarian
www.IVAS.org; www.tcvm.com for acupuncture. www.theAVH.org for homeopathy (some can consult by phone) and www.ahvma.org for more generalists.

Hope this helps you and your cat.