Expert: Dear Tabbi - 4/26/2008

Question
My male 8yr old feline for the past 6 mos or so has been vomting off and on eating alot of kitty grass, he will be fine for a day or so then back to vomiting again.  Now he is licking and twitching his ears, and will run a few feet and stop and lick lick lick his sides as if something just bit him...he is losing weight and recently has had a few wart looking things come up between his toes and on the top of his head.  He has normal bowel movements and urinates normal. Thank you in advance.

Answer
Kelly,

I would say that Mr. Kitty has worms. Worms are caused by a cat ingesting  infected fleas. Worms eat what the cat eats and the cat loses weight because he is not getting any nourishment. Worms  also cause vomiting. Do not get over-the-counter wormer because the worms are becoming immune to the products. A vet has the latest and most effective medications. You also need to get the correct medication for the correct type of worms. They could be tape worms, round worms, intestinal parasites, etc.

Vomiting is a symptom not an illness. Cats eat grass to settle their stomachs. There could be a number of other medical issues he could have too. You should take the cat to the vet for an examination. In any case he needs to have an "older cat checkup" to check his thyroid, liver, and kidney functions, and have blood work done. The 'warts' between the cat's toes and on his head are something a vet will have to look at to diagnose.

If the cat is twitching and runs then stops and bites, or licks,  that sounds like he has lots of fleas running around on him and biting him. Get some flea medication from the vet too.

I hope it's something simple and Mr. Kitty will be fine soon.

Tabbi