Expert: Ali - 11/20/2008

Question
My cat is throwing up more than usual.  She struggles to throw up hair balls & I fear she might rupture an organ.  She is petrified of the vet's office so I hesitate to take her there.  Lately she has been running away from the hairball remedy tube.  She probably throws up once every 2 weeks.  She is 16 1/2 years and a terrific pet.  I want to take care of her the best I can.  Can you suggest better food or remedy for her nutrition & hairball issue?  I feed her fancy feast and table tuna or chicken as a treat. Cantaloupe as well.   Also, she has lost weight from these throw-up bouts.
Thanks, for your advice.
- Mary Ann

Answer
Mary Ann,

I am somewhat concerned about the changes that you describe in your elderly cat. At 16 1/2 years old this kitty is roughly 80-84 years old in human terms. With a kitty who is elderly and has been losing weight and vomiting a fair bit there are several medical issues which must be ruled out prior to thinking about using home remedies. While I agree with the idea of minimizing stress I do think that it would be wise to have a vet do a house call to check blood work and general health check to determine whether this is a medical issue or a mechanical one. What I mean by that is to make sure that there aren't any infections, conditions or blockages in this kitty's digestive system and plumbing. If your vet finds that the blood work is normal considering the age of this kitty and there doesn't seem to be any obvious reason for the vomiting then I would suggest trying out a few different remedies. You can certainly consider speaking to a holistic veterinarian about doing a house call. A holistic vet has completed their education and been trained in conventional medicine, they differ from traditional vets in that they have also taken the time to get further education and training in one or more alternative therapies such as homeopathy, massage or acupuncture. I tend to view the alternative therapies as being a bit gentler but very effective when used in combination with conventional medicine.

Recently many foods were recalled due to the presence of melamine in ingredients within the foods in ingredients from China. Nutrition is an important part of a pet's life and it determines a lot of the medical status of these pets. I would recommend that you check out this website: catinfo.org. I asked my veterinarian about her food recommendations in terms of homemade diets and told her my concerns about the safety of commercially produced foods. If you have access to high quality, organic protein sources (chicken, duck, goose, rabbit), the time and money to purchase and prepare your own cat food and the ability to get the equiptment to properly grind the meat then a homemade diet may be the best thing for your cat. This way you know exactly what they are eating and what quality of ingredients are in their food at any given point.

If you don't have the time or finances to shop for, prepare and store homemade food then I would recommend high quality foods like Wellness or Halo Spot's Stew. These foods both contain human grade ingredients and are available in wet and dry forms. In terms of costs of pet food the price tag doesn't always reveal the quality of the foods contained within. Many companies use rendered proteins, meat meals, digests, and dead, disabled, or dying animals. I think that this is unethical to say the least and this is certainly not my idea of a good quality or safe diet. As far as I'm concerned the foods containing these types of ingredients are garbage and should be permanently taken off of the market.

I feed a combination of raw food diet with lots of water and Spot's Stew made by Halo. The Spot's Stew, Sensitive cat formula contains: Turkey, Pea Protein, Whole Dried Eggs, Oats, Pearled Barley, Vegetable Broth, Chicken Fat, Pea Flour, Turkey Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa and vitamins and minerals. This food is fairly high quality in my opinion and second only to a homemade diet where you are controlling what your cat gets and only making the finest quality ingredients be a part of the cat's diet. I would strongly urge you to do your research, making a homemade diet can be expensive and time consuming and if the availability of ingredients is limited or unpredictable I would recommend feeding a food like Spot's Stew by Halo or Wellness. These foods run about $25 CAN funds for a bag that will last 3 cats one month.