Expert: Jessica - 12/15/2009

Question
Hello. My name is Andreena Norfleet.

I was wondering if you could give me a little advice. Okay, I have a 7 month old Half Siamese cat. He was given to me about two months ago. In those two months. He has been neutered, and given all his shots. He has also been taken off commercial kibble(previous owners food of choice) to Nature's Variety Raw Food.

We moved into a new house about 3 weeks ago. It's an old house with very old windows and lots of gaps and since moving we have noticed  allot of silverfish and lady bugs. (and other occasional bugs which I am trying ti get rid of as I move in!).

My cat has been fine eating and eliminating up until last week. He started to vomit and have very smelly, very soft stools. He no longer desired to eat as well. So we switched his food flavor from Chicken to Lamb and the first few days he was fine. Then he vomited again and has soft stools. He was still energetic and playful so we didn't think anything of it as I have read that Siamese cats occasionally vomit.

This is my first pet so I am learning as I go along.

Anyway, the other day he ate and when he vomited there were remnants of bugs (looked like silverfish) in the vomit.
Now he longer wants to eat the amount of food we give him. In the past couple of days he has been more "lazy" around the daytime, but will play with you if he is enticed. And then as soon as he vomits he is sometimes playful again. I cannot tell if this is due to an illness or because his sleep schedule has been messed up as I leave the house around 4 am now and am not home till 1pm and he may be roaming around at night and sleeping during the day?

I am weary about veterinarians, just like I am weary about doctors and I am looking for advice from someone not trying to extract as much money from me as possible!

I am pretty sure he is sick, but I am not sure of the severity. And I think it will pass like a common cold does with humans. I am looking for some advice, like what I can feed him to help him pass the virus along and what I can do to comfort him.

His face looks fine, his coat is the same and he doesn't feel like he has lost any weight. There is no presence of blood in either the vomit or stool and if there was then I would have immediately taken him to the Vet.

Any advice you could give me would be of great help and I would be greatly appreciate it!

-Andreena Norfleet  

Answer
Hi Andreena.  You are correct in that some stomach viruses will pass on their own, like a cold.  However, these typical do so within 24-48 hours.  So for your kitty to be sick over the course of a week, it indicates that something more serious is probably going on.  I would really urge a vet visit.  Cats get most of their required water from their food, and with his suppressed appetite along with vomiting and diarrhea, he can quickly become dehydrated.  I would be a little surprised if he’s not suffering from some level of dehydration.  If so, the vet will administer some fluids under his skin.

When gastrointestinal ailments don’t pass on their own within 48 hours, you are usually not looking at a virus, but something such as protozoan infections, bacterial infections or parasitic worms.  The protozoan infections coccidia and giardia are very common in kittens, and they can ultimately be deadly if the infection gets out of control.  They must be treated with antibiotics.  Bacterial infections usually respond to the same antibiotics that these protozoan ones do.  Roundworms are the most common cause of chronic diarrhea and vomiting.  While there are some cat dewormers that treat roundworms on the market, they are much less effective and also not as safe as the ones you’ll get from a vet.

A stool sample can be helpful in diagnosing these illnesses.  However, your vet will probably want to treat for them even if the fecal exam comes back normal.  This is because fecal smears don’t always contain protozoan or bacterial germs, even when an infection is present, and roundworm eggs only show up on about 75% of fecal floats.  Tapeworms often won’t show on a fecal exam at all.

Diet can also be a cause of GI problems, and Siamese can be very sensitive to food ingredients.  I firmly support your choice to feed a raw diet, as I feel they are generally healthiest.  Your vet will probably discourage it and suggest a prescription food.  I would decline these foods, personally, but you may want to try a different brand of raw food.  Steve’s Real Food For Pets is a good frozen brand, and Rad Cat is another.  And just in case, if you’re feeding the freeze dried variety as opposed to a frozen one, it should be combined with a canned food or kibble in order to be complete.

Although I strongly feel that these should not replace a vet visit, there are a couple things you can do from home to help him in addition.  One is to feed him a prebiotic/probiotic such as  Purina’s Forti-Flora, and there is also Proviable by Nutramax.  These can add in beneficial bacteria to help your cat digest his food more easily and also keep “bad” bacteria in check.  Both are available online or through your vet.  Additionally, you may want to mix a teaspoon or two of pea baby food in with your cat’s food twice a day.  Some cats need this extra fiber to help bulk up stools.  Finally, you can try deworming for tapeworms using a product called Tape Worm Tabs.  This is the same medication your vet would give you for tapeworms.  If your kitty has tapeworms, you would notice rice-like segments in his stool and bedding.  Tape Worm Tabs do not treat for roundworms.

Best of luck!

Jessica