Expert: Jessica - 12/20/2010

Question
8 yr old indoor male neutered cat has been vomiting numerous times/day for a month...has been to the vet's to the tune of $900 & tests OK...endoscopy done with nothing showing up...throws up between 10 pm and 8 am mostly...fur, eyes look healthy & have been giving about 1/3 cup of easily digestible dry food daily from vet's...drinking app. 1/3-1/2 cup water daily...still has regular bowel movements & urine every day...sleeping slightly more than normal but was running & playful for a few days this week.  Where can I get info on possibility of leukemia or gall bladder problems?  Any help would be appreciated...

Answer
Hi B,

In my opinion, the best place for you to start your research on leukemia would be to read this page by Cornell University.  Cornell is perhaps the leading vet school in the U.S.  This page accurately answers most basic questions about the FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS.  

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html

As mentioned, your cat can be easily tested for this virus if he has not be tested already.  It takes only a few drops of blood.

This article discusses the feline leukemia virus, which is not a cancer.  Cats can develop the cancerous leukemia, too, although this is relatively uncommon unless the cat is infected with the leukemia virus.

As for gall bladder problems, I think your best bet is to research cholangiohepatitis (sometimes called cholangitis).  In cats, problems are rarely limited to the gall bladder itself but also involve the bile ducts and liver.  Cholangiohepatitis encompasses all of those structures.  Some good places to start off your research on cholangiohepatitis are:

http://www.petplace.com/cats/cholangiohepatitis/page1.aspx

and

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/feline_cholangiohepatitis.html

You might also want to look into pancreatitis while you're doing your research and see if that seems to fit him at all.  Mar Vista Vet has a good page on that, as well:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/feline_cholangiohepatitis.html

I'm not sure if your kitty has had any blood tests run, but if not, I think a basic blood chemistry and complete blood count might be a good idea.  That will let you know if cholangiohepatitis might be an issue and will also check his kidney values.  Kidney problems are another common cause of chronic vomiting.

Best of luck!

Jessica