Expert: Jessica - 4/19/2010

Question
17 year old female maine coone cat has always been a bit of a vomitor but lately is vomiting more frequently - even while on anti hairball food and petromalt daily.  She has also started to lose weight in the last several months.  Still is her old self in all other respects.  Eats, drinks, etc normally.  Still curious and can still jump onto the bed and couch. Appears happy and no pain.  Is this a sign of her aging or could it be something more serious?  She gets extremely upset and stressed if I take her to the vet so am trying to avoid doing that if possible.

Answer
Hi Sandra.  It's probably a sign of something more serious.  Cats may lose muscle mass as they age.  But frequent vomiting isn't normal.  Although she becomes very stressed by vet visits, I think a senior exam is certainly in order.

Your vet will probably treat your cat for the typically belly problems, such as parasitic worms and possible bacterial and protozoan infections.  There are numerous dewormers that can be given at her visit, and an antibiotic may be sent home to address any suspected gastrointestinal infections.  It's possible that at this age, her stomach just can't digest the hairball food anymore, and she needs to be switched onto a prescription food for sensitive stomachs.

However, at this age, your vet will probably want to run some blood tests, and I think that would be a wise idea.  Some common concerns we have about cats at this age are hyperthyroidism, kidney disease and diabetes.  Kidney disease may be of special interest in your cat's case, because common symptoms are vomiting and weight loss, because it causes protein to be lost in the urine.  The blood tests will also check her liver function, and this is important because cats with liver disease can have similar symptoms.

If all of these appear normal, and no antibiotics help her feel better, it could be possible she's suffering from a condition called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).  This is a serious condition that isn't well understood.  The cause is not known but could be related to stress, a food allergy or bacterial infection.  Inflammatory cells line the gastrointestinal tract and cause long-term, chronic diarrhea, vomiting or both.  Affected cats lose weight and can eventually die if the disease is not treated.  Treatment may consist of antibiotics, a special diet and prednisone or other anti-inflammatory medications.  There is no test for IBD, so it's usually diagnosed when treatments for other ailments fail.

Best of luck.  I hope she has something that's easily diagnosed and treated!

Jessica