When a problem is "chronic", it means it has persisted for a long time. Chronic vomiting in cats is divided into two types: cats that vomit occasionally but are in general good health (vomiting not severe) and cats that vomit persistently because they likely have an underlying medical problem that needs to be diagnosed and treated (severe vomiting). There are several ways to understand what is happening to your cat, although most will require veterinarian intervention.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Determine if it is a "puke" or a "severe" vomit
Step 1. Be aware that if your cat eats a lot of grass, he may throw up occasionally
One of the key signs to tell if your cat has non-chronic vomiting ("vomiting") is in good general health, despite a tendency to eat a lot of grass and cause vomiting. This is a predictable chain of events that you can observe on multiple occasions. Some cats vomit every 2-3 days, while others throw up once a week. Once they induce vomiting, they go their way quietly, and maybe even eat a snack. Other habits associated with eating weed are:
Eat normally, keep food in the stomach at meals, maintain weight, be active, have a shiny coat
Step 2. It is important to know that commercial cat food is not necessarily compatible with their digestive system
Feral cats eat all prey, including bones, fur, and stomach contents. After eating their prey, they digest what they can and then throw up the indigestible parts. Commercial cat food lacks the elements that induce vomiting, so many cats induce it by eating grass.
If your cat is vomiting sporadically and appears to be healthy, mention this to your vet during the follow-up visit so the doctor can check and confirm that there are no problems
Step 3. Recognize the signs of "severe" vomiting
These cats need to be examined by the vet in order to diagnose their health. Cats with "severe" vomiting lose weight, have difficulty keeping food in their stomachs after eating, lose their appetite, their coat is dull, drink excessively, or may become lethargic.
Another reason to get your cat checked is if the frequency of vomiting increases, for example if it switches from throwing up once a week to throwing up every day. If you are in doubt and your cat is vomiting regularly, it is best to have it seen by a veterinarian
Method 2 of 5: Have the Cat Examine
Step 1. Book a medical visit for the cat
During the visit, the vet will examine the animal for signs of health problems causing vomiting; he will feel the abdomen to feel any masses or blockages. The following steps will explain the different aspects that affect the physical examination of the cat.
Step 2. The vet will check the cat's mucous membranes
He will lift the cat's lips to check the color of the gums. These should be pink, about the same as yours. Pale gums (very light pink or white) indicate anemia, and yellow spots can indicate jaundice. These signs can tell the doctor how to go about finding the problem in the cat.
Step 3. Do the capillary refill time test
A useful way to check if the cat's circulation is weak, or if the cat is in shock from the loss of fluids, is the capillary refill time test. This test measures the time (in seconds) it takes for the gum to turn pink after pressing it with your fingers. A regular fill time will stay below 2 seconds, too fast to measure. If the filling takes more than 2 seconds, there is a delay.
To measure the capillary refill time, lift your lip and firmly press a finger on the gum, until it becomes white. Release your finger and watch carefully counting how many seconds pass before the gum turns pink
Step 4. Check your hydration status
Lift the cat's scruff up and then let it go. The skin should immediately return to its place. Dehydration decreases the elasticity of the skin, so if the cat is dehydrated, the scruff skin will take longer to return to its place. In severe dehydration, "tenting up" will occur, where the skin on the back will not return to its place at all. In the case of a cat vomiting, this could mean that the animal is losing more fluids than it receives and therefore urgently needs IV fluid therapy.
The intravenous fluids are administered to the cat through a catheter placed in the vein of the forelimb. A lot of saline is attached to the catheter and the fluids enter the blood directly. In general, it takes 24 to 48 hours to restore the fluids in the body, so the cat will need to be admitted to the clinic
Step 5. Your heart rate will be measured
While it seems like a strange thing to do when investigating cat vomit, there is a deep connection between one and the other. Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland) is a condition that can cause vomiting, and is also associated with a high heart rate.
A rate of 180 beats per minute in resting conditions is abnormal, so the vet will need to examine the cat's throat to see if the thyroid gland is enlarged and therefore palpable
Step 6. The cat's temperature will be measured
The cat's temperature must be below 39 ° C, if it is higher it indicates a state of fever.
A cat that vomits and has a fever may have an infection
Step 7. What does abdominal palpation mean
To do the abdominal palpation, the vet will use his fingers, passing them gently on the cat's belly. This way he can check the size and shape of his stomach, kidneys, bladder, liver, spleen and make sure there is no pain. Organ enlargement may indicate infection, inflammation, cancer, or a blockage of flow. With palpation the vet will also be able to feel any relevant abnormal formation.
Step 8. Get a new course of deworming if tests have not helped to find the cause of the problem
If your cat is not sick, has no fever, is hydrated, and keeps most of its food in its stomach, your vet may suggest you get a preventive anti-worm treatment.
A large load of worms can cause an obstruction in the intestines, or irritate the stomach walls and cause vomiting
Step 9. Eliminate the hairballs
Treatment for cat hairballs includes a gentle laxative to put on the cat's paws that you will apply following your vet's instructions.
This product is supposed to lubricate the hairballs in the cat's stomach that cause inflammation, helping the body pass them out of feces or vomiting them
Method 3 of 5: Diagnose with Laboratory Tests
Step 1. Get blood tests
Blood tests will be done if the medical examination has not brought to light any cause for the vomiting, and to confirm or not any suspicions of the doctor. Lab tests will test the biochemistry and hematology of the blood. Biochemistry measures organ function, such as kidney function.
Hematology provides information on blood cells. If the cat has high white cells it means that there is an infection in progress that will need to be treated with antibiotics, or it is anemic (the result of an infection or cancer) and needs a more thorough examination
Step 2. Take an X-ray
If an explanation for the vomiting has not yet been found, a stomach x-ray should be done. A simple x-ray will be taken without giving the cat any contrast fluid.
- The information that an x-ray can give is limited, because the overall soft structure of the tissues of the abdomen is of similar radio-density, which means that determining the thickness of the stomach walls, or the presence of ulcers, is virtually impossible.
- However, x-rays are useful for looking for foreign bodies (something the cat has swallowed) that are causing a blockage. If a foreign body is detected, the vet will need to assess whether it will need to be surgically removed or if it will pass through the stool. X-rays can also detect tumors and check the size of organs.
Step 3. Ultrasound of the digestive system
Ultrasound uses high-frequency waves to produce a grayscale image of the object being examined. Ultrasound is a useful test for vomiting because it can detect growths and foreign bodies in the stomach. The pattern of contractions and the movement of fluids in the intestines is another indicator of possible blockages or obstructions causing the problem.
With ultrasound, the vet can measure the thickness of the stomach and intestine walls, and find craters that indicate ulcer. Ulcers are usually treatable with oral dressings that help protect the stomach walls and reduce acid production. It is also possible, with this test, to find masses that could indicate tumors or cancer
Method 4 of 5: Making a Diagnosis Through Treatment
Step 1. If no tests have led to any results, experimental therapy will be needed
If all tests are normal or negative, a diagnosis will need to be made through a test treatment, or a biopsy.
The latter option will be discussed in the next step, but if the cat is seriously ill, you should consider trial treatment first, because biopsy can carry risks of peritonitis and other complications
Step 2. Give the cat hypoallergenic food
If the cat is vomiting and all tests are negative, your vet may suggest that you put the cat on a hypoallergenic diet. Sensitivity to a certain ingredient can cause inflammation leading to vomiting.
A hypoallergenic diet consists of food with a single source of protein and carbohydrates. Or it can be a hydrolyzed diet, which consists of food whose protein molecules have been reduced and therefore become too small to form receptors on the gut walls that can trigger allergic reactions
Step 3. Why a hypoallergenic diet might work
The theory behind this type of diet is that the intestine is provided with a chance to recover, not being inflamed by food. In this way, a cat with chronic vomiting due to a food allergy should stop vomiting on a hypoallergenic diet.
But if the problem persists even on a hypoallergenic diet, a biopsy may be needed
Method 5 of 5: Stomach and Intestine Biopsy
Step 1. A definitive diagnosis is often made through biopsy
A small part of the intestine is collected and examined by a histologist under a microscope. Samples can be collected with an endoscopy, which will collect small pieces of tissue from the walls.
A complete biopsy of the walls can be done surgically through a laparotomy (surgical exploration of the abdomen)
Step 2. Complications of the biopsy
Complete wall biopsies have a high complication rate. This does not depend on the surgeon's abilities, but on the tendency of the tissue to swell in response to the wound, thus leading to a breakdown of the sutures, resulting in infiltration of the contents of the intestine into the abdomen.
Step 3. Take the time to consider all options with your veterinarian
If biopsy becomes a necessity, ask for all information regarding it and be aware of its risks and benefits.
Advice
- The vet may also examine the cat for diarrhea. He will check for stool in the rectum to determine if it is diarrhea or not.
- A sign that should not be underestimated is pain. Pain in parts of the abdomen could indicate a localized problem. For example, pain on the front of the belly can indicate pancreatitis.
