Catfilter: Cat is urpy, vet is closed, how worried should I be?
January 26, 2013 11:19 AM Subscribe
My darling dearest kitteh is 5 years old, and seems to have some kind of stomach issue. Our vet is closed til Monday, so in the meantime
-Is this a potential emergency?
-If not, how can I help her poor little belly?
Slightly gross details below.
-This has gone on for two days now
-The incidents of barfing (3 as far as I can tell) are distinct from her usual random hairballs
-Once incident of EPIC POOP, which, while creating an unholy stench, was not diarrhea
-She eats normally
-She is acting a subdued normal (not hiding or avoiding me) and mostly sleeping by the radiator (however, it's 10 degrees out and she's a cat, so sleeping by the radiator doesn't especially alarm me).
So what do you think? A vet visit is in her future but do you think it could be in her future as in Monday, rather than as in an emergency clinic visit today?
Meantime, is there something I can feed her/do for her that might help? If she were a dog I'd feed her rice and keep an eye on her without hesitation; but I know cats have weird delicate snowflake systems in some ways.
-This has gone on for two days now
-The incidents of barfing (3 as far as I can tell) are distinct from her usual random hairballs
-Once incident of EPIC POOP, which, while creating an unholy stench, was not diarrhea
-She eats normally
-She is acting a subdued normal (not hiding or avoiding me) and mostly sleeping by the radiator (however, it's 10 degrees out and she's a cat, so sleeping by the radiator doesn't especially alarm me).
So what do you think? A vet visit is in her future but do you think it could be in her future as in Monday, rather than as in an emergency clinic visit today?
Meantime, is there something I can feed her/do for her that might help? If she were a dog I'd feed her rice and keep an eye on her without hesitation; but I know cats have weird delicate snowflake systems in some ways.
Pinch her scruff with your fingers and let it go. It should snap back into place almost immediately. If it only slowly returns to its normal shape, she's dehydrated. The slower it returns, the worse the dehydration. If it takes more than 5 seconds, you should probably take her into get sub-Q fluids since she probably can't keep any liquids down orally.
If she isn't too dehydrated, she's probably safe till Monday.
posted by zug at 11:41 AM on January 26, 2013 [5 favorites]
If she isn't too dehydrated, she's probably safe till Monday.
posted by zug at 11:41 AM on January 26, 2013 [5 favorites]
Oh, another concern, if she's overweight and losing weight, take her in. Fatty liver disease can very easily kill a sick overweight cat and it isn't something you want to mess around with.
posted by zug at 11:42 AM on January 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zug at 11:42 AM on January 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: That chart is amazing, lalex! Thank you.
To answer your questions:
1) Kitteh is not dehydrated, luckily, at least based on the scruff test.
2) She's not too overweight, about 9 lbs, and what pudge she has seems to be pretty well stable. Also, she continues to eat normally (she's a grazer, grazing the usual times per day. Snarfs down her wet food supper like a boss.)
3) Barf is yellow, it has food of various digestion stages in it, more "stuff" than bile/fluid but still some bile.
posted by like_a_friend at 12:20 PM on January 26, 2013
To answer your questions:
1) Kitteh is not dehydrated, luckily, at least based on the scruff test.
2) She's not too overweight, about 9 lbs, and what pudge she has seems to be pretty well stable. Also, she continues to eat normally (she's a grazer, grazing the usual times per day. Snarfs down her wet food supper like a boss.)
3) Barf is yellow, it has food of various digestion stages in it, more "stuff" than bile/fluid but still some bile.
posted by like_a_friend at 12:20 PM on January 26, 2013
Based on your replies, if she were my cat, I'd keep an eye on her and hold off until Monday unless she gets worse/dehydrated. Doesn't sound life-threatening.
posted by zug at 12:40 PM on January 26, 2013
posted by zug at 12:40 PM on January 26, 2013
Best answer: Was the epic poop before the puke or after? It's possible she was constipated. If she's eaten and kept it down since the poop she's probably okay.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:44 PM on January 26, 2013
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:44 PM on January 26, 2013
Best answer: If it were me, I would not take the cat to the kitty ER in this instance.
I would:
* Check dehydration fairly regularly.
* Poke and prod from time to time, looking for pain or anger.
* Add a small amount of plain canned organic pumpkin to the cat's diet. (Fiber regulates.) (The organic is not necessary. I'm just a snob.)
* With vomiting, keep an eye out for any kind of (yes) catatonia, or muscle spasms, or, you know, inability to move. That kind of stuff is easy to fix actually with supplements from your bet (it's usually a deficiency) but you can't let it go on too long. That's kitty ER territory.
* With my cats, I'd give them a little sheep's yogurt too, but that is not for all cats, and dairy could make things worse for yours.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:15 PM on January 26, 2013
I would:
* Check dehydration fairly regularly.
* Poke and prod from time to time, looking for pain or anger.
* Add a small amount of plain canned organic pumpkin to the cat's diet. (Fiber regulates.) (The organic is not necessary. I'm just a snob.)
* With vomiting, keep an eye out for any kind of (yes) catatonia, or muscle spasms, or, you know, inability to move. That kind of stuff is easy to fix actually with supplements from your bet (it's usually a deficiency) but you can't let it go on too long. That's kitty ER territory.
* With my cats, I'd give them a little sheep's yogurt too, but that is not for all cats, and dairy could make things worse for yours.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:15 PM on January 26, 2013
Yellow bile vom combined with epic stinky poo means that something isn't being digested. Do you give her treats? Is it possible that she's allergic to her food? My cat started doing exacty thing totally suddenly a few weeks ago, and I changed his food after many days of "ugh, cleanup time again" and it got better immediately. Buy a little bag and maybe one can of different food (if she isn't a picky eater) and hold off on the treats until you can vet-up. It might help! Sometimes cats are super gross, and checking to make sure she's otherwise ok is wise, but she should be fine until monday.
posted by zinful at 2:15 PM on January 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zinful at 2:15 PM on January 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
If your kitteh is still willing to eat, boiled rice and chicken can help sooth an urpy stomach this weekend. As long as she is still behaving, eating and drinking normally it's probably not an emergency. I would still want to bring her in to a vet Monday - our general rule is vomiting for more than two days means a vet visit.
Has she had a fecal test in the past 6 months? Is she indoor only, or goes outside? There are a couple of things that come to mind with what you're describing and an intestinal parasite is one. (The other possibility is less likely for a non-kitten not having diarrhea.)
posted by faethverity at 4:25 PM on January 26, 2013
Has she had a fecal test in the past 6 months? Is she indoor only, or goes outside? There are a couple of things that come to mind with what you're describing and an intestinal parasite is one. (The other possibility is less likely for a non-kitten not having diarrhea.)
posted by faethverity at 4:25 PM on January 26, 2013
At this point, you're probably OK til Monday. But if the vomiting continues, if she gets dehydrated, or if she suddenly starts yowling or growling at you, take her in immediately. When she does see the vet, they are going to want to run some blood tests - let 'em go ahead and do that.
posted by azpenguin at 6:55 PM on January 26, 2013
posted by azpenguin at 6:55 PM on January 26, 2013
What zinful mentions is similar to what our cat had, was gastro-intestinal related. We switched to vet supplied food, and changed the treats out.
Probably can wait until Monday, but get the cat into the vet early this week. Cut out the treats and try some tinned pumpkin - this was recommended by our vet for the fluid content and fibre. Our cat eats it up like we do ice-cream.
posted by arcticseal at 7:13 PM on January 26, 2013
Probably can wait until Monday, but get the cat into the vet early this week. Cut out the treats and try some tinned pumpkin - this was recommended by our vet for the fluid content and fibre. Our cat eats it up like we do ice-cream.
posted by arcticseal at 7:13 PM on January 26, 2013
Response by poster: Thank you all for the answers and particularly the general reassurance that my cat wasn't going to die :)
I think constipation might have been the culprit--since Epic Poop (and ensuing EPIC NAP) little fuzz has kept down all her food. I'll take her to the vet tomorrow and hopefully they'll have some good suggestions for her, foodwise.
Zinful, She is SO picky, especially about wet food, and doesn't even eat treats. But I will probably be able to switch her dry food with little objection.
faethverity, she's totally indoors. No fecal test since probably a year and a half ago; she hasn't had any digestive problems --apart from occasional OMG EAT SO FAST OOPS BARF situations-- since she was a kitten.
posted by like_a_friend at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2013
I think constipation might have been the culprit--since Epic Poop (and ensuing EPIC NAP) little fuzz has kept down all her food. I'll take her to the vet tomorrow and hopefully they'll have some good suggestions for her, foodwise.
Zinful, She is SO picky, especially about wet food, and doesn't even eat treats. But I will probably be able to switch her dry food with little objection.
faethverity, she's totally indoors. No fecal test since probably a year and a half ago; she hasn't had any digestive problems --apart from occasional OMG EAT SO FAST OOPS BARF situations-- since she was a kitten.
posted by like_a_friend at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by skittlekicks at 11:32 AM on January 26, 2013