Persistent Vomiting...Support & Advice needed!

[vic23]

Hi All,
I am new to the forum and have joined in order to seek support for a problem that is ongoing with my cat and becoming incredibly distressing for me.

We rehomed an 11 year old female cat from a rescue centre at the end of April. During the first couple of months, she vomited a few times, which was often furballs, so we were not worried. One day in July, she vomited 7 times in a day (a combination of fur, undigested food, clear liquid and blood stained liquid) and this of course rang alarm bells and I took her off to the vet. She obviously recognises the smell of the vet surgery or something as she turned into a cat possessed when I took her - it was therefore very difficult to examine her - The vet was however very experienced and he managed to do a small exam, took her temp (normal even though she was stressed). Her weight had not changed since her previous check up. He gave an anti-sickness injection and some antibiotics. Also, some furball paste. The vomiting came and went, but a similar episode happened again and I took her back to the vets. It was suggested by the vet that they take some blood and do an ultrasound. Both were done and found no concern. The ultrasound was clear and the blood tests ruled out kidney disease, liver problems, pancreatitis. However, she was still vomiting. I spoke to the vet again and he said that he thought she could have a food intolerance, so I changed her food to a prescription diet for the same. We then had 4 weeks of bliss, where there was no vomiting, with it all to start again on and off about a month ago. A week ago today, she started another approx. 24 hours of vomiting, so I took her to the vets again. They then tell me that the ultrasound isn't definitive regarding cancer and I could run all the tests again. Alternatively, I could refer her to a vet hospital. Unfortunately, referral is not an option - we are looking at thousands of pounds for this, which with the best will in the world I don't have. Plus I am also mindful of putting her through so much at her age. The vet also said it could be something she is prone to. I opted to try her on some gastro medicine. He also prescribed anti-sickness tablets for use when I felt a bout of sickness was coming on - The problem is I can only get her to take tablets through food and she seems to not be keen on her food now for the first time (perhaps it is the gastro liquid I'm adding?) During the last 24 hours, she was been sick 7 times and cannot keep any food down.

I am literally at my wits end - I am so worried about her and am losing sleep through worry and also having to keep getting up to clear up vomit. The vets also never properly examine her (if at all) as she is feisty, so I just keep taking her to the vets but get limited answers.

If anyone can offer any support or advice, I would be very grateful.

[Ruth B]

Firstly congratulations on taking on an older cat, you hear so often as to how they are just overlooked in favour of the kittens. I hope you can get the problem sorted, it can't be pleasant for either of you. I'm not sure i can give a lot of advise but I do have a few questions.

Firstly how much does she drink. If she is vomiting all the time she needs to be drinking plenty to make up for the lost fluids.
Second question is linked to the first, how much is she using the litter tray, both for liquids and solids. If she is allowed outside you might want to try keeping her in so you can monitor it. As long as she is passing some solids then food is getting through and she is getting the benefit of it. If she is producing solids in the litter tray that could also be sent off for checks for either parasites or blood which might help indicate where the problem lies.
Third, you mentioned hairballs, is she long or short haired and how much do you groom her and how much do you get out of her. We had a long haired Ragdoll and when ever the weather changed we could be getting handfuls out of him daily, you don't need much imagination to see how much of a problem it would be if he was grooming that out of himself and swallowing it. You might also want to try different combs and brushes some seem to work better on some cats than others.
Lastly it makes me wonder just what has happened to her hat a vet surgery in the past to have that bad a reaction. Most don't like it but they rarely get to the point an experianced vet and nurse can't examine them proberly. I don't know if you left her there to have the bloods done, if not it might be worth asking if they think she would settle down to be properly examined if you took her in the morning and picked her up at lunch time. Alternatively you might ask if the vet could arrange to do a home visit for the examination. It would be more expensive, but no where near what it would cost to send her to a hospital.

The only real suggestion I can make is, from reading what you put a change in food improved things for a while. It could be that she develops an intolerance to the food that gradually gets worse over the time she is on it. Maybe changing the brand and type of food every week or so would help. Some elderly cats do seem to throw up more than you would thing, Blue the Ragdoll used to throw up 5-6 times a week, not quite every day, but close, but no where near the 6-7 times a day you are having to cope with.

Someone else might be able to come up with some other suggestions and advise, but I hope this gives you a few ideas to start with and i really hope you can get it sorted and she can give you many happy years together.

[vic23]

Hi Ruthb,
Thanks so much for your reply.
In answer to your questions,

Regarding drinking, she typically drinks a lot - That is why initially I thought she could have kidney disease, but this has been ruled out.
She is an indoor cat, so I can monitor her litter tray and throughout all bouts of sickness, she is passing water and solids OK.
She does not like to be groomed, but she grooms herself a lot, which explains the furballs! She is short hair.
The vet thing is a strange one - but I have ruled out fear of strangers, as when someone new comes to our house, she is fine with them - so it can only be the smell or similar that gets her worked up. But she hisses and claws and it is very difficult. To be honest, I grew up with cats and my Mum took care of rescue cats too, so I have witnessed many different cats visiting the vets and how the vets handle them - I have seen 4 different vets with my cat and because she is feisty they almost immediately back off - this makes my problem even worse - I take her to the vets and they can't examine her and kind of shrug their shoulders, which is incredibly frustrating for me. I feel they have her down as a 'problem cat' and that's that. When she had bloods and ultrasound, she was sedated. I agree a home visit might be better and have thought about it.

You could be right about the food intolerances being gradual, but when I asked about the food last week, he said to keep her on the sensitive food.

In my head, through many vet visits and my own research, I have ruled it down to either cancer, ulcers/gastro or furball complications, but I'm not an expert. I had made a decision not to put her through a repeat of the tests (she is 11 after all), but I honestly feel I have no choice as I am at my wits end. I feel I could probably deal with the problem better in my head if I knew the cause.

My suspicions are growing as to whether her previous owners told the truth regarding the reason they gave her up for adoption. I do know that she was confined to one room in her previous home and I wonder whether this was due to persistent sickness. As well as my constant worrying about her, my carpets are all ruined and things are becoming so difficult.

[Kay]

I wonder if it would be worth trying her on a course of Metacam, which is an anti-inflammatory?

my Trigger had gut problems for years, which my vet could not find a cause for, but when he had a tumour and was put on daily Metacam for the pain, they all cleared up quite miraculously, and he ate more in his last two months than he ever had before, without any problems

[Ruth B]

I would persevere with trying to groom her, a few short strokes at a time when she is relaxed but awake. Anything you can get out of her is hair that isn't going into her. Trying a hairball formula cat food might also help, there seems to be different opinions as to how it works, some thing it just makes them more likely to throw the hairballs up (no help for you really) but others have said it actually works by dissolving the hair in the stomach which might help her.

i would also seriously consider a home vet visit, it does sound like something bad happened at a vets in the past and she associated the smell with that. You could also ask the vet if it was worth him/her taking samples from the litter tray while they are there.

if it was hair ball complications I would have thought you would have noticed a pattern in what what she throw up just before things improve. As it seems very intermittent my thought really is along the line of IBD or gastric problems. Even though your vet says to keep her on the sensitive if it isn't working any longer I would try her on a good quality normal cat food for a few days and see if it does help. Also remember that you can by the special formula cat foods from petstores or on line, if you do want to keep her on them you might find that a lot cheaper than buy from the vet (assuming you are getting it from the vet).

Monitor her weight regularly yourself as this will quickly indicate if things are getting worse. If the weight is maintained, even though she is vomiting a lot she is obviously getting enough goodness from the food she is keeping down. At least she is also drinking enough herself so that is one less worry.

Worse case, if it is cancer then the best you can do for her is try and give her the best life possible for the time she has left. Part of me really isn't sure it is. The only times I have known cats go to cancer it seemed to progress very quickly. The first cat we had when I was a child developed cancer of the stomach, it literally closed off the entrance to the stomach as it grew, he started vomiting first just the meat and then later liquids as well, it never improved. He lost a lot of weight very quickly over a matter of a couple of weeks. The vet did all the tests and they came back negative, the only option left was to opening him up and have a look to try and see what was wrong, he was never woken up from the anesthetic, the second cat developed a lump in her abdomen and just stopped wanting to live, no interest in food or water. She had had a dental done about 6 weeks before and a thorough examination before hand had found nothing. She seemed fine on the Friday, a bit under the weather on the Satureday, Sunday she was ill, but not enough for us to feel it warranted seeing the emergency vet. I got an appointment Monday night and the vet found the lump when he examined her, he gave her an injection of steroids to try and pick her up and encourage her to eat and drink (I now think it was also to give us time to accept the diagnosis). It didn't really help, Tuesday we took her back for the last time.

I am only saying the above to show the difference in timescale, these were over in a matter of weeks, your cat has been having problems for months, possibly longer from what you have said about her previous home. I would also reckon that being confined to a single room might have stressed her out which would also lead to problem. Even at 11 years old a cat needs stimulation and company in its life.

Others might have more experience with longer term cancers, but I really thing, and hope, it is only a stomach problem, bad as that might seem you might be able to find a way to keep it settled. The suggestion about an anti-inflamatory is also a good idea it might help calm the stomach down, but I would also check with the vet, some anti inflammatories can lead to stomach ulcers, and as something like that might already be the problem, you wouldn't want to aggravate it.

Sorry it became a wall of text, but hopefully something in it can help.

[vic23]

Thanks Kay and Ruth B,
It is great to get some others thoughts and perspectives on this.

We have read an article about changing the food around and this is something we may have to seriously consider, even if it goes against what the vet is saying. I hit the point a long time ago where I am prepared to try anything. We have tried wet and dry versions of the sensitive food and logic tells me that the wet version would be better on her stomach, but this still comes up to.

Regarding the cancer, the latest vet I have seen said you would expect weight loss if cancer, which she doesn't have, but he also said that like in humans, cancer never plays to the rules, so you never know. However, I have heard other people say that it generally progresses quickly. Someone else I know who has had a lot of experience with cats said they don't think its cancer either from the symptoms, but we just don't know...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, I have noticed another problem, which I disregarded until now...because I thought it wasn't a concern and tbh I struggled to cope with something else....I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the area around one of her nipples looked like it had a small scab. I thought she had caught herself cleaning, as she grooms a lot and quite vigorously. Now it looks a bit like a bit of dry skin...like on a human, you sometimes get a dry patch that becomes red. Whilst I was digging around on the internet for info on feline cancers, I came across some details on mammary tumours and I'm now a bit concerned this is the start of one...I'm struggling to get close enough to have a proper look as she doesn't like her stomach area touched, but it now looks like a ring of small red dots....Never rains, but it pours.

Thanks for all your messages

[Lilith]

Hi, Vic, very sorry to hear about your girl and what you're both going through.

I've nothing to offer re medical advice I'm afraid, but I too have had plenty of experience with cats when it comes to feisty/sicky/refusing grooming although their problems were nothing compared to your girl's.

Does she like to be stroked? If so, wet your hands and stroke her. You'll be amazed by the amount of hair that comes off. One of mine adores brushing - I can get enough out of her to stuff a sofa and still she's begging for more (she's shorthaired too) but I always 'finish her off' with the wet hand stroke - and loads more hair comes out, that would have ended up on her tongue. Furballs are, I feel, something a cat produces naturally (they don't get brushed in the wild though I'm not including feral longhairs here; longhairs seem to be a man-made breed and feral longhairs DO have trouble with their coats) but there's obviously something wrong and whether furballs are the cause or not, your girl clearly needs all the help she can get at the moment. Another good grooming tip, if she'll permit it, is to wind sellotape round your hand, sticky side out, and stroke her with that - that yanks out plenty of fluff too.

I'm amazed at some vets' attitudes after reading of them on here. I saw this for myself once; I had to take my Mouse, a very gentle but timid cat, to the vet for something minor; my vet's surgery is pretty good on the whole but this particular vet said, when I warned her of how afraid Mouse would be, said, 'oh she'll come out spitting and scratching then!' I said, 'no' and we got the examination done, and Mouse turned to me, put her paws round my neck and pressed herself against me, and I gave her a reassuring kiss...whereupon the vet,clearly realising she wasn't going to be scratched or bitten, got out her stethoscope and gave Mouse the routine physical examination that usually happens...ha! You expect these people to be experienced and well-trained in handling difficult animals, don't you?

Ugh, know all about the carpet scrubbing; last straw when you're worried already, isn't it? I used to have an old faecally incontinent tomcat too...luckily the carpet in the front room is a cheap remnant but I used to use bleach on it which I've found is a complete no-no; I've learned on here that biological washing liquid/powder in solution is safe; it also kills smells and I imagine would deal well with stains too. Lol I don't have carpets anywhere else apart from Flotex in the bathroom (wonder why?) There are special pet stain products as I expect you know but I've never got round to using them but someone else on here may be able to help. Good luck.

And all the very best to your girl and you - I hope some simpler solution can be found to resolve her problems and that you don't have to face that quite horrible dilemma of either finding £1000s you haven't got, or letting her be put to sleep...yes, I too wonder about how honest her previous owners may have been...Paws crossed for you both x

[Janey]

Hi and welcome. I’ve adopted quite a few older cats and many have been sickly, although seven times at once is a lot. Two cats we adopted had to be on sensitive food or they got diarrhoea, the slightest change and it affected them. A few other cats have been hyperthyroid have been more sickly and that’s usually been helped by ensuring they take the medication and that they have food down all the time to eat little and often so they don’t get a lot of acid, which can cause nausea. Another of my oldies used to get bloody/diarrhoea occasionally and the vet put that down to food intolerances. The other thing, one of our oldies was sick the minute he ate any type of fish foods. Also, the cat I have now, when she left her previous home to come to us, I gave her Webbox as a treat, then all of sudden she couldn’t tolerate it, the minute she ate one she brought it back up. My neighbour told me about one of hers who was being sick all the time, he had tests and everything came back fine, but he continued being sick. So, she gave him some coley as a light meal and she said the most enormous fur ball came up. She was that shocked she actually took it to the vets to show them, as she was quite annoyed at how much she’d spent and that was the culprit, he was fine after. It does sound though to be a food issue with yours as your cat was better after changing the food. Just a few thoughts, but I do hope you manage to sort it, give her a snuggle from me.

[vic23]

Again thanks everyone for replying! Everyone makes me feel so welcome and supported, which is just what I need at the moment. I have spent much of the day crying

Since I posted this morning, we have had more sick and we are now up to 9 times since 0630 yesterday morning. I had a plan to make an appt to just visit the vet myself without her (see above re non exam etc) to discuss options moving forward. However, after this much vomiting once again, I will have to take her. I am so worried, its almost unbearable. She seemed a bit subdued earlier, but has perked up, she has done lots of washing and wants more food, but nothing will stay down. I tried a really tiny portion of a non sensitive food mixed with some water to get the fluids through, which she ate well, but brought straight back up. The medicine doesn't seem to be working - I know it is early days, but I can't cope with another week of 9 times a day vomit (particularly as I work every day) and nor can she. I will probably end up sobbing at the vets in frustration and sadness.

Janey - Its interesting what you say about the giant furball - My Mum who has had many cats over the years has been convinced this is the case since the start of it all.

I know the vets can only keep trying things and they are unable to give me a definitive answer at the moment, but if anyone has any ideas with me getting my point across re examining her etc that would be much appreciated.

[Mayday21]

Hi Vic poor fur baby. Know how you're feeling with the vomiting. When I was treating Elsa for hyperthrodism (tabs & then cream in ears) she vomited up bile & it distressed me incredibly & she was as flat as - hence me going down the radio iodine treatment. Good luck & really will pray it's sorted. Vivian

[Lilith]

That story of Ruth's about the neighbour's cat reminds me of an experience of one of my cats - he was a Siamese I'd bred, due to go to his new home but the week before came down with continuous vomiting. Light diet, the vet said. So I gave him chicken and fish...a couple of days later there was the most massive furball in a clump of fish. Ah. But this furball was black. Then I realised.

I also had a longhaired black cat whose brushings fascinated the kitten; I had to hide them because he'd grab a nice big 'sausage' and make off with it like a mouse in his mouth. Poor Jane (black cat) hadn't had any fish, and I hadn't been totally vigilant, because Tao, the kitten, must have found a 'mouse' of combings and managed to swallow it. After he brought that up, he was fine.

It's interesting that fish figures in both experiences although that might just be coincidence.

Again all the very best to your girl and you, and good luck with the next vet visit x

[tuppencesmum]

Hi Vic

Sorry to hear about all the stress. I rehomed an elderly cat 3 years ago (she's now coming up 18) and she had a terrible vomiting problem when she first moved in - hate to sound shallow but she ruined every carpet in the house. My vet gave her an anti-inflammatory when she was particularly bad and that used to stop it for a few days but she would soon go back to copious and regular vomiting and no matter how much I tinkered with her diet, nothing worked. However, the vet (who is fantastic btw) reckoned the problem was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and that it was stress related. Anyway, we persevered - vet every few weeks for an anti-inflammatory and I also put a feliway diffuser in the house and fed her very small amount of white fish frequently with some biscuits and touch wood, she's been fine for two years now. She still throws up sometimes but like once a month max and usually with a fur ball. I think she was very stressed coming into a new environment and once she realised she was loved and had all her needs met, the stress went and so we're all very happy now (i.e. me, my other cat and my other half!)

[Janey]

That story of Ruth's about the neighbour's cat reminds me of an experience of one of my cats - he was a Siamese I'd bred, due to go to his new home but the week before came down with continuous vomiting. Light diet, the vet said. So I gave him chicken and fish...a couple of days later there was the most massive furball in a clump of fish. Ah. But this furball was black. Then I realised.

It was my neighbour lol

Yep it seems that the fur ball attaches to the sticky fish!

[Lilith]

Oops apologies Janey and Ruth

Wonder if that's a possible thing to try then, Vic, if she'll eat enough fish at the moment poor lass.

Hope you're both going on as well as possible in the circumstances x

[vic23]

Hello All,
Thought I would give you an update after my visit to the vets today.
I had a good chat with the vet and he suggested that we carry out some more tests. He said this has been going on for over two months now and something needs to be done. So on Wednesday, she is going to be put under for an endoscopy (and possible biopsy), x-ray, repeat ultrasound and bloods. They will also give her a good 'feel' externally whilst she is under and will also check out her nipple that I mentioned above, as they cannot examine her without sedation! She also had an anti sickness injection which lasts for 24 hours, which gives us all a bit of breathing space and allows me to get some food into her again. The vet suspects that it could be serious ulcers or cancer. It did warn me that problems like these are very frustrating and sometimes there are no answers, much as we want them. However, I feel that this is as much as I can possibly do for her (without the referral which I can't afford and my insurance won't cover). I felt happier when I left as we have a way forward for the immediate future, particularly as I didn't know they could do an endoscopy at the surgery. On the other hand, I have a persistent nervous feeling and feel terrified of the worst outcome and the imminent heartbreak. I am dreading taking her on Wednesday and leaving her for the op. She is on my mind all the time and I am very distracted. I stayed up with her nearly all night last night as I wanted to keep a close eye on her due to dehydration concerns - I promptly went to bed again after she started playing in the blinds, as she was obviously feeling ok!

I have taken to searching the internet for answers, which is always really a bad idea. I read about cancer showing itself through different sized pupils - I then looked closely at hers and thought they were different sizes and this panicked me. The more I read, the more I think cancer, so I'm going to make an effort to avoid googling for now as it isn't doing me any good. I'm going to get a good night's sleep tonight and this should hopefully make me feel a little better.

[Ruth B]

I'm glad to hear your vet is sounding positive and thinks it has gone on too long, I know how lucky I have been to always have good vets.

A good examination under sedation along with all the other tests will hopefully give answers one way or the other. Try and get some sleep, it will help you feel better, i won't say try not to worry, that is pretty much impossible, but try and avoid the internet (except for here ) it normally only leads to worse case answers. Hopefully it will prove to just be an ulcer or similar.

If it is a worse case scenario, you will also find a lot of support and understanding here.

Let us know how things go, we are also a very nosy lot.

[Janey]

Wishing your little one all the best, hope it’s easily sorted and she’s much better soon xx

[meriad]

fingers crossed for tomorrow Vic and let's hope it's not your worst fears coming true. What's your girls name by the way

And I agree, stop googling.... Whilst the internet is an incredible thing in so many ways (how ever did we cope without?); in equal measures it's the worst thing ever. As someone once said - never look up your symptoms on google, because you'll only be two clicks from death...

Good luck for tomorrow and fusses to your girl

[Lilith]

Yes indeed, all the very best for tomorrow - all paws here crossed and Shahi my royal python is crossing his tail

I'm sorry, I've been a bit preoccupied lately and not the sharpest nail in the box when reading this thread, but I too have seen that sort of scabbiness round the nipple; in fact it was why I took Mouse to the vet, on that visit I described, but hers was the actual nipple, which bled from time to time and then scabbed over. I too worried that it might be a pre-cancerous sign but the vet assured me that it was nothing, and she was right; a check-up earlier this year gave her (Mouse, not the vet lol) a clean bill of health, even though she still has a scabby nipple sometimes. She's 14 and a half now. So I hope it's the same with your girl.

Ohhh the net - but we all do it. You just get so desperate for concrete information, but these damn sites can be so vague - and a lot of them have an interest in brainwashing you into paying for expensive treatments...arrghh! Like those stupid medical adverts that try to tell you a cough can be pre-cancerous and see your GP etc

All very best wishes from all of us to you and your lass x

[vic23]

Hello All,
I have been reading your comments and they are all a great comfort

Well today's update is as follows.....

Firstly, Daisy and I got a good night's sleep...I can always rest when she has had the anti sickness injection. I was dreading coming home as the injection would have worn off about 10am this morning and I was worried that she would have been sick again. She hadn't, which was a big relief. There was also solids in her litter tray...I started to get nervous as she hadn't passed anything since about Saturday, so all good on that front. HOWEVER, I then gave her the tiniest amount of food which, surprise surprise, came straight up again 5 - 10 minutes later. Although we have had periods of sickness in the past, we have never had a period that has lasted so long before with no let up. Literally, she can only keep food down with anti-sickness meds now. So, even whether I was still doubtful that I am doing the right thing running the tests, I honestly have no choice. Neither her or us can continue with a constant cycle of eating, vomiting, eating, vomiting.

We have had periods of sickness before which have then improved and then the cycle begins again, but because this cycle doesn't seem to have any let up, I am of course thinking the worse about something developing inside her. However, I know I always think the worse. I am DREADING taking her and leaving her at the vets tomorrow...of course I am frightened about what they might find, but I'm also nervous about her going under anaesthetic. I don't think I've mentioned that she is overweight (her previous owners kept her confined to one room, possibly due to the sickness) which heightens the risk. Its going to be a really tough day. I will be at work, so will try and distract myself as much as possible.

Although she seemed a little subdued just after being sick again, she is currently playing with her ball!

[Janey]

Glad to hear that Daisy seems ok at the moment, despite a bit of sickness. And I do hope all goes well tomorrow and will be thinking about her. Hopefully it’s something manageable such as food intolerance and you can get something sorted. It is possible, as I said my Tasha is immediately sick when she eats Webbox and Pepper was the same after fish. Sending cuddles to Daisy xx

[Mayday21]

Hi Vic all our paws crossed for Daisy & prayers too. It was good to read that she hadn't been sick while you were at work. Hope vet's diagnoses is a good one. Vivian

[Grace56]

Awww! Poor baby, and poor you. I know how ghastly it is when you're worried about fur babies. Its horrible.
No, Googling is a bad idea but I've done it myself lately re' my Dave. You always think the worst.
I hope you soon get Daisy sorted. My thoughts are with you both for today and paws, fingers and toes all crossed.

Grace and ((hugs)) to you and a gentle fuss for Daisy. xxx

[vic23]

Hello All,
Well today has been beyond difficult to say the least.
Daisy went in for her procedures and currently things don't look good. I really struggle to absorb everything the vet says but the main point is that the ultrasound showed up some inflammation inside in the pancreatic area - this could be pancreatitis or a tumour. We have to wait for blood results, but given that she tested negative for pancreatitis on the bloods in July, I doubt it can be this, so it only leaves the other. I spoke to the vet about the options and she said surgery to take a biopsy to determine whether it is cancer or not. I'm uncomfortable with putting her under such a major procedure (she is overweight and is high risk under anaesthetic), but feel absolutely ripped apart by the decisions ahead. I think she said if it is diagnosed as cancer they wouldn't be able to operate anyway. Depending on what the condition it is, it needs to be manageable with regards to the sickness etc and currently it is not. I have taken endless hours off work this week, have had no sleep, can't eat barely anything and am getting close to being unable to function. Sounds dramatic, but its true. I am terrified of whats ahead and the decisions I will have to make.

Sorry if the above is a bit garbled, but I am all over the place currently.

[alanc]

Really sorry to hear this and hope in spite of the appearances it is pancreatitis and not cancer. I lost my darling Badger to cancer last year and it is a terrible disease to deal with. With Badger, whatever decision I made had no effect on the outcome. Whilst Pancreatitis (which Tilly had at the beginning of this year) is not pleasant either, at least you can do something about it. Thinking of you and hoping for the best for you and Daisy.

[vic23]

Thanks AlanC
My persistent googling continues and this time offered me hope, as I stumbled upon a page about pancreatitis which explains her symptoms perfectly. Yes, it can still be very serious and hard to treat, but is far better than the other option. I'm grabbing at any hope I can currently. My only concern is that surely this would have shown up on the last bloods, although she has got worse since then and the vet tells me a rerun of the tests can give completely different results. Keep everything crossed. I have been catching up on household chores a bit tonight to keep my mind occupied, otherwise I think and think and think.

In your experience of pancreatitis, did your vet prescribe an antivomit medicine?

[Lilith]

Hi, Vic, I'm so sorry you and Daisy are going through this horrible and inconclusive time. I must say (and I realise this is a very subjective point of view) that in my experience blood tests, feline and human, don't always show results, even if they should have done, if you see what I mean, so redoing Daisy's bloods isn't a bad thing.

Everything crossed here that it isn't cancer and that the way forward to managing her condition is being found; big hugs to you and fusses to Daisy, all the very best x

[alanc]

Tilly was so bad she was in the vet hospital for several days, so I don't know exactly what she was given. Vets probably said, but I was so worried about her I can't remember all they said about what they had done, only what was required when I took her home. One thing which may be hopeful for you is that Tilly had had a milder bout one week earlier. She was given an anti vomiting injection then. I suspect the tests may not always give a positive result when they should do.
I never thought I would write that I hoped a cat had Pancreatitis, but it is definitely the lesser of the two evils you face.

[Janey]

So sorry you’re going through this worry with Daisy. Lilith is right in that results aren’t always conclusive for animals and humans, my thyroid didn’t show a couple of times, although I had the symptoms a very long time, until later. Keeping everything crossed for Daisy xx

[vic23]

Hello All,
Well talk about an emotional rollercoaster!
Daisy's anti sickness injection wore off about 11am this morning and I came home from work at 415pm and she had not been sick. The vet gave me cerenia antisickness tabs for her to take from today - 1/2 tablet per day. I'm assuming these only work for 12 hours, so I waited until around 7pm to give it to her, so this would buy me a little time to give her breakfast tomorrow at 6am before it wears off. I put it in a tiny bit of food and after a time she ate it - I'm not sure she got quite all of it, but most of it. I have given her a tiny amount of food since and its a waiting game. Crikey this is tough to manage and I'm trying to be strong, but this week has been really difficult.

Blood results should hopefully be back tomorrow and we will know more about what we are dealing with.

If it is pancreatitis, does anyone know whether it can be actually treated or do they just treat complications? Can it be cured? Also can they determine the severity without surgery? This is assuming that this is the best outcome we can hope for at this stage......

As always, thanks for reading