Cat vomiting up everything

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Mrs Kane
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Cat vomiting up everything

Post by Mrs Kane »

Hey all,

It's been a while. I'm sorry I'm not on here so often anymore. Life = Stress = No time. Without going into greater detail. I hope anyone that remembers me is doing well.

I need some advice. Sof had a bad infection back in June and lost a lot of weight and hair. My vet recommended we free feed her to get her weight up again.
I started feeding her dry food in the morning to get her weight up and would leave it out all day. She didn't have much of an appetite. I spoon-fed her wet food and broth in the evening and she'd throw it up pretty much every night.

We went to the vet last week and he said that Sof is overweight from the free feeding. We were so worried about making her healthy (And I'll be honest, my work has driven me to distraction) that we didn't focus on how big she'd gotten.

I decided to start making chicken pate for her. Home blended with some carrots and chicken broth from carcasses I bought. (I strained it thoroughly. No bones or fat) And Tuna pate with the oil and mashed carrots. She throws up both.

I don't want to put her back on the dry food after what the vet said. He said "If you keep feeding her this way, she'll only be with you for 3 years, Max." I'm actually very angry with him, because we've had several checkups since her infection and he never mentioned her weight before. Only that she was doing better.

I'm very tired. I love Sof dearly. I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing anymore.
A coworker of my catsits for a very wealthy couple and they feed them "catburgers". Has anyone heard of this? Apparently, they're very expensive but also very nutritious. The cats are 4 and 7 and they're sphynx cats. Both are very healthy. I've set aside money already for cat bills.

https://imgur.com/a/zJbEjyB - With her fur coming back on her belly and legs
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lilynmitz
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Re: Cat vomiting up everything

Post by lilynmitz »

The food you’re giving her is very rich. Have you tried something more bland, like boiled chicken or steamed white fish? Probably less fattening too. Also good quality dried foods, eg Royal. Canin for sensitive tums.
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Mollycat
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Re: Cat vomiting up everything

Post by Mollycat »

A google search on catburgers came up with a lot of stuff that had nothing to do with feeding cats!

Not sure it's the dry that has done the damage here. I'm all for home cooking for cats but I don't do it because of their quite specific dietary needs and I'm not sure I could achieve that for them, especially as they won't eat bone or organ meat. But from what I have researched that seems to me like a lot of fat, a lot of fish, a lot of vegetable, and unless there is some supplement added I don't see much calcium or taurine in the mix. I used to give mine a bed time snack of raw or rare fresh meat but again from what I read no more than 20% of calories should come from a source that isn't nutritionally balanced, to ensure they get the balance of omega 3 and 6, all the vitamins and minerals they need, calcium, and that vital taurine. Also fish is fine as a treat but is not a suitable balanced basic diet.

Is there a reason you don't feed commercial foods? I know they are not without their problems and controversies, from cheap filler grains and carbs to possible links with diabetes and hyperthyroidism, nothing is perfect and we have to make our best judgements for our pets.

My cats have always been free fed and regulate their own calorie intake beautifuly with a commercial balanced diet, with one exception - Molly. I adopted her at 6 years old and she just kept eating and eating, piling on the ounces, at one point she was unable to wash her back and I was desperate. Cutting down just made her highly stressed and even more greedy and aggressive. I put her on Hills diet food and that finally controlled her weight, until routine bloods showed up liver and thyroid problems a year ago. She has been treated and is now eating normal food and is a normal weight and had a lovely normal temperament. There is always some wet food left and she rarely touches the dry. So apart from the one medical problem, free fed commercial complete food has always worked for us.
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fjm
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Re: Cat vomiting up everything

Post by fjm »

I agree with Mollycat - if you cook for your cat you need to ensure all the nutritional bases are covered (calcium/phosphorus balance in particular), and check the calorie content of what you are feeding. It takes time and energy, and if your work is overwhelming a good commercial food may be a better bet. I am sure you already know to reduce quantities gradually to avoid hepatic lipidosis (yet another thing to worry about...). Could you work out how much dried food she needs to slowly reduce her weight, and leave just that amount out, perhaps half in the morning and half in the evening? Or if you prefer to feed wet food I have found the cool bowls you put in the freezer helpful to keep it fresh - I use a small porcelain bowl inside the frozen bowl to make washing up easier.
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Kay
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Re: Cat vomiting up everything

Post by Kay »

actually reading the feeding instructions on bags of dry cat food, and then weighing it out, has been a real eye opener for me - some foods are much denser than others, so less is required, and others are much lighter so the bowl is much fuller

I had always mainly fed commercial wet to my cats, just leaving some dry down if I was going to be out when a meal was due, but my current cat will only eat biscuits, so I am more careful now - she gets half the recommended amount twice a day, minus a few biscuits to allow a treat or two
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Mrs Kane
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Re: Cat vomiting up everything

Post by Mrs Kane »

Thank you all for the comments. I started her on a wet only diet. I kept trying the homemade food used by https://www.thesprucepets.com/homemade- ... pes-551946
but she didn't take to any of them. So now I'm just buying the "Gourmet" cans. She'll eat some, puke others up. But I think her weight is getting better.
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