Anyone have advice to help my pukey kitty?

  • He's actually my husband's and I've only known him since he was 2 - he's 6 now, but hubby says he has been like this almost his whole life. He's Japanese if that matters somehow.

    The poor thing throws up all the time and yet he is still overweight. He has to have very specific foods - Kitten Chow for dry food and Friskies canned food, but the Friskies has to be the chunky ones with pieces of food and sauce - or the throwing up gets worse. Being an adult cat on kitten food is probably the main reason for his extra weight - he's about 14 1/2 # on the frame of a cat that should be 10 or 11. It also means that the rest of our cats eat the Kitten Chow too because we can't risk him eating something else, and only one of them is young enough to need kitten food. We have asked vets about it and they just tell us they don't know what is causing it, but that according to their tests there is nothing wrong with him. He's also very lazy. I don't know if it is just his nature or if the same thing that makes him throw up takes all his energy from him. He was neutered as a kitten, but now seems to have some issue with girl cats - he had no experience with them until he was 4 1/2, and now we have 3 girls that he hates as well as one other boy that he does get along with - I have no idea if that is somehow related or not.
  • Have you tried the "sensitive systems" food? My cat's pretty pukey too. I have to feed him sensitive systems dry and no wet. He still throws up occassionally but not nearly as much as he used to.
  • Is there a reason he has to get crappy food? Kitten chow and Friskies is really low quality stuff. Kitten food specifically is very high calorie and shouldn't be given to adult cats.

    My kitty gets pukey sometimes but that is because she eats way too fast. I have to feed her multiple times per day, small portions or else she will eat too much too fast and throw it up.

    when he throws up, is he throwing up right after he eats so it is whole pieces or is it somewhat digested food like a hairball?

    This is the food I'd probably recommend to try to see if it helps:
    http://products.royalcanin.us/produc...spx?Animal=Cat

    Royal canin is decent and has a variety of formulas.
  • Time to take kitty to the vet. That is really the best thing to do.

    My vet recommended that I feed my Himalayan (long-haired, think Persian) cat hairball remedy every day, about 1/2 tsp.That has made a huge difference - my cat throws up a hairball once or twice a year now instead of once or twice a month. I put some on my finger every day and kitty licks it off. Kitty loves that stuff, actually! She goes over to the pantry closet where I keep it and waits there for me to get it. She thinks it's the yummiest treat ever!

    I agree that a higher quality kitty food might be better. My vets (changed vets because we have moved around so much, Army wife here) have always recommended Eukanuba for kitty. It's not carried in most regular stores, you can get it at PETSMART and other stores like that. Hope this helps some!
  • Thanks for all the fast responses!

    Aclai - We have tried foods that are made for sensitive tummies and he gets worse. What brand did you use that helped your kitty? He did get a bit better when I started giving him filtered water, but it's still generally at least once a day.

    Nelie - I know that it is crappy food, it is not what I would give him if I could find something else he could eat without throwing up. We have tried to give him better foods and he gets worse. I don't think the one you mentioned has been tried on him yet, but the website shows a store less than a mile away that carries it, so I will see if hubby will give that one a shot. He does occasionally get a hairball, but mostly it is normal vomit, sometimes right after eating, sometimes not.

    HealthierLori - We've asked more than one vet and they say that nothing is wrong. It's not hairballs, so I don't think the hairball stuff would help and he hates the stuff - we tried to give him a bit of the one we have for our persian since he does have the occasional hairball and he would have none of it. He also doesn't like any kind of special treats or anything, and is horrible to give meds to - it takes 2-3 people to get them in him.
  • I'm using the Iams brand, it comes in a pink bag. He was still puking for the first week or so, then he stopped.
  • Hmm...shoot, I'm about all out of ideas then. My kitty likes to eat that stuff that is ridiculously expensive, it's like nine dollars for a dozen cans and it's marketed as people food for cats? It looks like chopped up chicken and stuff, rather than cat food. It doesn't stink like cat food either. I wonder if that stuff would be easier on kitty's tummy? I just don't know....it seems like the vets would be more helpful than that. I do feed her Eukanuba 6 days a week, but I give her one of those cans as a weekly treat because she really loves that stuff. I can't help but spoil her a little, you know how it is.