[sarasmile]

My 8 year old cat started vomiting hairballs on Wed and Thursday. He would eat a little white meat tuna, but then throw it up too. He wasn't eating his dry food at all. I took him to the vet on Friday and his blood tests came back fine and he doesn't have a fever. They gave him fluids Friday and Saturday are suggesting x-rays. He didn't throw up Sunday and seemed to keep at least a little tuna down. But he ate a little tuna this morning and a little later he threw up a hairball. He still won't touch his dry food. I'm giving him laxitone from the vet. Should I opt for the x-rays, or should I be a little more patient and see if it just because he's shedding and has hairballs? I'm not sure what to do.

[mrscoltweaver]

If he is 8, you should opt for the x-rays. Good bloodwork is great but has he had normal BMs since this began? A cat that won't eat is a nauseous cat. You rule out renal failure (which the bloodwork did), check the teeth-has he got a lot of tartar and gum redness or infected tooth? (Yes, cats need their teeth professionally scaled under sedation) Next, does he play with or chew on string, thread, etc that he could have ingested? This can tangle in his intestine and cause blockage and tissue death-(xrays will show, especially if they use a barium dye to show where the blockage is-may need exploratory surgery). Laxatone is just a band aid at this time. Can he drink water and hold it down? He's trying to eat so if all above is normall he may just have IBD-irritable bowel disease which can be treated with a course of meds and a special diet that he probably have to stay on. Very common. Sorry to bombarb you but the foreign body in the intestine thing can kill cats. I saw a lot of this in my veterinary office career!

[sarasmile]

Thank you mrscoltweaver for answering my question. Your concerns are mine as well. He doesn't play with strings, etc. He had a normal bm yesterday and kept white meat tuna and turkey down. He's not that interested in his dry food, although he ate a few pieces this morning, but not like he would usually (he's a big eater normally.) I havent' seen him drink water, but that doesn't mean he hasn't (I have two cats, and the water level seems to be going down but hard to tell if it's him.) He threw up a hairball yesterday, but there was no trace of what he ate in it. He seems to be in better spirits today, but if he's still not eating and drinking normally tomorrow, I'm scheduling x-rays. Thank you again!

[DocWill]

I am still curious the outcome on this case. Also curious if you have reported the quantity of hairballs produced to the vet. Past few years have offered much tastier hairball diets that are much more productive then years past. Lastly MrsColt referred to laxatone witch is highly productive if the owner keeps it administered as prescribed. I Rx it to every long hair feline patient, an a few K9's that insist on licking his coat or more popular carpet excessively.

DocWill

[sarasmile]

After administering the laxatone 3 x per day (as the vet prescribed), he was still not eating dry food so I began feeding him chicken with a little tuna on top and he immediately showed signs of improvement. After only one day of chicken and tuna he was back to his dry food. I have continued the laxatone daily (sometimes every other day). He has thrown up hairballs maybe 3 times in the last few weeks. The strange thing is that my other cat who's fur mattes up terribly (unlike my cat who was ill) does not throw up hairballs. I would have thought it would be the other way around. Anyway, he seems just fine now... I've considered changing his food to a hairball remedy brand, but he is on Prescription Diet's Feline CD. When he was younger the vet found some crystals in his urine and he's been on this food ever since. I think we'll keep using the laxatone for now (he loves it) and I'll consult the vet on changing his food the next time we go in. Thank you for your interest in the outcome and your insight.

[DocWill]

Did you know a male cats urethra is very close to the same diameter of the ball in an ink pen. Just think if you had to pee thro that all your life!