Kitty question - Sara?

[Krislady]

Our Minderva kitty's about 11 years old - she was severely overweight for a while (who knew you couldn't free feed ALL cats?), which I'd imagine put a strain on her. (She reached about 20# at one point, and now she's down to about 11 or so.)

Anyway, suddenly she starting (sorry about this) regurgitating her breakfast every morning. (Regurgitating undigested food, rather than vomiting partially digested food.) (I said sorry!)

We had been feeding a mix of dry + canned food, and, in the morning, we've switched to just dry, saving the canned stuff for afternoons.

Didn't help.

Every morning, little piles of used kibble on the floor. And we haven't had this problem at all with her afternoon meal - just the mornings.

Finally, a couple of days ago, my husband started just giving HALF of her breakfast first thing - that is, half of her quarter cup of kibble - and, after I get back from walking the dog, I give her the other half. After, of course, treat time!

My thinking was that if she just SLOWS DOWN a little maybe she can process it a little better.

So far, we haven't found any sign that she's been yorking anything up, so I'm hoping that's that.

I'm wondering if I should still be concerned - I mean, do we have an eating disorder or something? Should I go ahead and take her to the vet? Her annual exam is just a couple of months from now, and, honestly, I hate to take her if I don't need to, because it's expensive, PLUS they work very hard to convince me that she "needs" nine hundred different tests and procedures. (I'm going to pay $600 to CLEAN her TEETH? Really? People really do that?)

I do otherwise like her vet, and they're about 5 minutes from me, which is why we stick with these people - I figure I can put up with the hard sell once a year. I've already moved Jar from this office, though, with good reason.

So. . . anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? At this point, we're still kind of treading lightly when we go down to the basement (apparently her favorite barfing area), just in case.

[*Z*]

I'd take her to the vet. It could be nothing but it might be something. If it is nothing, one thing you can try is to get some practice plastic golf balls and put them in her dish with her food. She will have to slow down to eat around them. The downside is if she wants to play with them, they will end up everywhere ( I know this from experience)
Oh and BTW I am one of those people who have paid $600+ to get my Rajacat's teeth cleaned (3 different times) It costs so much b/c they have to sedate them. My poor old Raja needs his gums laser abraded again really bad but he is so skinny that I don't think he would make it through another cleaning. So I deal with his horrible stinky rotten breath and hope like hell he isn't in a lot of pain. I have numbing cream to put on his gums but he won't let me do it. The last time I tried, he punctured my fingernail and the opposite side of my finger with two of the few teeth he has left.

[Krislady]

Yikes, Z! I hope I didn't say anything to offend you?

Minerva doesn't seem to be having any trouble with her teeth - in fact, up until the vet's office started the hard sell, they'd always noted how clean and healthy her teeth were for a cat her age. Somehow, suddenly, she went from clean and healthy to "we recommend you sedate your cat and spend all the money you have getting her teeth cleaned."

I have a coworker whose dog needed lots of dental work, but she actually NEEDED it, you know?

[*Z*]

No worries! No offense taken!
Raja has VERY bad mouth issues. He has BAD gum disease and has had to have his gums zapped with the laser to burn off the infected tissue all 3 times he had work done. He really needs it done again. I know his mouth is bothering him but he is very old (18 in people years) and I don't think he could make it through being put under again. I love my Raja very very much. He is my bed buddy-has slept cuddled with me for YEARS and years. He has taken to sleeping on my head now. If I move and get my hair out from under him, he will move so he is on my hair again! LOL Silly old man.

[Olive*]

Is your kitty constipated? Cats will throw up.....alot, if they are constipated. It is common for older cats to begin to have digestion problems if they have been fed a dry cat food for years. I had the same problem with my cat when he was around 14 years old. I changed his diet to raw.....no dry cat food, canned food, or treats. He is 19 now, and doing good!

[Krislady]

Huh I'll have to, uh, check her litter box.

Since we've started splitting up her breakfast, though, she seems to be doing better - no signs of barf anywhere! Plus, with the added bonus that, since she's actually FOR REAL still hungry when we do treat time, she's a lot more agreeable when the dog comes in and lies down next to her.

Or at least less disagreeable. She's still determined to hate on the dog.

They've both learned that if there are ANY shenanigans - from EITHER of them - treat time is over. Seems you CAN teach an old cat new tricks.

[Olive*]

Krislady wrote:
Huh I'll have to, uh, check her litter box.

Since we've started splitting up her breakfast, though, she seems to be doing better - no signs of barf anywhere! Plus, with the added bonus that, since she's actually FOR REAL still hungry when we do treat time, she's a lot more agreeable when the dog comes in and lies down next to her.

Or at least less disagreeable. She's still determined to hate on the dog.

They've both learned that if there are ANY shenanigans - from EITHER of them - treat time is over. Seems you CAN teach an old cat new tricks.

lol, i know! I never paid much attention to my kitty's poop habits. But he started to throw up alot in the mornings after eating a small amount of kibble. After awhile, he got very very sick.

[Krislady]

Well, she seems to be doing better. Litter box is, uh, as it should be.

She hasn't had any instances of upchucking that I've seen any sign of, so that's good.

Husband's been giving her half of her ration of dry food in the morning, then, a couple of hours later, she gets the rest, along with a few treats, and she seems to doing just fine with it.

She even came out and played for a little while yesterday afternoon while the dog was out walking. A little laser pointer, a little catnip ball, a stuffed thingy with a jingle bell that she tried to kill. . .

Oh, and she's loving a little bit of plain yogurt - maybe half a tablespoon or so after breakfast. And she seems to be tolerating that well too. I know she looks forward to it - I can tell by the way she hangs around meowing at me until I give it to her. :Roll:

I wonder if, as she gets older, she's just changing - needing more smaller meals instead of fewer larger ones.

Maybe it's kitty menopause. . .

[Olive*]

Krislady wrote:
Well, she seems to be doing better. Litter box is, uh, as it should be.

She hasn't had any instances of upchucking that I've seen any sign of, so that's good.

Husband's been giving her half of her ration of dry food in the morning, then, a couple of hours later, she gets the rest, along with a few treats, and she seems to doing just fine with it.

She even came out and played for a little while yesterday afternoon while the dog was out walking. A little laser pointer, a little catnip ball, a stuffed thingy with a jingle bell that she tried to kill. . .

Oh, and she's loving a little bit of plain yogurt - maybe half a tablespoon or so after breakfast. And she seems to be tolerating that well too. I know she looks forward to it - I can tell by the way she hangs around meowing at me until I give it to her. :Roll:

I wonder if, as she gets older, she's just changing - needing more smaller meals instead of fewer larger ones.

Maybe it's kitty menopause. . .

Probably true! Those blasted hormones!

[Saralaya]

Krislady wrote:
Our Minderva kitty's about 11 years old - she was severely overweight for a while (who knew you couldn't free feed ALL cats?), which I'd imagine put a strain on her. (She reached about 20# at one point, and now she's down to about 11 or so.)

Anyway, suddenly she starting (sorry about this) regurgitating her breakfast every morning. (Regurgitating undigested food, rather than vomiting partially digested food.) (I said sorry!)

We had been feeding a mix of dry + canned food, and, in the morning, we've switched to just dry, saving the canned stuff for afternoons.

Didn't help.

Every morning, little piles of used kibble on the floor. And we haven't had this problem at all with her afternoon meal - just the mornings.

Finally, a couple of days ago, my husband started just giving HALF of her breakfast first thing - that is, half of her quarter cup of kibble - and, after I get back from walking the dog, I give her the other half. After, of course, treat time!

My thinking was that if she just SLOWS DOWN a little maybe she can process it a little better.

So far, we haven't found any sign that she's been yorking anything up, so I'm hoping that's that.

I'm wondering if I should still be concerned - I mean, do we have an eating disorder or something? Should I go ahead and take her to the vet? Her annual exam is just a couple of months from now, and, honestly, I hate to take her if I don't need to, because it's expensive, PLUS they work very hard to convince me that she "needs" nine hundred different tests and procedures. (I'm going to pay $600 to CLEAN her TEETH? Really? People really do that?)

I do otherwise like her vet, and they're about 5 minutes from me, which is why we stick with these people - I figure I can put up with the hard sell once a year. I've already moved Jar from this office, though, with good reason.

So. . . anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? At this point, we're still kind of treading lightly when we go down to the basement (apparently her favorite barfing area), just in case.

Hi Kris...sorry I was away from the computer until just now....you've gotten some good answers from folks, but here's my two cents worth!

Shadow often eats too fast and then throws up undigested food, partly because Stella will shove her out of the way and go after her bowl if she wants it. She doesn't do it as often any more because I got two "slow feed" bowls" for the dry food. They're ceramic bowls with a little raised piece in the middle so they have to eat around it.Seems to help. I also feed dry and wet at separate times and that seems to help.

As for free feeding....I also found out the hard way that all cats cannot be free fed! Stella eats (pardon me dog folks) like a dog... you put food down and she will eat till it's gone! We are on a slimming diet with her now... so far, not so much luck.

As for the dental care.... I'm afraid she really does need it. All kinds of bad things can happen from dental problems: cardiac issues included. The cat has to be under anesthesia to have her teethe cleaned, thus the cost. If she will let you brush her teeth, she wouldn't need it as often.... but good luck with that! I do give my girls "dental treats" which are extra crunchy and supposed to help remove tartar...possibly not but it makes me feel better!

If she hasn't had any blood work done at the vet in a long time (or ever) especially at her age, it would be a good idea to take her in and let them check her over and see what they suggest as the minimum tests needed. I would call them because this is something new she's doing (the throwing up) and it is possible that she is having a medical problem that is causing her to throw up the undigested food. She could be constipated, that could cause that too- I think you were going to check her litter. Anyway, a call to the vet and a quick check up seems to be the best idea.

[Saralaya]

*Z* wrote:
No worries! No offense taken!
Raja has VERY bad mouth issues. He has BAD gum disease and has had to have his gums zapped with the laser to burn off the infected tissue all 3 times he had work done. He really needs it done again. I know his mouth is bothering him but he is very old (18 in people years) and I don't think he could make it through being put under again. I love my Raja very very much. He is my bed buddy-has slept cuddled with me for YEARS and years. He has taken to sleeping on my head now. If I move and get my hair out from under him, he will move so he is on my hair again! LOL Silly old man.

Awww *Z*... what a sweet boy Raja is..... have you asked your vet if they do any dental work under light sedation, not total anesthesia? I think there are some new procedures out there...Shadow need to go for her yearly check up (which by now would be her 15 month check up... ) and she needed a tooth removed last time we were there. What fun it was bringing her back two weeks after the check up for the procedure.... did I mention that Shadow turns into a snarling wild cat when I try to get her into the carrier?

*Z* I know how much you love Raja....may he continue to sleep on your hair as long as possible. ((( )))

[Krislady]

Thanks, Sara.

I have both of their blood work done every year, hers because of her age and (former) weight, and his because of the medications. So far, she's always been good.

The litter box was good. You know, for a litter box. And she does seem to have resolved the barfing issue - she hasn't had any sign of in several days, and she's acting fine. She's still STARVING in the morning (oh my gosh, you'd think she NEVER gets fed!) (but she's always been like that), and we've switched to feed just dry then, and the canned in the afternoons.

Husband gives her just enough, I think, to take the edge off - we use a quarter cup measure, and he gives her about half, leaving the other half for later.

Then she gets her treats (I also make sure to give her the dry dental treats along with bits of yummy yummy chicken), THEN she gets the rest of breakfast. Then a little bit of plain yogurt, because she loves it.

I think, at this point, as long as she's not having any problems, I'm going to wait for her annual vet's appointment - it's soon, I know, but I can't remember exactly when. They'll send me a reminder post card, though.

I dunno, maybe I was just feeling guilty because I've spent so long fussing about Jar's health and Kitty wasn't getting enough attention. Thanks again for all the suggestions from everyone.