Our 15-year-old cat, Scout, has been under the weather the last couple of weeks.
To look at her you wouldn’t think there’s a thing wrong. She is as playful and loving as ever. Her bowel movements are normal, thanks for asking. However, she pukes. A lot. A portion of everything she eats makes a reappearance within 30-40 minutes of ingestion. Poor baby!
I took her to see the vet a week ago, and all of her vitals were normal. The doc suggested that we stop giving Scout her favorite treats to see if they were too much for her elderly system. Scout did not appreciate giving up her treats. She begged and wheedled and several times convinced Studly Doright to break the rules. I’m made of stronger stuff. I only gave in once.
This afternoon I took my Scout for a follow up visit. She’d lost a half a pound, and for a 10 pound cat that’s significant. I told the vet that Scout’s still puking a bit after every meal even without treats. She took some x-rays, and the great news is there’s no tumor.
However, one of her kidneys is smaller than the other, and her liver has shrunk. Neither of these would result in her puking, though.
The vet said Scout might benefit from a change in diet, so we’re going to try something new. She also said that maybe we could consider an ultrasound.
This is where it gets tough. My girl is 15. That’s 76 in human years. Where do we take this from here? Do I stress my kitty out with multiple vet visits, poking, and prodding? Or do we enjoy her elder years with me cleaning up vomit several times a day? Right now I think we’ll see if the food makes a difference.
Like Scout, I’m elderly. I have undiagnosed digestive issues. I’ve drastically changed my diet, and still I’m dealing with some discomfort. That doesn’t keep me from enjoying my favorite treat from time to time.
Scout’s treats look like this:
Maybe I’ll sneak her one every now and then.
Peace, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 
I hope the diet changes help and Scout feels better soon! Hugs to you and head scritches to Scout.
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Thank you!
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What a sweet girl. It’s so hard to make decisions when they get older. They are so dependent on us humans…
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She is so sweet.
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I want wine now. 🍷😉
But my teen made me eat DQ today and I’m currently in a diabetic coma. Hah.
Maybe a probiotic supplement would help the cat without her having to give up her treats?
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Oh! Good idea! I’ll look those up.
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This is what happened to Sam. He started puking all the time, but we found out that he was blocked up and had to have an enema. Which of course make him puke and poop everywhere! Later on we found out that he had hyperthyroidism. He started losing a lot of weight fast, yet he was always starving and so thirsty. (To the point that he would get in the shower with you and drink the water!) I hope this doesn’t happen to Scout because it was so sad to watch. I hope Scout is feeling better soon!!!! It’s so hard when they feel bad and can’t tell you what’s wrong.
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Thank you. It is awful. Right now she seems quite happy to eat and subsequently puke and eat again. We shall hope for the best.
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We got to that point with our dog. She’s 14 and blood tests showed high liver counts (whatever that exactly means) and we went through several rounds of medications and non-invasive tests. When nothing really came up, I had a long conversation with the vet and asked “Okay, all these other tests you recommend as possible to figure out what is going on, what are they going to reveal?” The answer was pretty simple. The results of ANY further testing would only tell us that what was wrong with her wasn’t something we were going to treat because of her age, ie some type of cancer or one or two other things that would have been horrific on her to treat. The vet was completely on board with us on that. We now just keep her on meds to try and keep things as balanced as we can and hope she stays feeling mostly good. She still is doing well considering, but she does have her bad days here and there. She has also decided that she can pee in the grass, but not poop. That has to be on the patio. She is very much in that “I’m old! I can do whatever the hell I want!” phase of life.
Hopefully the change in diet will help your kitty out. It miserable seeing your pets not doing well. More so than it is with kids sometimes because at least your kids can tell you what they are feeling.
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Thanks for this. We love Miss Scout so much, but I’m not going to go to extreme lengths to keep her alive. She’s been the best friend imaginable and I don’t want to make her miserable just to make me feel better. Sigh.
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It is a really tough place to be. With Izzy, she is showing some really bad signs of arthritis, so the idea of any kind of surgery or anything that would make her weaker, just didn’t sit well with us. As long as she still has a lot more good moments, then that’s good. Keep watching for all the good and get lots of snuggles!
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That’s good advice. She is a snuggler.
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I’m older than Scout, for goodness sake! You are but a chicken
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😊
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We have a couple of bags of those. They are like cat crack. Hope Scout feels better.
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Cat crack is exactly what they are. Our younger cat has taken to sneaking around behind s”Scout’s back to get her “fix.” It’s like I’m running a drug ring.
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Poor Scout! It sounds like you’re doing the right things. I had one that threw up probably twice a day for ten years, and every time the vet couldn’t find anything wrong with her. He said she was a “nervous type”, so it made sense that she and I had found each other! Hope she gets well soon. 🙂
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Thanks! The switch in food seems to be working. And we’ve stopped giving her treats. That’s been tough.
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