? Wet Food Causing Vomiting

I have 2 cats, one with diabetes (Mittens) and the other is "normal" (Midnight). Mittens has been diabetic since February (probably since Nov., but just realized he is diabetic since Feb.), and I've switched to low carb wet food and Lantus, which has worked to keep his BG's in a normal range for non-diabetic cats.

Midnight has had a really hard time with the wet food. He throws up 2-4 times daily now. I've tried switching out what is in it, from chicken to salmon to turkey to tuna to beef, yet he continues to throw up no matter what I feed him. Neither of them drink much water anymore either. Just out of curiosity, I tested Midnight's BG before I fed them this morning and it happened to be 83 - exactly the same as Mittens this morning and both within the range of a normal BG

I'm feeding Fancy Feast Classic and Flaked varieties, all of them with less than 10% carbs. They are about 16 lbs. and 19 lbs. (Midnight is larger), so I'm feeding 3-4 cans twice daily.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is best to feed without this problem? Since Mittens BG's are doing so well, I'm considering going to M/d dry food, which is 14% carbs and should be good for Mittens and his history of being blocked. Under either case, I cannot feed separately.

 

I have 6 cats, Goofus is diabetic, just diagnosed last December. I've tried, over the years to switch all of my kitties to wet food, but Sweetie Cat wouldn't touch it, didn't eat for 3-4 days so I gave up. Goof, after so many tries I can't count them all, vomits EVERY TIME he eats it. He liked it, but no matter how much or what kind, he vomits.

I feed Evo Cat and Kitten, dry, with no problems. It's 12% carbs, which is lower than the "prescription" food. I buy it at chewy.com, about $35 For 15lbs, free shipping up you spend $49.

 

If Mittens has urinary issues, I would look for low phosphorus foods and avoid seafood.

here's a good list created by a member for her cat.....
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...13IwWZ-sFcg-wQQuLiliklP5Y/edit#gid=1160489850
the nature's variety brand , any flavor would be good.
3% - Nature's variety Instinct Grain free Chicken – 302
3% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Beef – 248
2% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Lamb 262
1% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Duck 191
0% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Venison 330
? - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Rabbit ?

I would try other wet foods first before letting the dry food back in the house.
It could be the fancy feast that's bothering him or he has an allergy to something in it.

see how he does on other brands....

 

Hi Michael! I have a few questions---is Mittens vomiting close to his meal times? How many times a day a day and how much are you feeding at each meal? Is the vomit just food or is he also vomiting up clear or yellow liquid at times? Are his stools normal?

I'm asking because I've had multiple cats that vomit up wet food because they eat too fast. The problem was easily solved by feeding smaller portions more frequently throughout the day. It wouldn't be a bad idea to give him some Fortiflora (kitty probiotic) for a few weeks and see if that helps resolve the situation. It doesn't take much for the bacteria in a cat's GI system to get out of whack, and the Fortiflora works really well to help resolve that. I would also try feeding him a food with a simpler protein source (i.e. no byproducts) to make sure that he's not intolerant to something in the Fancy Feast. The instinct mentioned above is a good food, or you can try Wellness (both the regular and Core varieties). Weruva is great, too, but a bit pricy. I strongly agree that you should try other foods before going back to the dry--even the lower carb dry foods can cause problems with regulation because of the way it is manufactured. Also, cats on canned diets are much better hydrated, which is important to their general health and helps prevent urinary tract and kidney problems.

How old is he? If it's not the portions or the Fancy Feast that's the problem, then there could be an underlying condition that is causing the vomiting, and a vet visit would be in order. Cats with kidney issues (and most older cats that have been on a dry diet long term have them) can vomit a lot because their stomachs are very acidic, and that can be helped with low phosphorus foods and some pepcid (1/4 tab once a day). But there's other conditions that can cause it, too--Pancreatitis, liver problems, parasites, etc. But I would start with the portions and diet, because that's the more likely culprit.

 

Julia - No, Mittens is not vomiting. Midnight (the non-diabetic) is vomiting. He is vomiting close to his meals and not close to his meals... it seems to happen sporadically throughout the day. A lot of it contains fur and there is definitely clear liquid, but I'm not seeing any bile. His stools seem somewhat dry. I'm feeding 3-4 cans (for both cats) twice daily.

He is 8.5 years old and the vomiting started recently when I switched to Fancy Feast. As I think this through, I am thinking it might be an issue with fur accumulation. I'm not sure why it is worse with wet food, though.

 

Check the Fancy Feast cans for gluten; some cats are sensitive to it.

 

I have found that feeding the wet over a number of smaller meals helps with both the regurgitation type vomiting and the other kind where they vomit on an empty tummy. I also spread it out in a flat surface so it slows down how quickly it gets eaten.

I also use grain free wet food and this has seemed to have helped.

 

Feeding several smaller meals is not much of an option. I work FT in a 3-person department that happens to be short 1 person right now... and it's our busiest time of year. Also, I'm a FT grad student. As it is, I struggle to be home every 12 hours to test Mitten's BG, give insulin, and feed them both.

 

Freeze half of a meal ahead of time to be eaten as it thaws and/or pick up a timed pet feeder such as the Pet Safe 5.

 

Bandit eats four times a day--at 7am/pm and 1am/pm. If I feed him more than 1/4 of a 5.5. oz can or half a 3oz can in a sitting, he sometimes pukes his food right back up. I freeze portions of cat food and set the two auto-feeders (1 for each cat) for the 1am and 1pm feedings, and it works great. If you feed each cat in seperate locations in your houson a regular basis (it could be as far away as a different room, or as close as opposite ends of the kitchen if they are good about not eating each other's food), then they start to run to that location automatically when they hear the feeder go off. Or, if your cats aren't food hounds like mine, you can just leave the frozen food out without the feeder. I can't do that with mine because they will both immediately gnaw on the frozen nugget until it's gone.

2 cans per cat sounds about right! You can divide them up into half a can at a time. I use the snack sized ziploc bags for freezing portions.

The Petsafe is a popular feeder and a lot of people like it! If you need something less expensive, I use a feeder similar to this one and they work well.

Puke that just contains hair/clear liquid are hairballs--and they are gross but completely normal. You can get hairball remedy stuff at the pet store that may help with those. Just make sure not to give it to your diabetic--they usually contain sugar.