Vet Blog
11/11/09
Can Cats have bulimia? My cat Snickers throws up all the time. When he’s mad at you, especially. I give him foods with hairball control but, it seems he does it to try to control his people. If he gets upset about something, he will get right beside you and puke. What can I do to stop this?
Dana
Montgomery, AL
Many folks joke about “kitty bulimia”. Cats with this syndrome eat large meals and then promptly vomit. They may then be hungry again.
The syndrome looks just like bulimia in humans. But it isn’t actually bulimia. True bulimia has not been documented in cats.
Cats who vomit frequently almost always have a medical condition that causes vomiting. Such medical conditions include inflammatory (aka infiltrative) bowel disease, food intolerance, infestation with parasites, liver problems, kidney problems, glandular conditions such as thyroid disease, intestinal conditions, and tumors in the abdomen.
Stress can cause predisposed cats (and humans) to vomit. This is probably why Snickers vomits when he is upset. I doubt that Snickers vomits purposefully in order to punish you. Vomiting is very unpleasant, and the activity punishes the individual who vomits more than the individual who has to clean it up.
A change in diet to something easily digestible (a so-called sensitive stomach formula) may help with the problem. But the best thing would be a trip to the vet for tests that may give insight into why Snickers is so predisposed to throwing up.
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06/03/09
 What is the best way to treat car sickness for dogs? We’re planning a cross country trip with our newly adopted Border Collie. He is not car saavy, and we’re trying to get him used to riding.
He’s getting better, but I don’t want him to be sick on our trip. Any ideas?
Karla
Los Angeles, CA
Carsickness is quite common in puppies, cats, and kittens. Some adult dogs also suffer from the syndrome.
In my experience, carsickness has two root causes. One is anxiety. Puppies who are not yet habituated to car travel often throw up or have diarrhea (or, best of all worlds, both) when they travel in vehicles. Cats and kittens are naturally agoraphobic and often become nervous whenever they are away from home.
True motion sickness also contributes to carsickness in pets.
It sounds like you are already working on my number one recommendation: get your pet used to the car. One patient of mine would throw up as soon as the car was started. His owners beat the problem by keeping him in the car for thirty minutes each day (naturally, they used common sense–the car was not parked in the sun!) without starting the engine. They gradually worked through starting (and immediately stopping) the engine, to backing out of the driveway and stopping, to going around the block, to going to the park, to driving across the country.
Pets that suffer from refractory carsickness may benefit from medications to prevent the syndrome. Cerenia is an anti-nausea medicine that is labeled for preventing carsickness in dogs. Diazepam (Valium) and dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) also may be effective in some individuals. Medicines should be used only under the direction of a veterinarian. They also should be used only as a last resort, after habituation has failed.
For more information on carsickness, go to my website:
http://drbarchas.com/carsickness
Photo: Buster’s only complaint is that he never gets to drive.
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02/27/09
 Clients often ask me why their pet eats grass. “Eating grass” is the most popular search term on the Vet Blog. Clearly, people want to know the cause of grass eating.
Sadly, nobody knows why dogs eat grass. Plenty of theories are out there, but none of them has been proved conclusively.
Some dogs (a minority) eat grass regularly. These individuals graze frequently when they have the opportunity. They may like the taste of grass, or they may enjoy the act of chewing plant matter. Whatever their motivation, the activity is generally harmless as long as no chemicals have been applied to the lawn.
For most dogs, eating grass is correlated with gastrointestinal upset. Many dogs will eat grass before vomiting or having diarrhea. This has lead some people to conclude that dogs eat grass to make themselves throw up.
I am very skeptical about that. Although throwing up often relieves nausea, the act of vomiting is unpleasant. In my experience, dogs do not purposefully engage in activities that are unpleasant, regardless of whether the activity in question makes them feel better in the long run. Let’s face it: dogs are generally short sighted.
I consider it more likely that dogs eat grass because they feel sick, and then they throw up the grass because they were going to throw up anyway.
But this does nothing to answer the original question. Why do so many dogs crave grass when they are nauseated? I’d be curious to find out what the readers think.
Photo: Sakura chows down. If only she could tell us why.
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02/01/09
 our cat whiskers has all the symptoms of IBD and
we have 5 other cats and 2 dogs the vet we went to
didn’t tell us of and exploitory surgry untill
she was to week to do anything and we want to know
if any other animal could get it?
audra
La Porte, IN
I don’t understand your question perfectly, but I think you are asking whether IBD (short for inflammatory or infiltrative bowel disease) can spread from one pet to another. The answer is no.
IBD is a syndrome in which the intestines become chronically inflamed. Its symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss. It can affect cats and dogs.
IBD occurs when the immune system becomes hyperactive in the intestines. A hereditary (genetic) cause is suspected, although some experts have posited that certain bacterial or viral infections may contribute to the syndrome. In my experience, IBD is not contagious.
Several other conditions can cause symptoms that are similar to IBD, and some of these conditions are contagious. Comprehensive testing involving bloodwork, urine tests, X-rays, and ultrasound is frequently necessary to diagnose IBD and rule out other similar conditions. Definitive diagnosis of IBD requires biopsies of the intestines. Exploratory surgery generally is needed for intestinal biopsies.
IBD can be treated in some cases with dietary modification. Severe cases may require medications, such as prednisone, that modulate the function of the immune system.
If you have not already done so, I recommend that you seek further tests for Whiskers. An ultrasound exam performed by a specialist may be particularly useful.
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01/05/09
 My five-month-old cat has been throwing up and having
diarrhea for the last four days. It is not all of
the time, but it is 85% of the time. He plays
normally, eats normally and acts the same. If you
have any ideas what could be wrong with him please
let me know. Thank you!
Tessa
Kinderhook, Il.
Many things can cause otherwise healthy young cats to vomit or produce diarrhea. Intestinal parasites are high on the list.
Young animals are especially prone to infestation with intestinal worms and microscopic parasites called coccidia. These parasites are common causes of diarrhea in kittens and puppies. Severe infestations may cause vomiting as well. Some intestinal worms are potentially contagious to humans.
Adverse reactions to rapid diet changes also may cause the sort of gastrointestinal upset that you describe. Foreign objects lodged in the intestines, infection with a number of viruses or bacteria, and inflammatory disorders of the intestines are on the list of causes but are less common.
Your cat needs to see a vet. Be sure to take a stool sample so that he or she can test for parasites. After evaluating your pet and looking at his deworming and vaccination history, the veterinarian will be able to offer an educated assessment of the situation.
Photo credit: click here.
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12/11/08
 When people think of heartworm disease they generally picture dogs as the victims of infestation. However, heartworms, which live in the heart and are spread by mosquitoes, also can infest cats.
Cats with heartworm infestations may show symptoms of heart failure including coughing, inability to exercise, shortness of breath and sudden death. They may vomit chronically. Heartworm disease is fatal in a stunning proportion of cases.
Historically, treatment options for feline heartworm patients have been extremely limited. Cats generally do not tolerate the drugs that are used to treat canine heartworm patients. Veterinarians generally find it impossible to offer any real help to feline heartworm victims.
However, a paper in the November 1, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) discussed a technique that successfully treated two heartworm-infested cats in Texas.
The authors of the paper passed a special type of catheter into the heart through the jugular vein. They used the catheter to snare and remove worms from the heart. Both cats’ symptoms resolved within four weeks.
Sadly, this is not a treatment that will be available at your local vet any time soon. This sort of procedure requires specialists with very sophisticated equipment and skilled intensive care nursing. But I am very happy to know that a viable treatment option for feline heartworm patients may finally be out there.
The study cited in this post is Small, et al J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;233: 1441-1445.
Click here for photo credit.
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11/26/08
 The end of human dinner time tomorrow marks the start of a very dangerous period for the dogs of America.
People, exhausted and bloated, will retire to sofas and armchairs across the country. Dogs will devour unattended turkey carcasses, ransack garbage cans (compost bins in northern California), gobble up giblets, stuff themselves with stuffing, lap up gravy, pilfer pumpkin pie and help themselves to whatever leftovers they can get their paws on.
Dogs that engage in these sorts of activities aren’t bad dogs. They are simply doing what dogs do.
However, many dogs will pay a price for their dietary indiscretion. Some will suffer from transient diarrhea or vomiting as their systems react to rich Thanksgiving food. Others may suffer more serious consequences. Some dogs will develop pancreatitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas. Others may consume turkey bones and develop intestinal obstructions–these dogs will require major abdominal surgery to survive.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy your day. But don’t leave your leftovers unattended, and don’t let your dog have access to the garbage. This will help to ensure a happy and safe turkey day for all members of the family!
Photo credit: Stu Spivak. Photo license: CC.
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10/20/08
 Hairballs (scientific term: trichobezoars) are quite common in cats. Sadly, they are the source of many misconceptions among the people who live with feline companions. In this post I attempt to set the record straight about these misunderstood and quite unsavory moist clumps of hair.
All cats groom. As they do this, they swallow hair. (Hairless cats such as Sphynxes, of course, are exceptions.) Most cats move swallowed hair through their digestive systems and pass it in their feces. Some cats, however, are not able to move the hair through their digestive systems in a normal fashion. This causes hair to clump together in the stomach or intestines–a hairball. Most hairballs are vomited onto the floor, where they are later stepped on by someone living in the house. Rarely, hairballs can cause intestinal obstructions and other problems.
Let’s move on to some hairball fallacies.
Fallacy: cats cough up hairballs. Coughing is a function of the respiratory system. Hairballs are located in the digestive system. Cats do not cough up hairballs. Hairballs are produced by vomiting. Vomiting and coughing can be hard to tell apart in cats. However, if your cat regularly seems to be unproductively trying to bring up hairballs, he is probably coughing. Feline asthma, respiratory infections, and heart conditions are common causes of coughing.
Fallacy: long-haired cats (or cats that groom excessively) are more likely to develop hairballs. All cats consume hair when they groom. It is the cat’s ability to pass the hair through the digestive system, not the amount of hair consumed, that determines whether a hairball forms.
Fallacy: hairballs are not serious medical problems. Evidence presented at the Wild West Veterinary Conference last Friday shows that 80% of hairballs develop because of stomach inflammation. In most instances, hairballs are a symptom of a serious underlying condition such as infiltrative bowel disease.
Any cat that produces hairballs (or that appears to be trying to produce hairballs) should go to the vet. The problem could be more serious than you think.
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08/16/08
 My nine-year-old Orange Tabby has vomited periodically most
of her life. Within the last few months, her
vomiting has increased to the point that I had to
rush her to vet ER. They hydrated her, ran
blood tests, xrays, etc.
Her vet says she is most
likely allergic to her food, so we switched her to
limited ingredient dry food. To combat her
nausea, her vet put her on ground up Pepcid AC,
which she will only consume in a little of the
water from a can of tuna. I also give her a bit
of Kitty probiotics and brush her twice a day.
Her vomiting is not diminishing in spite of all
the treatments and the vet said exploratory
surgery is all that’s left, which is not what he
recommends nor do I want. I even tried her on
raw cat food, which she tried once and vomited and
now won’t touch. Are there any natural means you
could recommend?
Jill
Portland, Oregon, USA
It sounds like you and your cat are going through quite an ordeal!
Many things can cause cats to vomit. Food intolerance, metabolic disorders (such as liver or kidney disease), foreign objects in the stomach, neurological problems, heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, tumors, problems with the pancreas and exposure to poisons are among the many offenders, and this list is far from complete.
However, in cats that have a long history of vomiting that worsens precipitously I am often suspicious of a syndrome called inflammatory (or infiltrative) bowel disease. The syndrome is also known as IBD.
Cats with IBD suffer chronic irritation of the intestines. This leads to vomiting, diarrhea, or both.
Diagnosing IBD can be difficult. A biopsy of the intestines (by means of surgery or endoscopy) is the most definitive method, but it is very invasive and I rarely recommend it.
However, you do not mention that your cat has had an ultrasound of her abdomen. Ultrasound is a powerful, non-invasive and painless diagnostic technique. Skilled ultrasonographers can sometimes diagnose IBD. And they almost always offer insight into the cause of chronic vomiting. I would recommend abdominal ultrasound as the next step for your cat.
If your cat is diagnosed with IBD, several treatment options exist. Dietary modification is the mainstay of treatment, but it sounds like you may have exhausted this possibility. Probiotics help many cats; yours, unfortunately, seems refractory to this treatment.
I have seen many cats with chronic vomiting respond favorably to treatment with medicines that modulate the immune system. Prednisone is most commonly used. As I have mentioned before on this blog, prednisone is a double-edged sword. However, you may want to discuss a trial of the medicine with your veterinarian. It may help solve the problem.
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