Our question this week was:
Dr. Debra – My cat has been sick for two weeks. At first she vomited stomach contents once in a while and then she started vomiting foamy stuff 5 to 6 times a day or more. She has lost weight. She went from 16 lbs to 12 lbs in 5 days. The vet gave her a shot to stop the vomiting and it worked but she still will not eat. She drinks a little water. He started an IV for fluids, did the lab work (which was normal) and is doing an x-ray, (I don’t have the results). I am thinking about putting her down. I don’t want her to suffer. Is this something that she can recover from?
Kate Griffie
Answer
Hi – thanks for your email. You wrote that your cat has been vomiting and has lost about 25% of her body weight. I’d recommend that you continue to have her checked. I don’t know how old she is but that is a large amount of weight loss. IV fluids, blood work, radiographs (X-ray), possibly an ultrasound is a reasonable approach to the diagnosis. It would be nice to have a diagnosis before putting her down so you know what you are dealing with and know for sure if the condition is treatable or not.
I’d worry about a disease called Fatty Liver Disease as one possible problem. Your veterinarian should be able to guide you to that based on the results of the blood work and ultrasound.