My cat with food allergies still throws up often. What can I give her?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Zelda! The most common reason for cats to chronically vomit are food allergies and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If she has IBD she may be having a flare up unrelated to her diet, from a viral infection, worms, she ate something gross, she ate something foreign or has pancreatitis. Also I am not sure if you are using an OTC or prescription based hypoallergenic cat food. Studies have shown the the pet store diets are not as "pure" and chicken free as the prescription diets. I would have Zelda examined by your Vet and have some supportive medications started to stop the vomiting and consider starting a prescription hydrolyzed diet like Royal Canin HP or Purina HA. I hope this helps and I wish you and Zelda the very best!

Certainly mild to moderate food allergies can be the cause of intermittent GI disease, however Shirley's signs seem a bit more serious that what I typically see what food allergies. I hope that you have considered blood work and imaging (x-rays, ultrasound) of the abdomen, because you need to also consider whether this could be due to an intermittent blockage in the stomach or intestines due to a foreign body. Before you consider a diet change to test for food allergies I would want to be sure you have ruled out more serious problems.

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are many different reasons why cats will vomit periodically. It could be an allergy or sensitivity to the food, to inflammation anywhere in the GI tract, pancreatitis, liver or kidney disease, and many more. These cases can be extremely frustrating and take lots of testing to figure out because of this. The first thing I recommend is screening blood work to look for organ dysfunction that could lead to vomiting. In the vast majority of cats who are acting normal other than the vomiting, the blood work is usually normal. X-rays are also performed to look for any obvious change in organ shape or size and to look for obstruction, masses, etc. Beyond that, the testing gets more involved and typically involves an abdominal ultrasound. Sometime this can give you an answer. Other times the only way to confirm a diagnosis is through biopsies of the affected organs. The other thing that is commonly recommended is a change in diet. If there is an ingredient that she is sensitive to, we want to try to eliminate it from her diet. This is best done with a prescription diet because over-the-counter diets can be contaminated with ingredients that are not on the label. Food trials need to be done for at least 6 to 8 weeks and they can't eat anything else during this time. If the vomiting resolves with the new diet, I recommend keeping her on that diet long-term.

Your cat could have allergies and these are commonly seen in cats that are vomiting or have skin issues like this. He may need to be on allergy medication like steroids, or benefit from a strict prescription food allergy diet trial with a food like Royal Canin hypoallergic or Hills z/d.

You can try keeping him on a sensitive stomach food such as Iams limited ingredient, Fromm, or Purina sensitive stomach. However, it sounds like Keeko may have a inflammatory bowel disease and really the prescription diets have more reliable results. Also I would keep in mind that sudden switches from one food to the next can cause upset stomach issues in and of themselves. It is recommend to do a slow transition over the course of 7-10 days whenever you are making a food change. Website link on inflammatory bowel disease https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951476 You should at the very least get her examined and open up the conversation with the vet to do baseline bloodowork to rule out anything major and then ask for a prescription diet for Royal Canin Rabbit and Potato or Roylal Canin hydrolyzed protein diet, or HIll's Z/D Ultra to start her on a food trial. This is just 1 test to run so this should be something you could feasible do to at least get him started on something more reliable and effective. If the vomiting does not improve within a few weeks of being on the food, or if he develops any more symptoms, then he should be worked up further (i.e. abdominal x-rays). I hope that your pet Keeko feels better soon and stops vomiting so frequently. Best wishes and take care!

You could likely keep her on this diet for a long time, but you will definitely see some obvious signs of nutritional deficiencies within two months or so. Chronic vomiting can be difficult to manage and difficult to diagnose. However, the best thing to do is get an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the vomiting. This may require advanced diagnostics such as endoscopy and stomach biopsies, but will be worthwhile for discovering the problem and treating it effectively. Below is a link to an article that explains this further. https://mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/how-to-deal-with-chronic-vomiting-in-cats It's important to get her on a nutritionally balanced food as soon as possible to prevent additional complications, so I recommend following-up with your vet, or seeking an internal medicine specialist. I hope that helps and Cookie gets better soon.

I'm sorry to hear of Ma'ats vomiting. It is good she is receiving treatment for her IBS. I would discuss with your vet about the possibility of a daily medication for the vomiting. There are a number of options available that may be beneficial. You could also consider offering her several small meals through the day to ensure she isnt overeating all at once.