Fast-acting Medicine for Cat Vomiting Relief

Vomiting is often a form of selfprotection in animals, with cats being particularly prone to this reflex. Clinically, there are numerous causes of vomiting, which can be categorized into physiological and pathological conditions. These include gastrointestinal dysfunction, issues with other abdominal organs, systemic or metabolic diseases, and drug toxicity. Pathological vomiting can lead to complications such as decreased blood volume, pH and electrolyte imbalances, esophagitis, aspiration pneumonia, and malnutrition.

In young, unvaccinated animals, infectious diseases should be the first suspicion. For older animals, consider conditions like kidney dysfunction, tumors, and endocrine disorders as potential causes.

Foodrelated side effects, such as changes in diet, overeating, or the type of food consumed, can trigger immediate vomiting after eating. If vomiting occurs 810 hours after eating and involves undigested or semidigested food, it may indicate a blockage in the stomach due to foreign objects, mucosal hypertrophy, tumors, or polyps. Early morning vomiting of bilecolored fluid might suggest gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Contents of the vomit can provide clues: undigested food suggests a gastric source; digested vomit containing bile points to an intestinal source; fecal odor indicates a possible blockage in the lower intestines or overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine; bile in the vomit suggests the absence of pyloric obstruction; and blood in the vomit (either fresh or occult) may indicate gastrointestinal erosions, ulcers, tumors, or metabolicrelated ulcers caused by renal failure, adrenal insufficiency, or other metabolic disorders.

Checking the mouth is also crucial, as it may reveal jaundice, uremic taste, and smell, ulcers, or linear foreign objects at the base of the tongue, which could be the cause of vomiting and may lead to intestinal obstruction or intussusception.

Other examinations include: fever may indicate infection; auscultation of a heart rate that is too slow or irregular in vomiting animals may suggest metabolic disorders (such as adrenal insufficiency); abdominal palpation that reveals distension or tympany may indicate gastric dilation or torsion; the presence of effusions (peritonitis), masses, or organomegaly (such as tumors, intussusception, or foreign bodies) may cause pain; and intestinal gas and fluid accumulation suggest a blockage, such as from a linear foreign body that can lead to intussusception.

Rectal examination can provide information about the colon's mucosa and stool characteristics; upper gastrointestinal bleeding can lead to melena. Colitis or chronic constipation can also cause vomiting.

In cases where the cause of vomiting is unclear, consider whether it might be related to the nervous system, especially if there are symptoms of vestibular disease, such as nystagmus, head tilt, and ataxia. Dogs with intervertebral disc disease may exhibit vomiting due to pain or secondary intestinal obstruction.

Acute vomiting may be selflimiting and can be managed symptomatically. Most vomiting cases are related to dietary indiscretion.

For all animals with gastrointestinal symptoms, a fecal examination should be conducted to rule out parasitic factors; environmental toxin investigation is crucial, as ethylene glycol poisoning often presents with acute vomiting followed by kidney failure. Unvaccinated young dogs should be tested for canine distemper, as this disease often starts with vomiting followed by diarrhea.

Imaging studies should be considered when there is abdominal fluid or gas accumulation, to determine conditions such as gastric dilatation and torsion, gastrointestinal foreign bodies, or obstructions. Severe acute vomiting with systemic symptoms requires laboratory and imaging tests.

Chronic vomiting that persists for 57 days or does not respond to symptomatic treatment should be further investigated. Determine if there is blood in the vomit, look for gastric ulcers; check for the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and assess for gastric tumors and systemic mastocytosis. Further investigation of unexplained hematemesis may require measuring serum gastrin concentrations (which increase in gastrinomas). Animals with palpable masses should undergo imaging studies and possibly exploratory surgery.

For most chronic vomiting cases, routine laboratory and imaging tests can establish the cause and guide appropriate treatment. Special tests, such as serum tests for viruses and heartworms in cats, thyroid tests, adrenal cortex tests, and bile acid tests, may be necessary.

When nongastrointestinal causes of chronic vomiting are not found, focus on gastrointestinal causes. Procedures like endoscopy, radiographic contrast studies, ultrasound, or laparotomy may be necessary.

Inflammatory damage is the most common cause of chronic vomiting related to the gastrointestinal system, such as gastritis and colitis caused by Helicobacter pylori. Feline inflammatory bowel disease often presents primarily with vomiting. Endoscopy can diagnose conditions caused by gastric pyloric antrum mucosal hypertrophy, polyps, foreign bodies, or tumors.

Gastric emptying obstruction, which can lead to gastric dilation, can cause vomiting. Imaging studies can diagnose obstructive intestinal injuries, such as foreign bodies, intussusception, or tumors. Only after excluding these diagnoses should gastrointestinal dysfunction be considered.

Treatment for unknown causes is often a trialanderror diagnostic process. Once the correct diagnosis is made, symptoms of metabolic disorders can be controlled as the cause is resolved or eliminated. For druginduced vomiting, stop or change the medication and treat symptomatically. For food intolerance or allergies, lowallergen prescription diets can be used. Surgical intervention may be necessary for gastrointestinal foreign bodies, obstructions, or intussusception. Hepatitis, bile duct or gallstone disease, and pancreatitis can be treated causally.

In this case, where a cat is vomiting yellow fluid and having diarrhea, first rule out canine distemper, and then focus on gastrointestinal treatment.