Hello

I'm new here and would welcome some advise.

I recently bought a young Siamese cat but I'm having problems with feeding her. She used to eat dry Iams but has been throwing up about once a day since I got her. I have tried her with wet food, also other dry food but she throws up every day. I've tried starving her for 24 hours then feeding bland food. Currently I'm feeding her boiled chicken and she is now only throwing up occasionally.

What would be the best way to introduce her back onto normal food and to stop her throwing up?

She prefers dry food but will eat wet. The previous owner just said she's always a bit like that, but not every day. I think she may just be upset by moving home but would expect her to settle down now.

I'll read through all the threads on here about what to feed them. Just wondered what's best to start with. Or is this something that is typical for Siamese?

P.S sorry I should add that she is happy in herself, not losing weight and has been checked over by the vet who can find nothingwrong with her.

Anyone got any ideas?

Today she has been sick after eating boiled chicken too. She does guzzle a bit but she is not sick straight away so not sure it is because of eating too fast. Most of the food has contained chicken? Is that possibly a problem?

I could order food online (have read all the info about wet food here) but I don't want to buy boxes of something when Idon't know if she will eat it. Or rather if she will be sick. I was considering trying Hilife in pouches because I can buy one or two pouches to test. Would that be ok? I think they do a fish variety.

Should I try some tuna or fish? What sort of fish would be a good one to start with? Would it be possible to feed her that or would she need supplements like vitamins etc.?

Thanks for any advise.

Hey Smith1971, welcome to the forum.

How old is your little girl? And how long have you had her? You say that she hasn't lost weight but has she gained weight?

You say that you have taken her to the vets and that they couldn't find anything wrong with her. What did they do to come to that conclusion? Did they suggest that it might be dietary?

Personally, I would box her up tomorrow and take her to another vet for another opinion, some/more tests and advice. A vomitty kitten isn't normal and I don't think any of us here on a forum can advise you with anything other than to seek out another vet.

Please let us know how you get on and what another vet's suggestion of her problem is. All the best x

I dont think the throwing up thing is a particularly a Siamese thing, have had this happen with our other Moggy cat, usually when she had been out all night then come in for breakfast.

We think she was helping herself somewhere else then coming home and pigging out.

I now feed small feeds several times per day and that has helped, maybe it would be worth trying if your cat tends to gulp down food

__________________

Hello and thanks for your reply.

My girl is just over a year old. I've had her about 10 weeks now. She has put on just a little weight, she weighs about 7 and a half lbs (my scales aren't very exact). She was thinner when I got her.

The vet didn't do any tests both times she was there, he checked her over, mouth, eyes, ears, felt her tummy very thoroughly and said she seemed very healthy and asked what I feed her. He suggested some of the better foods like Hills (I have gathered that is not the opinion on here!) He thought she might be a sensitive cat, said "posh cats often are". Didn't suggest tests because she seemed fine.

Thank you. I have been feeding very small amounts spaced out throughout the day. She doesn't go out so can't help herself anywhere else.

If her throwing up was due to her gulping down food, wouldn't she throw up straight after eating, not an hour later? That was my first thought, but I'm not sure.

Yes, if she was vomitting it back up because she had eaten too quickly or jumped around too much afterwards than the food would come back almost immediately.

It could very well be that she is "sensitive" or "reacting" to something, which by all accounts includes chicken now though she initially seemed to be ok with it, right?

But it is something that you should discuss further with the vet - i.e. next steps, such as possible elimination diet, allergy test, other possible tests etc.

At the end of the day, she may look healthy but something is obviously not quite right and that needs to be investigated imo.

Thanks. She has never stopped vomiting, just vomits less often whilst on boiled chicken.

The vet didn't mention tests of any kind, he seemed quite happy with her so I didn't think of asking about tests.

Another thing is her tummy makes funny noises a lot of the time.

I'm happy to do an elimination diet myself if I know where to start.

Did you mention the stomach noises to the vets? That coupled with the persistent vomitting seems to suggest to me that there is a gastro-intestinal issue, perhaps something like IBS or IBD (which may or may not have food triggers).

I know that I am a pain in the derriere for advising you to go back to the vet when you have already been and your cat has been declared healthy. But she isn't quite right (vomitting and stomach noises) and it really should be investigated further. You seem to have tried a lot (including a bland diet, which helped but didn't eradicate the problem) so it is now only right that more avenues will get explored. And we will be here to listen and to help where we can.

But please take her back to the vet or another vet for more help.

Thank you for your advice. The people who had her before have been saying it's just the way she is and don't bother with the vet, that the cat is seeking attention, but this seems like rubbish to me.

I will go back to the vet and ask them to do some tests. I know this sounds stupid but can't remember if I mentioned the stomach noises when I was there, I think I meant to but didn't want to interrupt him and he seemed so sure the cat was fine and then I forgot. So I'll go back and discuss that with him.

Thanks ever so much for the help. Previous owner made me feel like I am going over the top worrying about it. I can't bear to see her suffer like this. Don't want to accept she'll be like this for ever.

If it is an intolerance, is it likely that there will be some variety of food she can eat, or will she need special food from the vet like Hills? Might it just be that she can't eat chicken flavour but fish might be ok? Just trying to get my head round it ...