Hi everyone,

I've mentioned this before on this forum, but would like to talk about it again if no one objects!

My moggy Tala is now nearing 7 years old. For the past 4-5 years she's had issues with her stomach - vomiting and having loose stools. The vet decided that it was 'probable Inflammatory Bowel Disease'. They did some tests at the time and couldn't find other causes (parasites etc.) and the next step was a biopsy but we were told that it was highly likely it was IBD and that a biopsy would be a bit of a waste of time. She was put on Hills ZD and steroids and something else I can't remember, which seemed to help but not completely, and gradually weaned off the meds until she was just on the ZD.

A few years later I moved to a different area and took her to a new vet who suggested trying the RC version of the ZD (can't remember the name) and she was better on this, but still not perfect.

Shortly after this I moved to the UK for 2 years and my mum has been looking after Tala. Mum said that she wasn't vomiting too much, and the vets always said she was in good condition.

I moved back to NZ about 3 weeks ago and now can see how Tala is for myself. She's physically in very good condition - good weight, shiny coat, generally a happy cat, and her stools are generally fine. However, she's still bringing up her food several times a week. I've also realised that it's not actually vomiting, it's regurgitating as it's always within no more than half an hour after she's eaten (usually sooner) and the food looks exactly the same as it went in!

She's still on the RC food, which we give in small amounts and soaked in water at the advice of the vets.

Now that I've realised that it's actually regurgitation, I'm questioning everything I thought I knew. I was considering trying her on raw in case it was an allergy to something in the food (grain?) but now I don't know if a food allergy would cause regurgitation.

The other thing is I'm assuming that regurgitating a few times a week is abnormal as my previous cat never did, but is it? Maybe it's not actually something to worry about as she's otherwise in good health? Or maybe I need to talk to the vet again?

Thanks

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Is she bolting her food down? Or, I wonder if the kibble is perhaps too small so she is not "chewing/crunching it up" it properly?

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

A raw diet might be helpful, but at least switch to canned. Go for something grain free, with as few fillers (such as fruits and veggies, which are not much better for cats than grains) as possible.

Try a canned food that uses a different protein source than the prescription diet. In other words avoid corn and chicken.

Many cats regurgitate kibble, it is an alien diet to their systems, cats being obligate carnivores, and many cats can't tolerate it.

Adding water to kibble really isn't a good idea. Kibble becomes quickly coated with bacteria when wet.

A probiotic may help, also.

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