My cat has been sick for two weeks – what can I do?

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.

An article that might be helpful to you is When to Consider Euthanasia in Cats

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra