need help with my cat!

[nicole114]

He is four years old and up until now has had no health problems and three days ago threw up a clear liquid. He does this every now and then so i thought nothing of it, but the next day he threw up a lot of dark green liquid twice. I also noticed that i hadn't seen him eat lately, which is really strange because he's constantly at his food bowl. I took him to the vet yesterday and he couldn't find anything wrong with him. He checked his intestines to make sure there wasn't a blockage and said everything felt good and also took his temperature and it was normal.  Ha gave him a shot that he said would help with his bowels because he couldn't think of anything else that was wrong with him.  He just seems to be getting worse every day.  I can definitely tell he's dehydrated and just hides in corners and has zero energy.  He does go outside and eats some leaves off of the palm plants we have out there, but theres no grass and nothing else he can get into because its completely fenced in.  I'm not sure if i should take him back to the vet or if its not something that serious since he's already been looked at. Any help would be greatly appreciated because he's really starting to worry me! Sorry this is so long :/

[VARocky]

Hey, was just browsing posts and saw this and thought I'd comment.  I am a Licensed Vet Tech and have experience working at multiple cat vet clinics.  I agree with the others that mentioned about the palm plant possibly being the problem.  That would indeed cause green vomit and an upset stomach.  Of course there are certainly many other causes for an upset stomach that can't always be detected on just a physical exam, however if you are able to keep the kitty inside for a few days and he feels better, then you have your answer.  Though it could take a little bit for his stomach to improve.  Regular Pepcid AC (Famotidine) with nothing else added...ie not Pepcid complete or anything....can help with nausea - 1/4 of a 10mg tablet once to twice daily in the meantime.  Hope he feels better!

[evewisewoman]

Hi there,

You said your kitty eats leaves from the palm plants you have outside.
You also said that your kitty threw up dark green liquid a couple of days
ago. That dark green liquid could very well have been the palm leaves
kitty ate.  I think BluCrystal makes very good points and provides very
interesting information in her post about palm plants and signs of
poisoning. I wouldn't let your cat outside anymore. You might also consider
throwing away those palm plants or giving them away to someone who
doesn't have a pet cat or dad. You have to be so careful with plants when
you have a cat. We didn't want to take any chances with our cat so we don't
have any plants in our house, except for one plant that we have up on a
very high bookcase. You could also take your kitty back to your vet.
Does your vet know that your cat eats palm leaves ?  I would let your
vet know your cat has been eating palm leaves. See if the palm you have
is a Japanese palm . Other palms are probably poisonous too for your cat.
Cats do much better inside where you can monitor them. Good luck. Eve
( owner of Sammy the 9 year old ginger cat )

[BluCrystal]

Question: I recently heard that palm trees are poisonous to cats and dogs. Is that true? We have both types of pets and all kinds of palms in our yard.

Answer: The sago palm, with its hairy, stout trunk and spiky leaves, is a major danger to pets. A national animal poison control center has seen a 200 percent increase in cases involving sago palms since 2003, of which at least half have led to pet fatalities.

Increasingly popular, this Japanese palm is a favorite because it requires little water and little attention, and is sometimes used indoors as well. All parts on the plant are toxic -- not just the nuts.

Signs of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, depression, seizures and liver failure.


I found this on the net.  This could be your kitty's problem.  Blessings - Blu

[boomersdunit]

This sounds alot like my previous cat. He was very healthy, if anything a little on the heavy side. One day we realized he just wasnt eating and he eventually (after a few months) got to the point where anything he did take in, came right back out. The vet started giving him some steroid shots and he got a little better. We switched him to an all natural hypoallergenic food that seemed to help. I would give that a shot - but you may need to start by covering it with some kind of chicken broth or other strong smelling liquid because our boy didnt like it at first and since he was are already not eating, it wouldnt help for him to not only not want to eat, but not like the food.

We also tried feeding him oven cooked chicken and rice which was extremely helpful but was a pain to keep up. If you can manage, this would be your best bet. You can buy the chicken and rice in bulk and freeze it about a month or so in advance. We have 4 cats so it didnt last as long since they all got to eat it. If you have one - this would get you through a while.

If you have other cats, you would need to switch them all over to whatever diet you would choose to go with. It is extremely counterproductive if they get into the "bad food".

Even if you feed high quality generic food like Blue buffalo etc. - if there is an ingredient that doesnt agree with them, it can cause some serious issues in their belly. We never did get a for sure "diagnosis" on our cat, but he did seem to do better on that diet. It did take a few weeks of them eating it consistantly to see improvement.

Hopefully, even if this isnt the problem, you catch whatever it is early. There is a disorder in some cats where when they stop eating for to long their body will actually start to eat itself - our vet referred to it as "fatty liver" disease (there is a scientific name but she used it to keep us "on her level"). Once this sets in, the only solution is tube feeding and you end up with like a 30% chance of switching the body back to digesting food, not organs.

I am not sure if this is whats happening with your kitty, but it does seem similar with what we went through. Hopefully its a very simple fix for you guys!

Good luck! If you ever think you need a vets help, dont hesitate, they know best.