# No poop for 4 days, vomiting in the a.m.



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

My cats have been on full raw for a week. They were at first getting boneless beef chunks, but then I introduced bone-in chicken for the evening meal. Since I introduced the chicken, they haven't had any bowel movements. I'm going to back off on the bone a bit to see if that doesn't get things moving along.

Neither one of them seem distressed at all and their tummies are soft and they do not get upset when I push on them. I do know that rawfed cats don't poop as often, and sometimes particularly in the beginning it can take a bit longer to see any waste. 

Ace, the cat who just had the urinary blockage (struvite crystals) has a vomiting problem.

When he was on dry food, he'd vomit every once in awhile. The food would come out with bits of hair in it.

Post-blockage, the vet put him on Hills s/d. He ate that just fine for two weeks and then started vomiting in the morning after eating. Tried the c/d with the same results (immediate vomiting). When he throws up, all of the food he's just eaten comes out, but a bit more liquid-ey. I'm not finding any hair/hairballs in it. He is not interested in eating after this happens.

Switched him to Wellness canned and he did okay on that for about a week. Then he started vomiting it up in the morning.

Switched him to raw. He was getting canned mixed with raw beef chunks for a few days, then straight up beef chunks. All was well (aside from the no poop) until yesterday morning, when he immediately vomited up his beef. He ate his chicken just fine last night (although he never eats it all). This morning, a few minutes after eating he threw up his beef.

It seems like every time he gets used to a food, he starts throwing it up in the morning.  

I'm concerned because of all the vomiting, and because he's only getting about 1.5 ounces of food per day as a result. He is a neutered male and weighs approximately 13 pounds.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Was there any food he ws okay with? I think you said he was on dry, he'd only vomit every once in a while? Perhaps at this point, you should go back to square one at the moment to give his digestive system a rest and be more stable. Like go back with the dry until he's back to being more or less stable...then try again to switch him to something else.


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## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

Thank you for your response.  Unfortunately, I cannot and will not go back to dry. I'm not willing to risk re-development of the crystals and a reblockage. I know struvite crystals have a lot of different causes, but I think the dry diet definitely contributed, considering that Ace doesn't tend to drink a whole lot of water. 

I think I may try feeding him 3x per day (as was suggested to me on an email list)... maybe his tummy just gets too hungry between the pm and am feedings?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

If he's only throwing up in the morning I would suspect that he's going too long overnight without food. It's pretty common, especially as cats get older. I think going to 3 meals a day is a great idea and make the last one right before bedtime.
As for the poop (or lack of!) situation, 4 days is a _long_ time for them not to go. I would be a little concerned. You can try giving them some canned pumpkin, _plain_ pumpkin, _not _pie mix and add a little extra water to their food to see if that gets them going. I would suspect you may not be doing your raw ratios correctly though. I'd head over to the RAW section and talk to the experts. :wink: 
Hope they produce something soon!


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## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

Been chatting with some rawfeeding folks and they said some of their cats normally go three days between poops on raw.. and sometimes it can take longer in the beginning. They do also think I'm feeding too much bone, though, so I'm going to back off on that, and try a bit of liver to try and get things moving. I'm also going to scour the house tomorrow to make sure they simply haven't decided to go elsewhere... which has happened before. 

As far as the pumpkin is concerned, I know with dogs a tablespoon or two firms up stool, and more than that has the opposite effect. Do you know the dosages for cats?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I always just give about a teaspoon (or a blob) with each meal for either direction. Has always worked for them either way depending on what they needed. It's the wonder remedy!  
I have to differ with the people who are saying it's normal to be _constipated_ on RAW.
It is not healthy for any living thing to not be eliminating waste every day. Period. If the cats aren't going to the bathroom regularly, the diet is not properly balanced. 
Even in the wild, cats don't ONLY eat meat. They do eat a small amount of grasses and they get digested grains, berries etc from their preys stomachs and hair/fur. Not something we can easily replicate feeding RAW at home by buying meat. I would consider getting your cat some kitty grass, which should help. And/or adding a little grated raw zucchini into the food. Just cutting back on the bone and adding a wee bit of fiber should keep things moving.


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## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

We had poop yesterday! Hooray!!! Two different locations... so I'm pretty sure it was one from each kitty. 

I backed off on the bone. I think feeding bone every day was too much.

Here is my dilemma, however:

Yesterday at 6:30pm, I fed boneless beef. No vomiting.
Before bed at 12:30pm, I fed boneless beef. No vomiting.
This morning at 9:30am, I fed boneless beef. Vomiting. 

My cat has morning sickness!! 

I think I'll try a different meat.. likely chicken... for breakfast tomorrow.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yay! Poop!  
I would try, if you have the time, to give him just a very little bit food in the AM first. Wait 20 min to a half hour and give the rest.
One of the cats I sit for has the same problem and that cleared it up for him.


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## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

nanook said:


> Yay! Poop!
> I would try, if you have the time, to give him just a very little bit food in the AM first. Wait 20 min to a half hour and give the rest.
> One of the cats I sit for has the same problem and that cleared it up for him.


This is a really good idea. I'm going to give it a try!

This morning I fed boneless chicken. No vomit! So odd... Maybe I just have to keep switching up the morning meal, so he isn't getting the same thing all the time.

I'm just worried that he's got something going on... today Bogey was pretty aggressive with him.  They are littermates and although Bogey can get a little rough and tumble, he's usually not so mean. I'm worried there's something wrong that Bogey can sense? Or maybe he's still not over the fact that Ace left a couple of times (vet visits) and came back smelling funny?


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I'm not one to be dispensing advice on diet, I guess. But I hope Ace is doing better!


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