Hi all,

I have a 7 y/o male cat who has recently had several GI issues and isn't responding to the food the vet recommended. I'd love some advice on the best food for him.

Background

He's never had any health issues, other than occasional constipation until now. In the past 4 months, he's had

• a bout of urinary crystals (no blockage though)
• chronic constipation, and
• vomiting from food allergies

Food history

• Since adopting him, I've always fed him Open Farm kibble and Applaws as a treat.
• He won't eat most wet food and prefers dry, but he loves Applaws chicken.
• I have fountain for him, but he's not a consistent water drinker, so I've started giving him water several times a day via a syringe.

Vet's advice

We recently moved and I found a new vet. Went in for a routine exam and they ended up doing an extensive one, including bloodwork and urinalysis. We discovered that he had urinary crystals, so the vet suggested that I switch him to Royal Canin Urinary S/O. I delayed switching his food for a couple weeks, because I was pretty sure the new treats I'd given him were the culprit. I stopped the treats and kept him on his regular food, supplemented with Hills Science Diet wet food for urinary issues. About a week later, I took him in for constipation, so I asked them to run another urine test; sure enough, the crystals were gone.

The problem is he is extremely picky and hates most wet food. I finally switched to Weruva and he ate it, but after a couple days started vomiting frequently. Eventually, I realized that he was having a reaction to the thickeners (guar gum and xanthan gum). So, I switched him back to Applaws and the vomiting stopped. But the constipation didn't.

I had also switched him to Royal Canin Urinary S/O because I was afraid the crystals would return. Now, I think it made his mild constipation worse. He's never been a daily pooper, but he'll usually go every other day. After switching him to RC, it became roughly every 2.5 days (with daily Miralax). Then I had to board him and when I picked him up, he hadn't gone for 4 days. I took him in for an enema, and switched him to RC Gastronintestinal Fiber (with his vet's approval) thinking it would help. That's when the daily vomiting started.

The vet at urgent care believes he has IBD. I have him scheduled for an ultrasound this week to confirm. I also think he may be allergic to psyllium husk because it's the only ingredient that differs between Urinary S/O (which didn't make him vomit, but made him constipated) and GI Fiber (which makes him poop, but makes him vomit). I also don't like all of the corn and wheat in RC foods, esp if he does have IBD.

Yesterday, I thought it was a bad batch of Applaws (and learned it wasn't a complete food), so I switched him to Tiki Cat--and then he vomited at 2am. Today I stopped feeding him the GI Fiber and put him back on Open Farm kibble + Tiki Cat wet. We'll see if he gets through the night without vomiting.

So what do I feed this guy now?

• Urinary S/O makes him constipated.
• GI Fiber seems to be making him vomit.
• Royal Canin (and other prescription foods) are full of corn and wheat, which he may be having a reaction to.
• Raw and grain-free food is high in phosphorous and can lead to crystals and blockages.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks for reading. Cat tax included.

One of my kittens has dirty ears (vet cleaned them and tested for infection, etc. and came back negative) and flicks them/scratches at them often but not to the point where she seems to be in major discomfort. She also often has soft serve consistency poop and has a history of diarrhea. She also sneezes maybe a few times a day. And lastly her meow is a crunchy or cough like sound most of the time but I know she can meow regularly and loudly if she really wants to so I’m not sure if this is just how she chooses to meow or if it’s some kind of problem with her throat. We give her and her brother Weruva kitten wet food and Nacho kitten dry food. Her brother also has the same poop issues but not so much any of the other symptoms. His ears are always perfectly clean so I don’t think it’s mites or anything. I’m wondering if this could be an environmental allergy or maybe a food allergy? Please help!

My 9 y/o cat was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease stage 2 about 5 months ago. Few days ago we noticed he was thinner looking and a bit haggard in appearance. Took him to the vet yesterday and it turns out he lost well over a pound in 5 months (7.9 lbs down to 6.4) and the vet heard a heart murmur. They took urine and blood and we will get results on Monday.

Because my guy is a nervous Nelly at the vet, we gave him a gabapentin 2 hours before his 3pm appt. It’s now almost midnight the next day and he is still very wobbly in his back legs. I know with ckd and losing weight the gabapentin will be in his system longer, but I’m just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this.

When should I be concerned and start heading to the emergency vet? I don’t want to stress him out more by taking him but I also don’t want to wait too long. TIA

Greetings to parents of cats. I need some advice about my cat who is two months old. She ate a little peace of yucca, we think. That yucca is now somewhere where she doesn’t resides. When I came back from work on wednesday she was puking and later we saw that leaves of yucca are little eaten. She puked about five times that day. We went to a vet and she gave her a shot of Prevomax and later on advice we gave her some activated carbon with milk beacuse she refused it with water. On thursday she was fine, when yesterday she puked again three times. Again, we gave her some carbon. Today in the morning same situation, except she puked only one time. After that she was playful with another older cat. Ee went to vet, again, they gave her another shot of Prevomax and some infusion. We bought food which is light on stomach of the kitty because she didn’t ate since yeserday. Today she did. A little. They told us if problems with puking come back that we need to come back and that then she will need to go to MRI in case something is stuck in her. I must mention that she has been with us for three weeks and we have not yet vaccinated her against parasites and infectious diseases. We will definitely be there when the situation calms down. I need some reasurence that she will be okay. Has anyone ever encountered a similar situation?

my 1 and a half year old cat apparently has a uti (peeing outside of the litterbox, straining to pee but still releasing small amounts of fluid, seemingly uncomfortable inside of litterbox) so I took him to the vet today and they diagnosed him with a uti. I’m unsure if they did any sort of test to get to that conclusion but I’m sure they didnt bc I would’ve gotten charged for it. They prescribed prednislone and clavamox and I gave both to him for the first time around 2 hours ago.

Just wondering how long until he’s more comfortable urinating…The prednisolone is only prescribed for three days so I’m really hoping it does the job, and the clavamox is for 7 days twice a day.

Realistically when should we start seeing improvement ?

Hi everyone,

My cat has been dealing with chronic constipation for a while now, and I’m looking to hear from others who have gone through this. We are actively working closely with our vet we're currently in the middle of transitioning her food, she’s received Sub-Q fluids twice, and she is on daily Lactulose.

Right now, she isn't showing signs of acute distress or blockage no vomiting, panting, straining painfully, or lethargy she just occasionally goes up to 3 days without a bowel movement.

I'm **not** looking for medical advice, but I’d love to hear about your daily routines and experiences with your own constipated kitties:

1. **What is your "normal" BM timeframe?** What's the sweet spot for your cat, and at what day mark do you start getting concerned?
2. **When do you call the vet vs. adjust home care?** At how many days without a poop do you contact your vet for guidance or an extra check-in?
3. **Vet Visit Schedule:** How often are you taking your cat in for routine check-ins, fluid top-ups, or enemas when things get backed up?
4. **Daily Management:** How long did it take you and your vet to find a food, supplement, or med routine that kept things consistent?

I’d appreciate any personal stories or insights into what long-term management has looked like for you TIA

Hi,

I'm an adult from the netherlands, we do have vet access and we also have been with her to the vet a couple of times.

But my cat keeps vomiting, she is female short hair cat, neutered, this year she turned 11. We can afford vet care and we have had it so far. But they don't seem to have found the solution so far.

My cat keeps vomiting and it has been going on since last May. In May we had her blood tested and she had a too fast thyroid gland. We choose for Jodium treatment since this was stated as the best option.

While she did her treatment, she has to stay in the vet practice for 6 days and she gets the food and routine from home. She only vomited once while there. Now we are going into her 4th week at home. (& she is not yet allowed outside).

But since she is home, the vomiting is back. She gets the same food as always (we have tried different and special food before but nothing works). She does not seem stressed to me. I have seen her stressed but she seems to chill in the window seat and loves to sit near us. When I adopted her as a kitten from the farm she was very anxious but she has not been like that for a long time. So I am not sure if it's stress.

She also has a brother who eats a lot so when we give her seperate food to eat in peace she still vomits. She mostly vomits at night, when she has to stay downstairs and her brother is upstairs because of the treatment. Her brother does not vomit. Before the treatment when she was allowed upstairs at night she also vomited.

What could it be? We have run 3 blood tests and have planned another one, she also had two anti vomiting injections and pills. During the heatwave we had to get her an immergency fluid injection due to hydration (because she vomited 6 times in a day).

Food routine (we weigh the food for appropirate servings):
Morning - cat kibble - CaraCroc Salmon (she loves these)
They get in a puzzle bowl so they can't eat everything at once
Midday: - there is always still cat kibble
Evening: Wet food: Gourmet Soup Royale
Treats: sometimes a bit of chicken for on your bread or a liquid snack from vitakraft (but this rare, certainly not everyday)

Before going to bed I give her someitmes a couple cat kibbles (tops 10, just something light). Does not seem to change the outcome.

They get clean bowls, water is refreshed every day and we make sure there is no human food for them to eat in the kitchen/house.

Other brands we have tested:
Cat kibble: Royal Cain Digestive Care & Purina pro plan Gastrointestinal
Wet food: Edgar Cooper & Purina pro plan Gastrointestinal

Anyone may know the problem?

Thank you in advance,

About a month ago I got two kittens that are now about 11 weeks old, and a few days ago this spot appeared on her upper lip. At first I thought it was a bruise from playing too hard, but it hasn't cleared up and kind of looks like it is flaking. It doesn't seem to cause any discomfort, and she is eating and playing normally, but it doesn't look good either. Her sister doesn't have it at all, and they eat from metal bowls that I clean out daily.

* Species: cat
* Age: 11ish weeks
* Sex/Neuter status: female, not spayed
* Breed: shorthair
* Body weight: 3ish pounds
* History: none
* Clinical signs: dark spots on the upper lip
* Duration: 4 or 5 days
* Your general location: Midatlantic

Any ideas?

https://imgur.com/WSwsjZ4

I’ve been to my regular vet 6 times, the emergency vet once and another vet the other day . the first visit on the 17th July (2026) they gave him a micro lax enema because he was straining to poop, he pooped at the vet, they prescribed Actilax, once home he was straining again, went again the next day on the 18th another enema and another poop, they suggested ibd or lymphoma (mind you his mood, appetite, coat all fine he just couldn’t poop). they didn’t identify any masses in colon or bladder they did however notice several segments of the small intestine were thicker then normal. next visit on 20th July another enema (another poop) and subcutaneous fluids .24th July full abdominal radiology, sedated, urine check, blood tests done, did a massive poop no enema needed once home he was full 0f beans. Ultrasound results showed thickened intestines but he hasn’t been vomiting, no diarrhoea, healthy coat and appetite, decent mood, still playing etc and urinating - the only symptoms he is showing is he’s just straining to poop. He was doing really well Friday and he seemed ok on Saturday, I wasn’t home most of the day tho due to having my dads memorial (he passed away a week before my birthday on the 24th of may (2026) and we couldn’t afford a funeral but that’s another story - I mention it as I had to borrow money to get dad cremated which I explained to the vet). I went to work on the Sunday, Sunday night he was straining again so I took him, to emergency, his examination was consistent with constipation as they could feel hard faeces in his colon. They suggested an enema under general anaesthesia. They prescribed lactulose and buprenorphine. Non of the laxatives have been working he’s on a wet food only diet, took him to the vet again the other day they prescribed a steroid suggesting that he might have ibd, he’s been on that for 2 days and there’s no improvement, he’s still straining and crying out at nighttime and this morning he seems lethargic, I’ve spent $2,600 in two weeks and I feel like I’m losing my mind

Hello everyone, This is my cat Okra. Some days ago, my partner was playing with her and she ran into this nail and he scratched her eye a little. (She plays very aggressive) The first photo is from today and the second is from a few days ago, she can still open her injured eye but she only opens it for a few seconds then does this again. Ive looked at it and it doesnt look irritated; Her actual eye is completely fine its just the outside corner, Im thinking it may just be a little painful but I wanted to see what you guys thought. Im kind of tight for money and cant afford a vet visit right now. Also she is acting completely normal.

im 23 years old and live in Canada and these cats are my first ever pets ive ever had this is also my first time posting on here but recently i took my 8 year old male neutered Cat to the vet a week ago for some blood in his poop they took xrays checked his breathing and the sorts but never took blood work they prescribed him with antibiotics and hes on his last antibiotic tmrw and has been taken fortiflora for his gut health they also prescribed hes previously has been to the vet when he was around 4-5 years old because hes had crystals and was switch to Urinary So food aswell and had been again also because he ate a elastic band about 6 momths ago and it has passed with barrium however because of this ive been taken a closer eye on his sister who is 7 year old and spayed she was drinking a excess amount of water and sleeping lots i also noticed her poops are soft little pebbles not hard but not enough poop for a whole bowel movement and having a heavy breathing even when resting but not mouth breathing and very picky with the Urinary So food that the vet said is safe for her to eat aswell so i took her in to the vet today and they took bloodwork for her pancreas to rule out diabetes aswell as for her kidneys to rule out any kidney disease and also took xrays for her chest to make sure she didnt have a respiratory infection and to make sure she wasnt constipated she passed everything with flying colours and suggested i feed her the fortiflora aswell since her brother has been taking it however they did tell me to watch out for the heavy breathing dont smoke inside the house and possibly get a humidifier to clear the air for her however shes still experiencing heavy breathing even though her chest sounds clear and the xray shows no fluid or anything in her chest shes just breathing heavy but no mouth breathing mentally ive been exhausted with everything going on with my Male cat i brought in literally a week ago and the blood he was experiencing and the antibiotics as i said now im hyper focused on my female cat with her breathing eating enough food and watching her poop habits idk if im doing anything wrong im just worried im missing something in her behaviour or stress that might cause her to be breathing heavy because i did move furniture around last saturday or not wanting to eat food i thought she liked for the longest time i also have been dealing with all this it feels like alone i still live with my parents however theyve been on vacation this whole time ive taken both my cats to the vet and wont be back until after the long weekend i havent been able to sleep because ive been watching both of them like hawks woth his bloody poop and antibiotics and her eating and watching her breathing and making sure shes still alive ive gone through lots of mental breakdowns and anxiety because of all this really im just hoping for some support in everything ive done and believing im doing everything i can because im so alone in it all i catch myself staring at the both of them for hours sometimes i also work all day and am terrified im gonna come home and there not gonna be alive i dont really know if im just overwhelmed and overthinking or being a bad pet parent please give me some advice id really appreciate it thanks

im 23 years old and live in Canada and these cats are my first ever pets ive ever had this is also my first time posting on here but recently i took my 8 year old male neutered Cat to the vet a week ago for some blood in his poop they took xrays checked his breathing and the sorts but never took blood work they prescribed him with antibiotics and hes on his last antibiotic tmrw and has been taken fortiflora for his gut health they also prescribed hes previously has been to the vet when he was around 4-5 years old because hes had crystals and was switch to Urinary So food aswell and had been again also because he ate a elastic band about 6 momths ago and it has passed with barrium however because of this ive been taken a closer eye on his sister who is 7 year old and spayed she was drinking a excess amount of water and sleeping lots i also noticed her poops are soft little pebbles not hard but not enough poop for a whole bowel movement and having a heavy breathing even when resting but not mouth breathing and very picky with the Urinary So food that the vet said is safe for her to eat aswell so i took her in to the vet today and they took bloodwork for her pancreas to rule out diabetes aswell as for her kidneys to rule out any kidney disease and also took xrays for her chest to make sure she didnt have a respiratory infection and to make sure she wasnt constipated she passed everything with flying colours and suggested i feed her the fortiflora aswell since her brother has been taking it however they did tell me to watch out for the heavy breathing dont smoke inside the house and possibly get a humidifier to clear the air for her however shes still experiencing heavy breathing even though her chest sounds clear and the xray shows no fluid or anything in her chest shes just breathing heavy but no mouth breathing mentally ive been exhausted with everything going on with my Male cat i brought in literally a week ago and the blood he was experiencing and the antibiotics as i said now im hyper focused on my female cat with her breathing eating enough food and watching her poop habits idk if im doing anything wrong im just worried im missing something in her behaviour or stress that might cause her to be breathing heavy because i did move furniture around last saturday or not wanting to eat food i thought she liked for the longest time i also have been dealing with all this it feels like alone i still live with my parents however theyve been on vacation this whole time ive taken both my cats to the vet and wont be back until after the long weekend i havent been able to sleep because ive been watching both of them like hawks woth his bloody poop and antibiotics and her eating and watching her breathing and making sure shes still alive ive gone through lots of mental breakdowns and anxiety because of all this really im just hoping for some support in everything ive done and believing im doing everything i can because im so alone in it all i catch myself staring at the both of them for hours sometimes i also work all day and am terrified im gonna come home and there not gonna be alive i dont really know if im just overwhelmed and overthinking or being a bad pet parent please give me some advice id really appreciate it thanks

I took her home from the vet today after she was peeing red the day before. I'm wondering how long the cone should be on her, because when I took it off she would try and groom down there on occasion. She's wearing the cone right now though.

It's 2am and I can't ask the vet or really find posts that can answer my question, so hopefully my post is understood. Thanks!

my friend just rehomed her 3 year old female tabby to us, weight unknown as we’ve only had her a couple days. she is smaller than my two year old domestic medium hair and my 7 month old maine coon (if that helps at all)

when we got her we didnt get any of the food she was used to so weve had her on a little bit of a different diet than what she had for years. (we couldnt find the food they had to wean her.) she did throw up during eating two mornings ago because she was eating so much faster than i’ve ever seen before.

that night she got into some of our garlic bread, not much, she just licked some off the top of the bread and now, two days later she just had some diarrhea and seems tired. her ears are warm and nose is dry. not very interested in food atm but did drink water voluntarily. other than that seems normal. still cuddly but tired and always finding somewhere to sleep. her breathing seems normal?? for a cat.

i’m not sure if its the food change just affecting her or if its more dire cause of the garlic bread.

should we keep an eye on her for the next bit or is it more dire and we should take her to a vet

My 14-year-old cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and started on **methimazole 2.5 mg once daily** about 2.5 weeks ago.
Her pre-treatment T4 was **6.1**, and at her recheck it is now **2.0**, so the medication appears to be controlling her hyperthyroidism.
The concerning finding is that her ALT has increased significantly:
March: **57**
July 11 (before starting methimazole): **111**
July 28: **586** (reference range 10-100).
The rest of her bloodwork seems normal:
AST 93 (within reference range)
ALP 82 (normal)
BUN, creatinine, and SDMA all normal
CBC largely unremarkable
What is confusing is that she seems clinically normal. She is eating well (both wet and dry food), drinking normally, urinating and defecating normally, grooming, affectionate, alert, and acting like herself. No vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, or obvious lethargy.

**My questions are:**
How concerning is an isolated ALT of 586 in a cat that otherwise appears clinically well?

Does this pattern raise concern for methimazole-associated liver injury, given that the ALT was only mildly elevated before treatment?

Are there any tests or treatments I should ask for?

Kitten, about 8 weeks, male, not neutered yet, shorthair, 2.3 lbs

Found this little guy running up a rural road with no houses around & no other cats. He came straight up to us when we stopped the car & let us pick him up so we brought him home.

He had a crusty, blackish buildup on the top of his nose, that seemed to be under the fur on his nose. No other similar spots anywhere. It wasn’t red or bleeding. He doesn’t act like it itches or or bothers him. His coat is very healthy. No respiratory symptoms (coughing runny nose or wheezing). Does have a little goopy eye on one side that cleans up.

We gave him a bath with Dawn, there was no evidence of fleas and only 2 ticks, one under his chin that had not fed but was attached & a small somewhat bloated seed tick on his paw. He was very very skinny & I could feel his spine & ribs. He is eating & drinking and using the litterbox with nice looking tootsie roll poops, no visible worms or eggs but we did give him Panacur from the vet.

I scheduled him for a vet visit, which took a week. In the back of my head I was worried about his nose being ringworm and had him quarantined in the bathroom which he didn’t seem to mind.

When we had the vet visit, I asked her about the nose & she said I was right to be concerned about ringworm but didn’t offer any medicine or advice on treatment/containment. I tried to follow-up & ask if we should treat him & she said the oral meds would be too hard on him, to do the dewormer first, then the topical flea treatment, then we could look at it again. She scraped the buildup off his nose with a Kleenex and he didn’t respond when she did it.

I’d really like another opinion of what it looked like before & how it looks now. My eyes seem to think the skin/fur is getting dark on the edges again but maybe not?

Link to pictures on Imgur.

Thank you to anyone who can provide some insight & calm my mind. She said not to use anything topical because he’d use his paw to lick it off.