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[galensgranny]

For the past few days, about once day that I am aware of, but not today so far, Galen has thrown up some spittle.  It is not regurgitated food such as can happen if a cat eats too fast, or actual vomiting up of food that was mostly digested.

He seems perfectly fine- good appetite, eliminating both functions in normal amounts, with the stool of good texture, and good energy level. 

I think he might just have a stubborn hairball, so I held my hands around him while I set him on the ground outside the other day to eat some grass, which can help cats with hairballs.  He did throw up a bit later, but only some grass with no hair in it.    I also have been giving him some Laxatone to help bind together any loose hair in his stomach and grease it to make it easier to pass out through the intestines.

I hope it just some hair in his stomach that was irritating it and making him try to vomit it up, but not enough hair yet to form a hairball large enough to be vomited up. Oh, but not a hairball too large to be vomited or passed through the intestines!

Galen did have an episode of acute renal failure a few years ago, so I worry that the vomiting up just spittle is indicating nausea due to toxin build up with kidney problems starting up again.  That probably is not it, but, you know how we pet parents worry.

If he doesn't quit the throwing up of spittle, I will take him to the vet for blood work to rule out kidney or other problems. 

Just needed to share my worries.

[animalangel1]

I think it just might be a hairball too Margaret.  This just happened today with Peaches and about a week ago with Milo.  In both cases, it was due to very stubborn (and large) hairballs.  Maybe you'll find it with your feet in the dark sometime tonight!    I know....EWWWWW....... 

[Timambmin]

Do hope he's alright. Xx

[galensgranny]

My husband and I are now rather sure all is fine with Galen.  This morning, Galen (12 years old) had a very energetic, fast "wild hair", racing around, zooming up the floor to ceiling the cat tower, getting feisty with Skeeter when she followed after him, then zooming off again. 

I didn't' notice him vomit up any spittle yesterday.  One incident of a cat vomiting up spittle isn't a worry, but seeing it happen a few days in a row with no hairball coming gets me worried.

So I think Galen either did throw up a hairball somewhere over night that I haven't found yet, or he passed it in his stool. If it was a hairball, the Laxatone I gave him would have had time to get loose hairs in his belly in stick together and get greased up to be able to slide through his intestines.  I wish hair would digest, but it doesn't.

Or, if it wasn't a hairball at all, but rather some mild stomach upset, maybe from his having  eaten a cricket that got in the house, but not having first knocked off the irritating hairy back legs, it seems to be over.  (I did see and hear a few crickets in the house the past two weeks.)  When Simon was alive, he was a big bug eater, but he always batted crickets around to remove their back hairy legs before he ate them.  Simon apparently figured out the cricket legs were not a good part to swallow. (Recipes for humans that eat crickets say to remove the legs because they are irritating.)

[kb2zct]

Margaret:

I'm glad Galen seems to be doing better.

Mark

[mrsgreenjeens]

So glad he seems to be doing better.  If it were his kidneys, he probably would lose his appetite as well as be throwing up the spittle.  At least, that's what Sven does when he's in a "down cycle".  Believe me, I know, because we've just come out of one!  But last night, even at age 16, he was all over the cat tree, went all the way up to the very top "bunk" as I call it.  Boy, was I dancing a jig 

[kb2zct]

Sally

Do you have to give Sub-Q fluids to Sven?

Mark

[galensgranny]

Thanks, everyone.

Sally, I was thinking it wouldn't be a kidney issue if in every other way he seemed 100%, but I wasn't sure if perhaps the vomiting up spittle might come first before any full loss of appetite in kidney disease, sort of like a very early warning sign. 

So glad Sven came out of "down cycle" and was all over the cat tree.

[animalangel1]

I'm glad Galen is feeling better!!! I'm sure you'll find that hairball (now COLD and wet) somewhere when you least expect it!!! 

[galensgranny]

One problem with Galen is that he tries to eat the fur I brush off him when I pull it out of the brush!  He watches carefully, and as soon as it put the fur, balled up, into the open waste basket in the living room (where I usually brush the cats as they sit on my lap), he goes to it all happy to eat the fur! 

So I try to make sure to bury the brushed off fur or get up and put it in the covered kitchen garbage pail.  But maybe a few days ago he scrounged in the living room waste basket and ate a bunch of fur I had brushed off various of the cats and might have forgotten to empty into the covered trash can in the kitchen.

Whatever it was, he is fine now.

Michelle, I would be happier to step on a room temperature, dried out hairball.