Cat

why is my cat dry heaving? He has always done this from time to time...but now it's several times a day.

[opus88]

hi....I think perhaps you're kitty maybe trying to cough up a hair ball.
these hair balls accumulate in their stomachs and if they can't pass them down thru their intestines they need to cough them up, must take care if it is a hair ball and its really large kitty could be having trouble getting it out and could become stuck in his throat area...
this is just my opinion I would suggest seeing a vet if this continues.

[zodiacqueen]

I agree with Opus.  The first thought that came in my head were hairballs.  I would try some white petroleum jelly and give your kitty a glob of it everyday and see how the kitty does for a week.  By "glob", I mean bigger than a marble.  Stick it directly in the side of your cat's mouth.  People usually tell ya to stick it on the top of their paws, but they wind up shaking their paw and the stuff gets all over the place.  LOL

Try this for a week, and if you don't see any improvement or if you start to see new symptoms, take kitty to the vet for an exam.

[conbo]

I took my kitty "Bear" to the Vet, about his "dry heaving" aka :coughing. I was concerned it was asthma.  Well, the vet isn't totally sure what's wrong. They took blood, twice...and did a chest x-ray. His bronchiole's are a little enlarged, but his blood work was good. They are testing for heart worm, even though he's an indoor cat, & cat's don't usally get this...according to my Vet?!  I am supose to give him predizone pills, 2 x's a day for a week & see if that helps....for if it is asthma or a bronchiole thing. I hope he's gonna be okay....I have 4 cats...3 mine, 1 my hubby's...& they are my babies!!!!!!!!

[zodiacqueen]

I bet your fur baby will be fine.  Wait and see how the Prednisone works.  Did the vet also bring up that it could be from hairballs?  If she did, I would do some petroleum jelly.  I do it for my cat every day.  Try it, it might help!

[opus88]

I agree also with zodiac I should have included that too...even if kitty is undergoing treatment and meds it still wouldn't hurt to give the petroleum jelly, I will add to be sure its 'white' petroleum as listed on the label(usually in baby sections)
and my vet told me to give it in small amounts(probably abt marble size is correct) and not very deep in their mouths as they could aspirate it into their lungs and this could be fatal...I mix mine half and half with commercial furball treatment such as felaxin than they like the taste and lick it right off my finger!!
good luck with all and keep us informed

[zodiacqueen]

I've tried the OTC hairball stuff for cats, but there is a scary ingredient in it.  It's called Sodium Benzoate.  It is poisonous for cats!!!  I think it does something to the nervous system.  I saw this info on-line somewhere.  I sure wish I could remember where I saw it.  I was very upset when I came across that info, because a lot of the companies add this poison to their meds.  The brand my vet sells is called Catlax.  Do you believe, that brand has that junk in it??????  

I agree with ya about the white petroleum jelly.  I know that some of those, in the baby section, has added ingredients in them that we've got to watch for when we give this to our cats.

Does the brand Felaxin have sodium benzoate in it?  If it doesn't I will try to find it around here!!  Where do you get yours????  =)

[opus88]

well does that ever rub me the wrong way!!
we do something to help the little guys and in reality we are causing even more problems, I will sure keep an eye out for that ingredient.
I've never seen Catlax yet here in Canada but will look next time I'm at a larger pet store.
The one I'm actually using is called Laxatone (made here in Canada) and the active ingredients are only white petroleum and light mineral oil....but surely there must be more ingredients that aren't being listed....coloring and flavor for a couple.
how can they NOT list ALL the ingredients?
I will check for a website of the manufacturer and see if I can dig up more.
thanks for the info

[zodiacqueen]

I hear ya!!  I was not a happy camper about it either.  The sodium benzoate is a preservative.  It is added to a lot of cat meds!  It's also added to dog meds too, but it doesn't affect dogs like it does cats.

Opus, you do NOT want Catlax....that stuff has that preservative in it and is sold by vets.  GRRRRRR!!!!  I fussed at the vet about it, too.  Been seeing the same vet for over 10 yrs, so I felt it was my place to tell them what I thought about it.  LOL   Know what???  I got no argument from them!  LOL

I didn't realize that you were from Canada, but anyway.....they sell Laxatone here in the US.  I'm not sure if that toxic junk is in it or not.  I will check it out on-line.  I'm not sure if you've done this before, but you can do an on-line search and find the ingredient listing on products.  It comes in very handy when you're ordering on-line and don't want to miss out on some killer deals.  BTW, for some good deals for pet supplies check out Jefferspet ******* and Drsfosterandsmith *******.  Check them out!!  =)

[opus88]

Hi and thanks for all the info.
I checked out the link to drs foster and smith and I will find out if they ship to Canada(some don't or if they do the charges are crazy)
and on that site I also saw they have laxatone and I checked out the ingredients on their label and it DOES HAVE SODIUM BEZOATE!!!
I'm soooo mad why are preservatives NOT listed on the product???
I will be writing their company a nasty letter to be sure, and I will stop using it right now!

I saw on their page that they have a product called PETROMALT...that one doesn't list any preservatives are you familiar with this one?

all the products I buy are thru my Vet...now I will check at the Pet supply here and see what they have.

the drs foster web site it that the best place to check on ingredients???

zodiac you really need to start a new tread here and call it HAIRBALL treatments...so everyone else will be sure to read!
thx

[zodiacqueen]

Opus, you're right this should have been a new thread.  I feel like I hijacked poor Conbo's thread.  Conbo, if you're reading this....sorry for hijacking.  I hope your cat is doing better!

Opus, I'm starting a new thread because more people need to be aware of that preservative and how dangerous it is.