Posted By: Temulin
Spitting up/Throwing up/Gagging - 10/21/15 07:11 PM
So my lovely little Fevy has been having issues. :\ I'm about at wit's end. I've been researching all over the internet and I can't find anything that seems likely.
Let me preface with he has been seeing a vet for this and it's been going on for at least a year. The problem is Fevy sometimes gags like a cat would and spits up clear liquid (on rare occasions food... which he then re-eats...) He retches and makes a salivating kind of noise, coughs up some spit, then acts normal. I will post the video I took to send to my vet once it's done uploading. He does not have any other symptoms. He's always the exact same weight down to the gram, he has no breathing problems, his poop is normal, heart/lungs are seemingly fine, coat is fine, he has energy, eats/drinks, and is generally normal Fevy behavior. The vet checked his mouth out thoroughly, no abscesses, his teeth look fine, nothing weird going on. Vet is pretty sure there is no blockage or anything like that in his tummy region. At this point, the vet suggested I could either do an x-ray to be definitive or we could proceed with weighing him more regularly and going to the vet monthly to try some alternative things (i.e. digestive meds).
She said she could send his x-rays to a specialist and consult. The thing is, I'm very worried about sedating Fevy and putting him through that kind of stress. I'd rather this be a last resort. He does not do well at the vet and I just worry that the stress would be counter-productive.
I have a couple ideas as to what might be wrong;
1.) Fevy had a really awful accident when he was around 3. Some idiot vet stepped on him and I ended up rushing him to a different vet. He was coughing up blood and having trouble breathing, on his back gasping for air. They put him in an oxygen tank overnight, gave him steroids. By morning he was fine. He had a slight cough for a day after. The vet thinks he bit his tongue, the blood went down into his throat, and he was choking on it, not actually coughing blood. He was rechecked after and again, perfectly fine. I know at the time the vet staff all thought he was a goner and made me sign papers saying they could euthanize him if he crashed overnight. It was a horrible experience and I still don't know if he had damage leftover from it. The plan was to X-ray him after, but again... he was breathing fine, no broken bones, and after the stress of it we agreed to just take him home and monitor him. Fevy is 8 now, 9 in February. He has regular vet checks and nothing relating to this accident ever came up, but I have this awful suspicion that he has scar tissue or something on his lungs that is starting to affect him as he gets older. If this were the case, what if anything could be done? :\ Is this a reasonable guess?
2.) Hairballs. Vet says she has never seen hairballs in suggies, but the gagging is accompanied by his grooming sounds often. I'd like it to be #2 over #1 obviously. Fevy does sometimes grab lint and cat hair off the floor. I vacuum regularly and my cat doesn't shed much, but Fevy and the cat like to snuggle in this fleece blanket that's a hair magnet. I washed it yesterday. Might be a long shot, but maybe it'll make a difference.
3.) Some kind of food issue. I feed him those toddler yogurt treats and I'm wondering if they went bad. Around when this started, Fevy also got into my cat's food. She eats Blue cat food so nothing that could really harm him (he'd take a kibble or two out). I did stop him and I have since moved the cat food so he can't get it, but I wasn't always that strict about stopping him since I didn't think a kibble of cat food could really hurt him. I'm wondering if the crunchy texture did something? But then I would think the vet would have seen something in his mouth/teeth.
Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or info. He eats HPW and is 8-years-old, neutered. I've been losing sleep worrying about him. :\ I really just wanna find out what's wrong.
Let me preface with he has been seeing a vet for this and it's been going on for at least a year. The problem is Fevy sometimes gags like a cat would and spits up clear liquid (on rare occasions food... which he then re-eats...) He retches and makes a salivating kind of noise, coughs up some spit, then acts normal. I will post the video I took to send to my vet once it's done uploading. He does not have any other symptoms. He's always the exact same weight down to the gram, he has no breathing problems, his poop is normal, heart/lungs are seemingly fine, coat is fine, he has energy, eats/drinks, and is generally normal Fevy behavior. The vet checked his mouth out thoroughly, no abscesses, his teeth look fine, nothing weird going on. Vet is pretty sure there is no blockage or anything like that in his tummy region. At this point, the vet suggested I could either do an x-ray to be definitive or we could proceed with weighing him more regularly and going to the vet monthly to try some alternative things (i.e. digestive meds).
She said she could send his x-rays to a specialist and consult. The thing is, I'm very worried about sedating Fevy and putting him through that kind of stress. I'd rather this be a last resort. He does not do well at the vet and I just worry that the stress would be counter-productive.
I have a couple ideas as to what might be wrong;
1.) Fevy had a really awful accident when he was around 3. Some idiot vet stepped on him and I ended up rushing him to a different vet. He was coughing up blood and having trouble breathing, on his back gasping for air. They put him in an oxygen tank overnight, gave him steroids. By morning he was fine. He had a slight cough for a day after. The vet thinks he bit his tongue, the blood went down into his throat, and he was choking on it, not actually coughing blood. He was rechecked after and again, perfectly fine. I know at the time the vet staff all thought he was a goner and made me sign papers saying they could euthanize him if he crashed overnight. It was a horrible experience and I still don't know if he had damage leftover from it. The plan was to X-ray him after, but again... he was breathing fine, no broken bones, and after the stress of it we agreed to just take him home and monitor him. Fevy is 8 now, 9 in February. He has regular vet checks and nothing relating to this accident ever came up, but I have this awful suspicion that he has scar tissue or something on his lungs that is starting to affect him as he gets older. If this were the case, what if anything could be done? :\ Is this a reasonable guess?
2.) Hairballs. Vet says she has never seen hairballs in suggies, but the gagging is accompanied by his grooming sounds often. I'd like it to be #2 over #1 obviously. Fevy does sometimes grab lint and cat hair off the floor. I vacuum regularly and my cat doesn't shed much, but Fevy and the cat like to snuggle in this fleece blanket that's a hair magnet. I washed it yesterday. Might be a long shot, but maybe it'll make a difference.
3.) Some kind of food issue. I feed him those toddler yogurt treats and I'm wondering if they went bad. Around when this started, Fevy also got into my cat's food. She eats Blue cat food so nothing that could really harm him (he'd take a kibble or two out). I did stop him and I have since moved the cat food so he can't get it, but I wasn't always that strict about stopping him since I didn't think a kibble of cat food could really hurt him. I'm wondering if the crunchy texture did something? But then I would think the vet would have seen something in his mouth/teeth.
Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or info. He eats HPW and is 8-years-old, neutered. I've been losing sleep worrying about him. :\ I really just wanna find out what's wrong.