Hello, I'm new here and hoping someone can share some wisdom as I don't know what to try next.
Cat is 8, we rescued him last June so had him coming up to 12 months. He's a gorgeous, loving, well behaved boy. When we adopted him, we were told he had hyperthyroidism but it wasn't a problem, was well controlled and he took his medication without issue. He just needed his bloods checked every six months. I've had cats before but never one with a health condition, but this seemed manageable so we took him in. I'm leading with this info, as it may or may not be relevant to the rest of it.
He came to live with us and we changed NOTHING. Kept him on the same food (Whiskas wet food) and gave him his meds twice a day in a treat, which he always took without issue. At some point, he started vomiting frequently. I have wracked my brains and I can't think of anything that we started doing differently that might have triggered this. He is always well in himself when he vomits, never bothered by it, still peeing/pooing etc. Just throws up then carries on as normal.
In September, he had his thyroid levels checked and they were high. We assumed this was because of the vomiting he wasn't absorbing the medication. So his dose was increased and his bloods rechecked, and his thyroid levels were in normal range.
The vomited continued. We brought some slow feeder bowls for him to eat from which seemed at first to have some success and he vomited less. But then the vomiting increased. We've tried him on different food (wet felix) to see if a change in diet would help. It didn't. We noticed his food was coming back up whole, as if he wasn't chewing, so we switched him to dry food (Iams) to see if it forced him to slow down and chew. Again, limited success for a while - he even put on weight and his coat was thicker and shiner. But then the frequency of the vomiting increased again. Thyroid checked again, levels low. Medication reduced, level still low. So the vet has suggested we stop his meds for 3 weeks as he is so young for hyperthyroidism and we don't know how he originally presented with it. She isn't convinced he actually has it. So, we're a week with no meds and the vomiting is worse than ever.
We chanegd him to sensitive stomach food yesterday, no change, still vomiting nearly every time he eats. Full, whole, unchewed biscuits. I'm almost convinced the regurgitation is because he isn't chewing and is eating too fast, rather than a health problem but the vet won't investigate/try him on any meds for reflux until his thyroid is under control incase it being out of range is causing the vomiting. I suspect he does have hyperthyroidism and his level will be high next time we check as he is more hyperactive since we stopped his meds and his skin has gone very dry. I think he has lost the weight he put on (only 2.9kg when we got him, so him putting on weight was a good thing).
Today, I'm going for the opposite approach with food and I'm going to try him on a smooth food (will look at what the supermarket has to offer) as if he won't chew wet chunks/biscuits then maybe he might be better on a pate type food as essentially it is "already chewed". But if this doesn't work I'm literally all out of ideas. No idea what to do or try next.
I'm worried he'll end up dying before his time because he'll end up malnourished. I love him so much, he's such a content, affectionate little thing and I just want him to live a long, happy life with us.
Thanks if you've read this far, I know it is really long but I didn't want to leave anything out. Any advice or ideas I haven't thought of would be much appreciated.