Help a cat owner out - plant identification

[user1497535565]

Hi everyone,

i have a cat who for the last year has been regularly sick sometimes every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

this started last year when I was pregnant and had terrible morning sickness. At first I thought it was her food, so I changed it - no improvement.

Then I thought it was because I was so sick, I wasn’t giving her enough affection, I tried to do more - no improvement.

Then I thought maybe it was sympathy sickness and took her to the vet. He refused to look into it and said she looked fine and that was it.

Around September, she stopped being sick and I thought we had cracked it until this weekend, we went in the garden for the first time since September and that night she’s sick everywhere. She stayed in bed the next day and didn’t move but was back to normal by the evening.

It made me think… is something in the garden poisoning her??! I know it’s my garden as I have a cat fence so she is kept in one place.

i have some photos of the garden, please can people have a look and let me know if there’s anything I need to remove.

thank you in advance.

I thought this originally but this started last February and she can be sick multiple times a day / night. Mainly her food being brought back up. I don’t think I can see plants in it.

Is there anything green in the vomit? Cats do eat grass to help digestion and purge hair balls. It could be that she is eating grass to make herself sick because she has gastric symptoms. Have you posted on the litter tray? There are some knowledgeable posters and a vet on that board.

That’s really interesting, thank you. I will remove that.

Maybe the only way to work out whether the things that making the cat sick is in or outdoors, is to keep it in for a week then let it out for the following week? See what happens?

Thing is, no one’s going to be able to tell you. Pretty much anything can cause a GI upset, grass, foul water, frogs….

reassuring thing is it can’t be a life threatening toxic plant, for example one that causes organ failure or anything that would need medical intervention. If it were, she would have shown the symptoms or even died last summer when she had the GI effects.

that’s why they vet is interested. She’ll eat whatever it is, it’ll make her sick, but that’s it. No need for any other treatment.

Nothing green. Which is interesting as it mainly seems to be her food being brought back up (which I have changed several times).
No, I haven’t posted on the litter tray! I will do that although I’m very impressed and grateful by the responses already.

This is the stage I’m now at. She was so poorly on Sunday and I’m really upset at the mess she has caused to my carpets - there were multiple incidents in several rooms.

I can’t let her out until she’s had a week inside with no sick and then I’ll know for sure that it’s something outside.

It could be she has digestive problems if she is bringing up her food, I think a trip to a decent vet should be your first call, cats can become dehydrated and she might feel unwell.

I don't think this is a rhododendron. I thought it was Choysia and plant ID app agrees.

This one is a viburnum. OP just get the app!

Thank you, yes this is right. It’s one of the plants I bought myself and know.

Do you have frogs or toads? They produce "slime" if they are caught or licked which can make a cat sick. They tend to hide/hibernate over winter.

Soda crystals are poisonous, I wouldn't be using them to clean something she drinks from. Google says vets use them in tiny amounts to induce vomiting, so I'd be worried any residue left over after you rinse could be making her ill. Unless I've misunderstood and she can't get to the water feature to drink from it?

I think if you keep her in, and she's fine, and you then let her out you'll need to be stuck to her like glue to see exactly what she rubs up against or eats/drinks/licks so if she's then ill again you will have narrowed it down a bit.

Last and unpleasant thought, although unlikely with a cat proof garden - there's no way she could be accessing something that could be contaminated with antifreeze is there? Either by accident or maliciously?

Sorry, when you say get the app - is this app called plant ID? This hadn’t occurred to me.

Sadly not. I wish I did but there are none in my garden.

Well done @GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut !

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/soda-crystals-poisoning-risk/

This is a good point, I thought I had been careful washing any residue away but will not use the soda crystals again although, have not cleaned the fountain since the summer, so whatever made her ill this weekend - it wasn’t that.

the point about antifreeze / poison I s unfortunately something I have had to consider with a neighbour being rather unstable but have dismissed this as she herself has cats although they are in a pitiful state and the RSPCA is involved. The neighbours on the other side are lovely.

Oh no. I use this as a cleaner around the house. I wonder if residue could be causing it??

If it were antifreeze she’d be dead 🤷‍♀️

sorry but it is fatal in small amounts. If she’s been drinking it regularly enough to cause the multiple vomiting episodes she would be extremely unwell along with it.

so as I said, I think you can rule out anything major.

Our cat’s turned into a puker this last year - we’ve had her to the vet several times and they’ve been happy she’s fit and well. She definitely eats grass. Her MO is puke (often just grass and hair) then straight to “her cupboard” looking for snacks, she’s not in the least bit put out or poorly with it. She’s booked in for her boosters on Friday so I’m going to get them to give her another check over then.

I would also think about getting s new vet. Our boy has had diarrhea on and off and we have already gone as far as a stool sample. They have offered further investigation if it still hasn't stopped soon.

I was recommended some food by our vet if that would help you. He said to try either royal canin gastro intestinal or hill i/d. I think they both come in wet and dry

Don't think that's a rhododendron, I have a plant like that in my garden: does it have small white/cream flowers @user1497535565 ? Btw no problem with that plant as far as I can tell

Sodium carbonate residue left after rinsing with clean water wouldn't be enough to make the cat ill. The people who've made their dogs ill with it have been feeding it to their dogs to induce vomiting. The hazard from sodium carbonate is skin and eye irritation and hypernatremia (the kidney-endangering condition you get if you eat far too much salt), both of which don't happen from trace amounts.

Is it possible that your cat is a scarf-n-barfer? Put down less volume of food with more frequent meals and see if that helps.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped previously. I took my cat back to the vet and they carried out a scan which confirmed that she has colonitis. She has a course of treatment and another scan scheduled in a few weeks to see if it has been successful.