How long should I wait before taking him to the vets?

Question

My kitten has been throwing up all day. I was not worried earlier on because I thought it may have been just a tummy upset, if he has eaten something dodgy, (he has a habit of just eating anything which he can fit into his mouth, edible or not) but it has not subsided. He has been really subdued since this morning since it started, and I am starting to worry. My mum says to wait until morning before taking him to the vets, but I am not sure.
I have started to notice clumps of fur on the carpet as well, in the last day or so, but I did not think much of it until now. He is a housecat, so it can't be anything from outside, and he has no contact with other cats, apart from our other cat, who is also a housecat.
He was neutued on Friday, but has been fine since then until now.

I am worrying over nothing??

Thanx sooo much for all the answers and the advice. We rang the vets and they told us to bring him straight in, as he could not keep food or water down at all. We did and they told us he was quite dehydrated, and a few more hours and he would have had to be on a drip. They still have no idea what was wrong with him, but they gave him some antibiotics and some liquid to give him through a syringe every half hour and some special food. They told us to bring him back in if he was still sick tomorrow, but he has definetly livened up!! He is not causing complete chaos, but he is well on the way, so he is recovering!!

Thank you soooooo much for all the answers and advice, me and Frodo are very greatfull!! x x

Answer 1

Hmmm, sounds abit worrying. Has he been wormed? Even if he is a house cat he will still need to be wormed as kittens can inherit worms from their mother and it can make them sick.
If he has a tendency to eat weird things he could have something stuck inside that's making him throw up.
As he is young keep a very close eye on him as if he's been sick that much he could get de-hydrated. I would call the vet and see what they advise - it may well be that he has just eaten something a bit dodgy but I would say better safe than sorry - they should be able to get a nurse to speak to you on the phone and tell you whether he needs to be seen straight away or not.
Hope he gets better!

Answer 2

To help check a few vital signs, you can look at his gum color, which should be a healthy pink color. Take his temperature rectally, normal temperature is between 100.5 and 102 degrees, anything 103 or higher indicates a fever. Pull up the loose skin on the back of his neck. It should sink right back down into place fairly quickly. If it sinks down slowly or not at all, the cat is seriously dehydrated. Has he been urinating normally? Check the litterpan to be sure he is urinating normally. Check the litterpan to make sure he is having normal stools too.

If those things are normal, and the kitten is acting normal (even if subdued theres a difference between subdued and a ktiten that acts weak or seriously ill and doesn't respond to things they would normally respond to) and has kept down some of his food and water during the day, he probably will be ok til morning although then he should see the vet right away.

The vet may want to check to be sure the kitten isn't suffering from problems caused by the swallowing of a foreign body, with the history you give of the kitten eating things, its possible he ate something that is causing obstruction.

Answer 3

General rule of thumb: if a dog limps for more than 2 days with no sign of improvement, take him to the vet. And doubly so since your dog is obviously not feeling well. BTW, don't forget he would naturally eat less when he isn't able to run around all day, so that might not be much of a concern unless he's actually losing weight.

Answer 4

Take it to the vet.It could be a infection from the surgery.A cat can get a infection on the inside of its body and only signs maybe throwing up,fever or the runs.Sometimes there is no signs of infection until the cat is deadly ill.If its eating everything in sight it could of ate something bad for it or it could have its bowels blocked.Moms know best but on this one you should have it looked at by a vet.

Answer 5

One of my cats was spayed recently.

She puked not long after getting home. Pretty common reaction to the anaesthetic, I think; it is for people, too.

Depending on how big the 'clumps' are, it could just be from the stress. I have yet to do anything vet-related with my cat that doesn't involve profuse shedding.

Anyway, she looked to be having a bit of a bother (long story) this morning; I rang, and -- long story short, vets seem pretty familiar with people calling with post-spay/neuter worries. They'll take you seriously, and probably put your mum's mind at ease by mentioning that they don't charge for a post-surgery check.

Answer 6

No, you're not worrying over nothing. Call the vet - if nothing else, they can put your mind at rest, and stop you fretting. If they are concerned, they'll tell you to bring him in. Poor little mite - he's probably subdued because he's feeling sore, and doesn't know what to do about it. I'm sure he'll be fine - but call the vet just to be on the safe side.
Best of luck, and I hope he makes a full recovery.

Answer 7

Personally, I would rather be safe than sorry, if you can't take him in to the vets yet at least give the vet a call (the one that neutered him) and describe the symptoms and get his/her opinion as to whether or not it would be a waste of a trip. I love my cat too much to take any chances.

Answer 8

my kitten was unwell after being neutered cos he licked off some cream around his wound, by the morning he was fine. But if yours is loosing fur as well and repeatedly being ill I would take him to the vets. Vets understand if it is a false alarm. Better safe than sorry cos he needs to keep up his fluid content.

Answer 9

Phone the vet and ask their advice. You could still get him in to the vets this evening if you wanted. It may just be a delayed reaction to the anaesthetic but to put your mind at rest take him. If it isn't any of the above and he got worse or died, how guitly would you feel?

Answer 10

Call the vet immediately. They will tell you what to do. It could be something very serious, especially this close to surgery. The vet, knowing your cat's history, will be able to advise you. Don't wait too long, as time can be of the essence in these situations.