How long will my Cat's gastral intestinal virus last?

Question

My cat has been vomitting, having diaherria, and has not been eating for about 3 or 4 days. We took him to the vet and were told to force feeding him small amounts of chicken and water. We think that he may be upset our recent new kitten and he has eaten our new kittens food. How long does it take for food to go through a cat's system? And what else could we do to help him?

He had blood work done nothing showed up. They figure its caused by the kitten food and now he is afraid to eat after throwing up so much. He sucessfully held down a pinch of food and a little water. We're attempting every 2 hours. Will this be sufficient enough for his system.

Should I leave him alone and let him hide or should I continue force-feeding him?

Answer 1

Hard to say, did they do any blood work or xrays? That would give you a better idea of whats going on. You need to be careful of cats not eating, if they go too long without eating they can get a condition called Fatty Liver, which is hard to treat. If she is still vomiting and not eating soon I would say she should be hospitalized they can give her IV fluids, and medication to control the vomiting.

Answer 2

This is a tuff area, be sure to stay in contact with your vet on any changes. My cat had this problem about a year ago and I was told to change her diet (of course to some food only sold at the vet). I was told to feed her this food, which is a hard food low in fat and to feed her 1 can of fancy feast a day. She did not like any of it and trying to get a cat to eat something that it does not like is not pretty. She did start to eat it in about 5 to 7 days and she has not had another problem. I hope this gives you some encouragement. Good luck.

Answer 3

did the vet give him any antibiotics to give him, maybe a little tuna in water, don't let eat too much at one time, let him eat some, then a little latter give him a bit more, make sure he is not throwing it up, few tablespoons of food at a time