Cat Vomit

Procrastastudy

Hi all - I'm hoping someone can help. We have an indoor cat who occationally throws up his food. He's had a diet change recently, but even before that he would just occationally throw up. I personally think he's just eating to quickly becuase he's getting hungry. We feed him again striaght afterwards and he keeps it down no trouble and there's o hair or anything when he does throw up just very slightly digested dry food.

Poor fat sod got spoiled by the wife (and me to be fair) had issues with his bladder and the vet told us to put him on special food and also to slim him down. Has anyone had a similar experiance or should we have a trip to the vets?

Thanks in advance

crazyderk

Our guy is an indoor cat and is 4 1/2 and is a healthy weight and size, and we've always fed him a mix of wet and dry royal canine food, he occasionally throws up his food, maybe every 3-4 weeks
we would normally wait a little while and maybe just give him some dry and he keeps that down and by the next meal he's fine, like you I think he just gets over excited about eating and eats to fast!
I think the thing to look out for is after he throws up has the color of the bile changed? if its clear/food colored your OK, but if that changes I think that's when a call to the vet is warranted.

that's just my experience, anyone else with better knowledge I'll be glad to take a listen.

Procrastastudy

I don't know if it helps but its dry food and he really wolfs it down. I'm hoping it's just expanding and coming back up. I'd mix it with a bit of water so it was pre-expanded but he hates it damp.

Zapperzy

Mine used to throw up dry food a few times a week back when I just filled her bowl up and let her free feed throughout the day. She was eating too much at once and throwing it straight back up. Broke the one meal into loads of small meals a day and it stopped immediately.
If its a really food loving cat and playful there's special cat balls that you fill with food and they have to roll them across the floor to get food dropped out of them. I'm on my phone so can't link but I think there called catmosphere. It would slow down his eating and get a bit of exercise in too.

guppy

My cat does the same. He's always had a sensisitive tummy, and I found hills was dreadful for him, and also when he wolfs down his food, dead cert it comes up again.

I also discovered that neighbours across the road are feeding him, which makes him puke. He was in an accident (all better now, thank god), but it the best thing about his housebound recuperation was that he only ate his food (the food I buy that stays down), so no puking .

What I do now is make sure he eats before being let out in the morning (I feed him, but my husband is up first and used to let him out), and he only gets a small amount at a time to stop the reflux. It's helped immensely.

anniehoo

Have you any plants in your house? Mine has being doing this randomly over the last few weeks and linked it to the spider plants that have been "lovingly" gnawed at.

If its a once off...or very randomly (over a few weeks, rather than days) i wouldnt be too concerned. The grass eating phenomenon in cats has never been figured out.He's vomited...well gagged a few times...and then fine.

If its more regular and anything changes behaviourally (appetite,urinating,defecating) then straight to your vet. The problem with cats is they dont wear their heart on their sleeve like dogs. If they are "acting sick" they are sick basically and continuous vomiting (more than a dozen times say) isnt normal.It isnt something they "do" compared to dogs for example where "vomiting/diarrhoea" is a common early symptom of some (not all) conditions.

My general rule (only mine) is dogs vomiting (where no known poison or foreign body has been ingested) is >24-48hrs...vet. Cat vomiting more than 12 times...vet (i dont wait hours for cats as they dehydrate so quickly).