My cat , Chester, is vomiting regularly?

Question

My 4 year old cat is vomiting quite frequently lately. I would take him to the vet, but I thought (until now) that this might be normal hairball-type puking.

He's overweight (always has been, though my other cat - his brother - is slim) He seems happy and healthy otherwise. He's not particularly active, but I haven't noticed any changes in his behavior to indicate that he's not feeling well. In the past couple months, he's had times where he's vomited more than 3 times in one day - but then have no problems for a week...it's been on and off like that. When he does puke, it appears to just be food/water (though his food is darker than what I find on the floor). Sometimes, it's just a watery-bile substance.

If anyone out there is familiar with what this might be, please tell me what you know. I'm in a financial pinch right now, but will take him to the vet if this seems to be anything very serious - I'd rather go broke than have my poor Chester suffering!

Answer 1

Is this an indoor only cat? Excessive vomiting can be caused by a blockage in the intestines. Cats eat everything from the hair they groom off themselves to string, grass, shiny bits of plastic, etc. I managed a vet hospital for ten years and we did plenty of surgery on cats whose stomachs were almost completey blocked by large masses of hair or that plastic easter grass or other foreign objects. Sometimes cats just hurl (Ihave 8 so I am quite familiar with this!) but sometimes vomiting can be caused by some really serious problems. i hope your kittyfur is just fine.

Answer 2

It could be that he's eating too fast or too much at once in which case you need to slow him down, there are several things that can do this. If you changed the food over suddenly that could do it, it needs to be phased in slowly, over weeks so that it doesn't cause a shock to the intestines. Another good food for this sort of thing is Royal Canin Siamese, they have a tendency to woof it down without chewing and vomit it back. This food is shaped so that it sticks on a tooth and they have to chew it to get it off. It is also designed for the Siamese's sensitive stomachs. I switched to this last year when it became available and my previously vomiting at least once a day cat has only vomited once in 8 months. It is expensive, but in my experience, the 2.5kg bag lasted me 6 weeks (and that was with one other cat stealing a few here and there). So work out what that would cost you, it is better for them and they don't eat as much usually so it is more cost effective. All of my cats eat this, Siamese and non Siamese alike. I have a ragdoll and Brit that were rescued, they had coccidia and other intestinal problems at the time so they get Iam's hairball, it controls Diarrhea for some reason, it's not my preference in food, in fact I hate the stuff but it works for them when others don't, but they eat the Siamese food without any issues. Nutrience by Hagen make some good foods for sensitive stomachs too, you could contact the companies and ask for a sample and see which works and how much you use of it. At first they may still woof it down because the other foods have fillers and they have to eat a lot of those to get the nutrients they need so their stomachs have to adjust when their body recognises that they are getting the nutrients they need and to cut back. With any new food, you won't notice a difference until they have been having that exclusively for around 6 weeks (that's what the vet recommends) I say you will know if there's improvement in 4 weeks. It takes time for the allergen or whatever is causing the sensitivity to leave their bodies. So give it a fair try.

Answer 3

You should probably take him to the vet. It could be just an occasional hairball but it could also be something more serious. Is is connected in any way to certain foods? Maybe it is a food allergy. I have always had cats and they can puke at the drop of a hat. They really don't need a reason. Sometimes they will get a sick stomach just from being stressed. And we all know that many things can stress a cat. Good Luck.

Answer 4

I have six cats and my daughter and I joke that we can keep time because every 20 mins a cat barfs. All kidding aside, you might try a food made for hairball/barf problems. If that doesn't help there is a products that is like a gel that your cat usually will lick off your finger that has a mineral oil base that helps them digest food better.It isn't very expensive(most pet stores should have it). Always be sure the cat has plenty of fresh water. If that doesn't help I would go to a vet. I buy the cheapest paper towels I can find!

Answer 5

We have two cats that went through the same thing. In our case both were exclusive indoor cats. Normally cats can eat grass and such to help with the digestion. I know it sounds odd. Purina makes an indoor formula that contains the elements that your indoor cats might be missing. I'm not endorsing Purina over others but I'm sure other companies offer a similar formula. Good Luck

Answer 6

Sound like it may have worms and I know vets are expensive so you can try some cat wormer from walmart and see if that helps if not I would take it to the vet.

Answer 7

Sounds like it could be worms,or he could have a infection in the intestines. You may want to take him to the Vet to make sure.

Answer 8

do you leave the toilet seats up?? i know if i do, my cats will always drink the water out of there and i put that blue stuff in it and it makes them puke... maybe he's just getting into something like that.

Answer 9

You know, I was just on a site looking for info about alzhiemers, and found something that had testimonials about animals, (contrtol F for horse and dog)

Answer 10

Wot r u feeding him? Have u changed his diet drastically? Has he eaten a mouse or somethingelse that he found?