My youngest cat vomits after she eats?

Question

She is about a year old...and it doesn't happen everytime she eats, but she has been doing it off and on since we got her at about 3 months old.

The food (dry food) comes out looking basically the same way as it went in. She is gaining weight in what I would consider healthy.

We got her from the shelter and were advised that she had been found in an abandoned apartment and they suspected that she had been there for almost a month. She had eated a budgie that had also been abandoned.

We always chalked the vomiting up to her having been without food for that time, that when she ate, she would eat far beyond her hunger and assumed that she would grow out of it. She has not.

Any other suggestions as to why?? We took her for her initial vet visit when we got her and the vet agreed with our theroy...but I assumed it would be over by now...

Answer 1

Hey there,
I'm 95 percent sure that your kitty is just eating too fast. My cat does this sometimes, too. Since you said she was abandoned, this might be an instinctual reaction (as you had mentioned)--like she wants to eat as much food as fast as possible, because she might not find anymore for a while.

Try putting a few golf balls (clean, of course) in her food dish. This may sound weird, I know, but this way, she has to eat around them in order to get to her food, which will make her eat slower.

Also, since the food comes out looking almost the same (basically undigested dry food), you can probably rule out any stomach problems.

Honestly, because she was abandoned, the scars from that experience may take a while for her to get rid of. Like children, cats who have traumatizing experiences during childhood (or kittenhood) may carry that around their entire lives. You're doing a great job--just reassure her that you're not going anywhere and she'll get used to that feeling of security.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

The answer may be as simple as the dry food she's eating.

Dry food is made up almost entirely of plant protein, mainly grains. Cats are obligate carnivores that lack the digestive enzymes necessary to digest plant proteins, and they have particular difficulty with grains. All they can do with plant protein is turn it into fat, then live off the fat as if they were starving. Some cats can get by like that (though they tend to develop kidney trouble as they age, due to the low water content of dry food) but others can't. Read this about properly feeding a cat:

http://www.catinfo.org

Don't be surprised that your vet hasn't suggested getting her off the dry food. Vet schools, like human medical schools, don't teach much about nutrition and even less about the unique nutritional needs of cats. Most vets have no idea how bad dry food is for cats, and many think the health problems associated with dry food are just normal parts of the aging process.

Unfortunately, the problem might be much more serious than poor diet. There are many ailments that can induce vomiting and some of them are lethal. Since this seems to be shaping up as something more than temporary, if a change to wet food doesn't clear up the problem in fairly short order, I'd suggest having kitty get a full diagnostic workup for possible gastro-intestinal problems.

Answer 3

I have an adult cat that does that when she is a little piggy and eats way too much. Sometimes she also has a fur ball. Limit the amount of food you put down. Cats only need about 1/2 cup food a day. I also take the food up at night before I go to bed. In the morning, I give her about 10 of the whiska treats. That seems to ease her into it and she doesn't eat as much when her food is put down. I also feed her only dry food.

Answer 4

Mabye you could try different cat food. My cat would start to throw up alot, but when we changed his food, it helped his digestion, and he stopped throwing up. Or it could be hairballs. Another theory I have is that, well, your cat's liver may be failing. I dbout it, but just to make sure, you should check inside of her ears. If the inside of her ears are yellow, then something is wrong with her liver. My cat had to be put to sleep because of that. A cat can show almost no symptoms, but it's liver may be shutting down, and that could happen to even a cat who is 1 years old. I don't mean to worry you, so don't get all upset about this right now. You could also check the cat's skin. Again, if the skin is yelow, that may comfirm the liver failure. The reson that a cat does not eat when it's liver is failing, is because the liver is that part in your body that tells you if you are hungry or thirsty depending on how long ago they have eaten. When it starts to shut down, they are no longer hungry or thirsty, but feel no pain. In this case, your cat is probably just having hair balls because it is still gaining weight and drinking.(right?) Well, I wish you luck with your kitty! ;-) Hope I helped!

Answer 5

She probably has an allergy to an ingredient in the foods that you've been giving her. My 3 year old female is allergic to beef to the point that even a little bit of canned food with beef in it as a secondary ingredient makes her throw up. For a raw diet, while fish is alright since it contains Omega fatty acids it shouldn't be fed on a regular basis because of the collection of toxins in it's flesh and organs. Try getting some chicken, pork, turkey, and beef to start with (introduce any new meats slowly and one at a time to reduce the chance of digestive upset and to rule out meat allergies). You should also get some fish body oil for Omega fatty acids since most store bought meats are lacking in this department. For any raw diet, either whole prey or a prey model is required. Since it seems like you'll be doing prey model, you'll need to get some organ meats as well as bone-in meats. The best organs to start on are chicken livers along with pork livers and kidneys. Overall, the proportions should be 80% muscle meat (this includes hearts and gizzards), 10% bone (if you can't cut the bone with a pair of kitchen shears, it shouldn't be fed), and 10% organ meat (half of which should be liver). These proportions don't need to be met every day. I personally try to get the balance on a weekly basis and will sometimes stretch it to 2 weeks. Another thing to remember is that for the most part, darker meats contain more taurine. This is especially true for heart and gizzard meat. To start out with, you should probably grind the meat you give her to avoid her wolfing down large chunks (which will result in throwing up). As she learns to slow down with her eating, you can gradually give her larger chunks until she's able to tackle a chicken leg on her own.

Answer 6

One of my cats does this, she is very healthy and active. Our vet says that she just eats too fast. If she was abandoned without food, she my still be trying to get all the food she can as fast as she can for fear of not having it. You might try leaving her food down, the "all day buffet" and see if that slows her eating pace down.

Answer 7

1. Hairball remedy at supermarkets.
2. Dry food with hairball control

Answer 8

I agree with Lisa S I have had cat's do this 2 and basically they have eaten to fast . When I cat has a hair ball u c it is that.

Answer 9

It could be hairballs. You could get some over the counter hairball medication. I have a couple cats that I have to give medication to everyday to keep them from getting hairballs. Good luck!

Answer 10

Try kitten food, or something in smaller "bites". Also try treats and or food for hairballs, maybe she has a build up inside.