what can I do to help my cat?

Question

When Fidel eats his food he takes his time, but every once in a while he throws it all back up, and I am not trying to see Fidel starve to death in front of my eyes.

Answer 1

Hi Rhonda...there are several possibilities as to why a cat would expel more often than on occasion: Hairballs, switching foods too suddenly, gorging, food allergies, feline diseases/disorders, etc. After considering the following it may be in the best interest to ring a veterinarian to discuss if an evaluation may be merited. Cats who are unable to eat after a few days develop a life-threatening condition called hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome) and require URGENT medical attention. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1327&articleid=217

With hairballs if shedding is higher than usual this may the first thing to consider, which can be resolved by frequent brushing and administering hairball remedies such as Petromalt, Laxatone, etc.

Another possibility is there's been a sudden change in food it can result in changes to the number and type of bacteria and their ability to help digest food. These changes can lead to intestinal upset. Therefore, a pet needs to be switched to a new food slowly. By 'slowly' we mean gradually over the course of 7-10 days. For example, make a mixture that contains 25% of the new food and 75% of the old food and feed that for several days. Then make it 50-50 for several days, then 75% new food to 25% old food for several days. Then you can start feeding 100% new food. If at any time your cat starts vomiting, has loose stools, or appears constipated, slow the rate at which you are switching the food. Here's instructions on how to gradually switch foods to minimize bowel disturbances: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=99

Other cats who eat too quickly may be gorging their food and this will also cause intestinal upset and expelling so food portions may need to be decreased to prevent over eating or speed eating habits. However, it doesn't appear to sound as if Fidel is a gorger so this is unlikely.

Food allergies can also cause vomiting. Many cats develop allergies to the ingredients such as corn, corn meal, byproducts found in most commercial food brands. Whiskas, Friskies, Meow Mix, IAMs, Science Diet, Royal Canin (not their entire product line) Purina, Friskies (most commercial grade cat food) all contain byproducts and corn, corn meal as their primary ingredients. Corn products are actually fillers that are used to bind the dry food together as well as help preserve the shelf life of the food.

Consider premium quality foods devoid of fillers and byproducts to maintain optimal health for cats which are found in specialty pet stores such as:
Innova http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%272%27%5D
Nature's Variety Prairie http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1352
Wellness http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/cat_index.html
California Natural http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%2772%27%5D
Felidae http://www.canidae.com/
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/cats/

Here's more on commercial grade cat food and nutrition:http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/cat-food/review.html

Answer 2

Call the vet and describe the vomit. They should be able to tell you what's going on. You will need to know how much you feed Fidel and how often. If you just leave the food bowl full, Fidel may just be over stuffing. Another case would be, not chewing the food enough. Call the vet to ease your mind!

Answer 3

If this is a new problem, he could be ill, so check with the vet. Otherwise, some cats just throw up more than others, it doesn't necessarily mean anything, I had one who did that.

It could also be hairballs, and you can put him on special food for that, or get some hairball treatment from the store or the vet. It comes in a tube, tuna flavored, put some on a saucer and see if he'll eat it. I had one who thought it was a treat, just loved it and it worked well for preventing hairballs. But I now have 2 who won't touch it. Luckily they don't seem to have too many problems with hairballs.

Good luck to you.

Answer 4

How often do you feed your cat?You know some cats have allergies to there food.That's one reason for the throwing up and it may have an infection inside its intestines.Hairballs cause it too but normally, the hair ball comes up too.My cat right now has a disorder with her chin from the food getting under her chin causing bacteria to grow, I have to bathe her neck and put on peroxide solution vet gave me,so take her to the vet cause there are so many things that can be wrong.Vet's know this stuff, thank god!

Answer 5

Try changing the brand of food. Avoid the generic store brands, their ingredients aren't as good as the higher-priced brands. Feed him smaller amounts, as he might be eating too much at a time. If that doesn't help, get him to a vet for an exam. Maybe he has a swallowing or digestive problem.

Answer 6

I have three cats and one of them is also an "upchucker" she can days or weeks at a time without doing it, maybe they overeat, or play around too soon after eating. As long as Fidel does not lose weight he should be fine. My cat moonshine could actually lose a pound or two!!

Answer 7

When cats have to bend over to eat their food, it's sometimes hard for the food to get down their throats, causing them to throw it back up. You can imagine what it would be like for you to try to eat with your head down; your throat is kind of closed off in that position. I have 2 cats and one of them hade this very problem and the way I solved it was by elevating their dishes. Set his dishes on a stack of books or maybe a small stepstool so he doesn't have to bend his head down to eat.But don't make it too high where he can't reach them either! Good luck!

Answer 8

Several reason can cause this kind of reaction.

First of all it can be one of the ingredients in your cat's food.

Second, parasites in his intestines.

Third one problems with diagestive system.

And of course, hairballs. You can get medicine from the vet for it or special food that will take care of the problem.

Take you cat to the vet. Try to give him water, since he throws up he needs extra fluid.

Good luck

Answer 9

our cat does this on occasion and with her there are 2 causes.
1)hairball
2)our little miss fussy fur sometimes does not chew her food completely

if it keeps up, call your vet, descibe the look of the throw up and he/she can help you. our cat is now 13 years old
(will be 14 on 7-6-07) and has done this since she was a kitten. she weighs 11 lbs.

Answer 10

You should call your vet.
Maybe he needs a different food.
Definitely call your vet though just to make sure nothing is wrong.
Better to be safe, than sorry.☺

Good luck!