our cat is bulimic?!!?

Question

we have a minature long haired brown tabby, she is 12 years old. for the last couple of years she has eaten her food and then proceeded to vomit it back up right next to her dish. this happens quite regularly, evry few days or so. does anyone else have this same problem with their cat? does anyone know what it is and how to resolve it?
we've tried her on a variety of different cat foods.....

ok some people seem to think we haven't told our vet, but we have and they don't seem to think its a problem.... they've never said 'ooh it could be serious' or nything

Answer 1

Get her to the vet she may have a big problem inside

Answer 2

My cat is 16 years old (bless) and is sick regularly (most daysand usually on a rug and NOT the easily wipeable laminate!). If you have tried different varieties of food presume you have used Senior types of food.Older cats can't digest their food as well as they could so when they were youngsters. Have you tried a veterinary type of brand like Hills or Iams ? These are more expensive but do tend to stay down better. Young cats vomit,due to hairballs,this is completely normal and they chew grass too to help them do this....they still do this in old age BUT older cats tums are more sensitive. If your vet seems to think there is nothing wrong then try the vet food.....if this doesn't change anything then I would get an opinion from another vet. Try the food for a week and see how you go.Make sure there is plenty of water available so your cat doesn't become dehydrated.

Answer 3

At her age, vomiting like that is a sign of something more serious. Generally relating the kidney or liver functions. She is in the age range when these things can become a major problem. If this is fact the case, it could be something as simple as getting her system flushed with a hydration solution and change in diet, or that she is very ill.

What you need to do is have her get a blood planel done with your vet- if this vet does not see the need (at age 12) then you need another vet. When cats become seniors, about age 7, they should have a panel done sometimes as frequently as once a year. A blood planel will show any indications if she is having any kind of internal issues.

Even so much as a UTI, to liver and/or kidney failure. I have been in this situation three times before. Any vet who does not feel it is needed to do blood work on a cat who is 12 and vomiting consistantly, needs to be out of practice.

The blood work can cost between $45-80. But is well worth the cost, as doing this as prevenitive care vs. evasive treatment, which would be fare more expensive.

I suggest you see a vet right away.

Answer 4

I have 3 cats and have found over the years the more I feed them the more they vomit. I cut back on their food and they don't vomit like they used to. Once in a while there is a hairball throw up but that's about it. You may be feeding her too much. Also when an animal gets older their stomach changes and they sometimes need different foods. I know you have changed the foods but this can cause problems too if done too frequently. I think you should have better results if you got her on a good quality senior cat food and switched her over to it gradually. To switch her over to a new food you need to add a few pieces to her old food daily and take out a few pieces of the old food daily until gradually it is all the new food. Call the vet, make an appointment, have her checked over, maybe a blood test to make sure everything is normal and then discuss a good quality senior cat food with the vet and get her switched over.

Answer 5

There are a lot of possibilities - if your vet hasn't done a geriatric blood workup on your cat yet, that would be a good place to start.

If your vet doesn't seem very interested in helping you to find a solution, it may be time to look for another vet - some just aren't that interested in cats, unfortunately. A feline specialist is a good place to start, if there's one in your area.
www.aafponline.org has a good 'find a feline vet' link.


Other ideas, to try in the meantime:

1) Try elevating her food bowl. Put it up on a book or in an elevated feeder that is at a comfortable height for her. Also, make sure she has plenty of fresh, clean water available close by.

2) If you feed a dry-only diet, try introducing some good-quality canned food into her diet, to increase her water consumption with the meal. Good quality canned foods have more digestible meat ingredients and a higher water content - good for all cats, especially those with digestive issues (please see source below).

3) It could be a food allergy or sensitivity - watch out for foods with soy as a protein source, it causes problems for a lot of cats. You might want to ask your vet about doing a trial of a food for cats with allergies, with a novel protein source such as rabbit or duck.

4) Does she gobble her food? If she does, try feeding her smaller amounts at a time.

Answer 6

My kitten vomits on average once every 2 weeks and it just looks like undigested food. When I told the vet she said that sometimes cats can gobble their food to fast then their stomachs cannot take the food at this speed so they vomit it back up again. However my kitten had lost a little weight since her last visit, so the vet has said to take her back after a couple of weeks and weigh her again and if she is continuing to loose weight then they will have to x-ray just to make sure there is no other problem. If you are unsure take your cat back to the vet and again tell them of your concerns. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though.

Answer 7

She isn't bulimic that is a Human condition!
She is getting on in years and should be fed smaller meals through-out the day. Also make sure she is groomed daily as she may be getting more frequent problems with fur-balls!
If you feed her dry food she could be swallowing it rather than chewing, try her on the pouches or tins!
If the Vet is not concerned about her then she is fine.
Good-luck and ignore the ones who think you would be daft enough to leave it 2 years without a vet!

Answer 8

I had a cat that would do this all the time! So much so that he ended up being called 'Pukesatrandom'! He did it since he was a kitten and I ended up giving him to my parents as I really HATE puke and one day I'd had enough of it when I woke up to a living room sprayed with puke all over my new wall paper! So he got taken to my parents who lived in a really old pub with flagstone floors!! (Easy to wash off!)
Anyway, he got taken to the vet when he was quite young and the vet suggested that he had a kink in his asophagus (sp) going into his stomach and sometimes the food wasn't going into the stomach but piling up in the asophagus til he'd wretch and bring it back up. But without a barium meal he couldn't say for sure but I wasn't prepared to pay for one or put my cat through the horror of that! He'd also do this right after eating and you could see that the food hadn't even been in the stomach as it was much the same as it looked in his food bowl. No fluids with it whatsoever.
However, as your cat is older and has only just started doing this I would perhaps suggest that her asophagial sphinkter (sp) [the valve going into the stomach] has developed a problem with opening to let the food in.
If your cat seems othewise healthy and isn't losing weight because of this then I'd relax about it and try not to be too concerned.....that is if you don't mind cleaning up puke!!!
BTW....That cat of mine is still alive and living the life of Riley in Spain now, aged 14.
All I have to contend with these days is a pukey child! Will I ever be free from cleaning up puke........?

Answer 9

I only have a problem with occasional vomiting with my 13 yr old cat who only eats dry food. The other cats eat canned food and a raw meat diet I prepared with a supplement powder. They absolutely do not vomit.

Dry food usually contains a high amount of corn which is not readily digestible for cats. I would suggest you try a high quality canned food for a while. NOT Whiskas, Friskies, Fancy Feast or any of that stuff with by-product meat and artificial flavor additives. Those foods can definitely cause stomach upset, diarrhea and stuff like that. Try Natural Balance or Wellness for starters and don't use the fishy stuff right away.

Because of your cat's age you have to accept that she is termed a "senior" cat. She should have a regular vet check with a blood panel to determine the status of her health and to look for any problems or potential problems she may be having.

Answer 10

Had cats for about thirty years but always shorthairs. Vomiting seems to be something cats do if they gobble their food down too quickly and when bringing up swallowed fur that accumulates after grooming.This shouldn't be a problem unless your cat stops eating or using the litter tray.However if you are at all concerned for your cat's health, a check-up at the vet's can't hurt.

Answer 11

Bulimic! Good way of putting it.

Yes our cat is the same, and usually in the morning, so we were saying he had morning sickness, even though he is a neutered male.

We took him to the vets, and she said to stay away from Whiskers and Iams as they are too rich. And to give him half a pouch at a time.

Merlin is fine now, and has either Felix or Tesco's own pouches. I tend to give fish flavours in the morning, as I think they are not as rich.

There are also biscuits(dry food) available from pet stores and vets that are for sensitive tummies.

Good Luck.