Why is my cat vomitting after each meal?

Question

I am looking for a serious answer maybe from someone with vet experience. I have a 4 year old cat who we took in from outside back in December. After almost every meal he vomits. It seems that he over eats because he hovers over the food dish much longer than our other male cat. He is up to date on his vet visits. What could be causing him to vomit and how can we help him. We have noticed a slight weight loss but not much. We also have been feeding him the same food we always have and only in the past month has the vomiting become an everyday thing. Prior to that he would get sick maybe a few times a month.

The cat did NOT eat any of the recalled pet food.

Answer 1

Because he was an outdoor cat, his digestive system was used to eating certain things. If it's a dry cat food that he is throwing up, try switching to canned cat food. He may also have been used to eating grass, natural fiber that helps his digestive system. They do sell "cat plants", potted grasses that are safe for cats to chew on. You may try that as well.
It could also be that his system is finally "getting used to" the food you've been feeding him, and is no longer able to "stomach" it. I would first try mixing his original food you've been feeding him with a new type (whether it's dry or canned). Gradually swtich over to all of the new food. See how he does then.
You could also feed him tiny amounts at a time, like 2 tablespoons. Yes, it may be tedious. If you feed him a little and he just hovers there, not eating, then take the food away. He may just be eating too much too fast for his little stomach to handle. He needs to learn how to eat differently in his new home.
I hope this gives you some ides to work with :)

Answer 2

Your cat may have hairballs. If this is the case, you can get a product at the pet store that will treat this issue.
He could also have heartworms, but , you said he is up with the vet shots, so hopefully, this is not the case.
There is also the chance that he is overeating, as he was an outside cat before, and now he may be worried that there will be times he won't have enough food. Perhaps you can try and give him smaller portions to see if this helps.
Make sure he has enough water also, so that he isn't constipated.
Hopefully, this is a simple fix issue, and your cat will be fine quickly.
If, however, none of these suggestions seem to help; I would take him to the vet ASAP.
Good luck to you and your kitty.

Answer 3

It could be a small blockage in his stomach or digestive tracts, possibly a hairball or other non-food, or even a narrowing of the intestinal wall. If the vomiting is projectile then I would go for the latter. Either way I would take it to the vet for an X-ray to see if there are any obvious signs of a blockage.

Also check if the food id partly digested, this could help the vet determine where the problem is.

Answer 4

It could be a phsical problem or a behavior. A vet needs to clear up the phsical possibilities, and if no uderlying illness, he is most likely eating too much because he is afraid the other cat will eat it all. Was this cat ever in a situation where getting enough food was an isue?

Answer 5

First...are you feeding any of the recalled food? If you are, get him to the vet. If not...I once had 2 cats. One would hoard the food and puke after she ate. This may sound gross, but I noticed when she puked it, the food wasn't even chewed. The vet called this binging and purging. The cats are competeing for the food. She actually had me get some small rocks from outside, wash them up, and place them in the bowls. This way they need to take their time and eat around the rocks and actually chew their food. Thought my vet was nuts, but it worked like a charm!!

Answer 6

We recently had a similar problem. I would ask the vet to do xrays to check the digestive tract (sp?) for anything that shouldn't be there. It took a few vet visits for us to get to the real problem because we took him in for something else.

Once that problem was taken care of, he continued vomiting despite eating like a little horse and became very listless. He lost weight very quickly and we were too late, so we lost our Max. It wouldn't hurt to be certain.

Also, keeping track of your cat's weight (ie. take note of it at each vet visit).

Good luck.

Answer 7

Has your cat been eating canned or foods in foil packages on this list or recalled foods

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html
if so could be the reason

regardless the cat shouild be seen be a vet and blood work taken as a start to see what could be wrong

Answer 8

Could be a hair ball problem. Try Laxitone which you can get at the pet store. If that doesn't work you may have a problem for the vet to diagnose. BTW, the pet food recall had to do with kidney failure so I doubt that's it. It also had to do with "wet" food, not dry.

Answer 9

My cat vomits twice a week or so. If he really eats a lot at one sitting he vomits. We buy him grass from the pet store to munch on and that seems to help. I did a bunch of reading on it and they said that some cats vomit as a method of routine maintenance, but yours seems excessive. You might try giving him some hairball medication and cat grass to start.

Answer 10

Some cats have been known to eat to fast and this causes them to vomit. It is reccomended that you only feed him small amounts at a time to prevent him from getting sick. Hope that helps.