Are my cats sick or what?

Question

Okay, case one:

She's short-hair, old and boney. She's been a mostly-outdoor cat for a long time. The past couple of months, she's been throwing up about once every two weeks in the house. Let me say again, she old, old. I don't know if she's sick or just aging. My aunt told me that throwing up is one of the signs that they're going to die, but it has been months. I don't know what's going on.

Case Two:

She's only a few years old and short-hair as well. Recently, like in the past few days, she's been making this really weird noise. It's like a cross between coughing and sneezing. When she does it, she puts her head down like she wants to throw up and I can see her stomach contract. I don't think it's just a hairball, but I could be wrong. It's just that I've never ever seen her do that before, and if it's natural for cats, why is she just starting now?

What is going on here?

Answer 1

i just had this problem with my indoor/outdoor cat, turns out he had a respitory infection, he just needed meds and needed to be housed for a couple days, and hydrated especially because of the heat, the vet also said that a lot of cats get sick this time of ear, due to hormones freaking out, my cat lost weight and got sick.... mostly caused by hormones... take her the the vet, can you afford that?

also your other cat, sounds like a hairball to me, i have a 20lb main coon, 53 inches long, has tons of hair, so i know hairballs quite well.... he also has a thing where his food dish has to be full at all times or he whines, and if it goes without being super full or if it is empty and i am gone and it doesnt get filled he will then pig out and because he gets soo excited or what not, he throws up, or if he doesnt eat enough he throws up as well, i think wth hm its just an anxiety thing, maybe your cat also?

Answer 2

The dry cough -- where the head is pushed out, chin parallel to the floor and the head may wave back and forth while they cough one at a time---is something all cats do occasionall. I've only seen two hairballs come up from a cat doing that in roughly 30 years so it serves some other function than barfing or hairballs. I sort of equate it with a hair in the throat they want to clear out.

The barfing---that's got lots of reasons to happen.

They may have a hairball & the thing comes up looking like a tootsie roll.

They may have just groomed then drank water, and the water doesn't sit well with the hair, and even though there's not enough to wad into a true hairball, it all comes up just because.

They may have a hairball and not care, eat a whole wad of food then barf it all in 5 minutes with the food compacted and the hairball laying at the end of it.

They may have eaten too much grass and the entire batch comes up.

Their stomach may be sensitive and just makes them nauseous when they eat, no matter what they eat, and they'll toss it up.

They may feel nauseous for some other reason and it all comes up--this is usually clear or clear and frothy, or yellow bile, or even that brown sludge if the meal they had is mostly digested and further down their digestive system.

They may have eaten something bad and need to get it out.

They may not be able to digest something specific like cheese, milk, raw hamburger, bacon, or whatever & then up it comes (just a few things guaranteed to have my small guy upchuck in less than five minutes after eating it).

Cats barf. So do dogs, but cats do it more. It's pretty normal actually, and not a sign of dying. If it's excessive (four times in half an hour) it's probably an emergency and you need to move fast, but the occasional barf isn't a big worry unless you step in it.

Answer 3

For case two, probably hairballs, and sometimes they try to cough them up, but don't succeed. There are hairball medications you can buy and they are not prescription. They are really greases that help lubricate the hairball through the body, and they are cheap.

For case one, it depends on what the throw up looks like. But unless it happens more frequently, there is likely not a real concern. Usually, changes in the litter box is a definite sign of health problems. I have never heard of what your aunt said about a cat signalling they were going to die.

Answer 4

Yep. Puking cats are no fun, even if the number one reason you want them to stop is because it is grossing you out.

The older kitty, well, she's just old. Something is probably not sitting well in her tummy. You didn't mention what the puke looks like. If it's food, then she might be over eating. If it's hairy, with food and other stuff, then it's just a hairball.

In the young kitty, well, it's nasty to sit there and watch them dry heave. Yuck. It's normal, though. I've had indoor only cats most of my life. It's normal, you just never get the pleasure of witnessing this behavior in outdoor cats. Ha!

The solution. There is this stuff your vet can give you. I think you can just buy it at the pet store, though. My old cat Jack was puking all over the place. We took him to the vet and they said nothing was wrong. No bowel obstruction, no nothing! $80 wasted! I hate that. So we switched him to hairball formula food and got this stuff. It comes in a tube and looks like vaseline. It smells like rotten car-butt. Cat digs it, though. You squeeze out a half inch and make 'em eat it. It's supposed to coat their throat and tummy or something. I don't actually care HOW or why it worked. All I cared about was rescuing my carpet after I found out my cats were healthy. Little pukers! Now, they hardly ever puke.

Feel better?

Answer 5

Cats with FIV or Feline Leukemia are skinny and lethargic, throw up, have diarrhea. The older cat is an outdoor cat and is at greater risk for contracting both those diseases. They get it from another cat's saliva.
If the other cat is sneezing she could have a respitory infection, they need to be vaccinated against those. The vet can do it, or you can try buying the vaccine and giving it to the cat if you have a place that sells them nearby.

Answer 6

this is the job for probably a vett. and since shes was an outdoor catt, shee could have gotten somethingg byy havingg contactt withh anotherr. andd some cats gett sick by old age. Just trowingg up doesnt mean shes dyingg. onlyy a vett can tell youu whatss wrongg =]

Answer 7

How old is old? I had a cat that lived to be 21 years old.

I'd take them both to the vet for a checkup. It could be nothing, it could be something simply fixed by meds or it could be terminal.

Dr. Internet is not going to be able to fix them. You need to get them seen by a professional.

Answer 8

The second one, presuming her life is worth saving, needs to see the vet. Her diagnosis may shed some light on what the first cat's problem is. Talk to the vet while you're in his office and have him give you his opinion.

Not a vet
Just a professional mom

Answer 9

Did you change foods?

Maybe it is hairball issues...try either a hairball treatment (you can get in the grocery store, Hartz makes it- in a tube like toothpaste) or buy Purina One Hairball Formula cat food.

If that doesn't work, see your vet.

Answer 10

Cats throw up, period. The older one sounds ok, the younger one, it sounds like a hairball. I have many cats and I have experienced both scenarios.