Very worried about my cat...?

Question

My cat has been vomiting on a somewhat regular basis lately... about once a week. What concerns me is that this vomit isn't completely or even partially liquid... in fact it resembles feces more than vomit. I have a hard time believing these are hairballs, but I'm uncertain as to what hairballs look like or how they can vary from cat to cat, so I don't want to rule that out.

She had a veterinary check-up not too long ago and was perfectly healthy. The consistency and frequence of her vomiting is what really bothers me. The first couple times I figured it was just her adjusting to changes in food or whatnot, but it doesn't seem normal to me at all anymore, and I'm curious as to whether there could be a greater problem causing this.

The vet will be contacted very soon about this, I'd just like to know if anyone's encountered a similar situation or could provide some information or advice for me beforehand.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Take a kleenex to the hairball and pry it apart, it should be compacted hair if it is a hairball.

Hairballs can come up with clear fluid (drinking water or saliva), in yellow fluid (bile from an otherwise empty stomach) or brown **** (the really nasty half digested food that stinks to high heaven). You're probably seeing #3.

During a high shed season (they shed out a lot of their fur suddenly for two weeks or so, then slow down the shedding) you'll see anywhere from one a week to maybe three every four days, depending on the cat and how much fur is getting swallowed during grooming.

Some hairballs look like thick tootsie rolls with pinched ends, up to 4" long. Some are just little plugs 1/2" long, some come up as just 12 or 18 hairs sort of floating in the fluid. It depends on how the cat's stomach takes things, how much they ingested and how nauseous they got after grooming.

Answer 2

If your cat is one of those that's very particular about grooming, it could be a hairball. They look like a solid but slimy tube. You might try getting some "hairball remedy", which is available wherever pet supplies are sold. I rub it into my kitty's front paws and she licks it off. Some cats like it so much they'll take it off your finger as if it was candy. The hairball remedy might solve your problem if you use it on a regular basis as directed on the package. You can also buy "indoor" or "anti-hairball" foods for the cat. I'm feeding these to my cat and it has positively reduced the amount of upchuck.

Answer 3

Sounds like hairballs to me. Due to them always, and I mean always bathing themselves, the hair get's stuck in the food and can look like feces..... I'd just recommend a hairball medication, most can be found at your local pet store. A few drops in the food, or even a specialized shampoo will stop this. Don't worry....she was checked out, and all was good, she will be fine.

Answer 4

I have two cats with that problem. It's roughly called "scarf-and-barf."
Cats are strictly carnivorous. Their bodies require a certain amount of meat protein.
All cat foods bought from the supermarket have the very minimal amount of meat proteins. The rest of the foods is made up of grain proteins and other garbage that cats cannot digest.
Most cats do fine with that food. Other cats, such as yours and mine, require a bit more.
Your cat is hungry, so she eats and eats. Her stomach doesn't recognize the grain proteins as food and gets rid of it, making room for the "real" food.
Foods with higher protein contents can be found at specialty pet supply stores. Eukanuba and Science Diet are good brands. The stuff is pricey, I'll grant you that, but I have found that mixing equal portions of the healthy stuff and the supermarket stuff together has worked wonders for my cats. They hold the stuff down a lot better than before. My carpet has been looking better too. Once in a while, they do throw up, but I notice that it's because they ate more of the cheap kibble stuff than the good stuff.

Answer 5

My cat was vomiting every night about 6hours after his last meal.The vomit was brown so I took him to the vets who examined him and stated that my cat was fine.I wasnt happy so I took my cat to another vets who took an xray and blood test that showed a problem with the pancreas.An operation was done and a duodenal ulcer was found,this is very rare in cats.He is now recovering with some TLC and diet,so I suggest that you ask the vet for a blood test as itn could show what the problem is.

Answer 6

Try brushing your cat every day to get all the loose hairs out. If she still keeps vomitting, then it's prob not a hairball.

Answer 7

Long, tubular looking stuff?

Yeah, that's major hairballs. Get her some remedy and try to comb/brush her often to remove excess loose hair.

I don't think you have too much to worry about. It's pretty common as cats age for them to have more and more trouble with hairballs. Hope this puts you somewhat at ease, and good luck!

Answer 8

cats r very curious bout things in e house.. they will nibble on anything. check ur home if uve left anything harmful like poisonous plant, medications, etc.
one of my cats ate half a bottle of my mom's slimming pills.. i found her vomitting brown colored liquids when i came back from e office. and of course my mom got a bad thrashing from me for leaving her medications unattended...

Answer 9

She could be pregnant?