Why has my cat started throwing up more often?

Question

My cat has been throwing up more than usual. She throws up what she has been eating. She used to throw up a couple of times a year but recently it's been once or twice a month and twice in 2 weeks today. I wondered if it's because she is getting older, she is 14 years old or if it could be her diet. I give her one foil of meat a day, dry food available all day and she drinks water outside. I recently stop giving her milk as I heard that is not good for cats but she still threw up today. Apart from that she seems happy, still eats and goes about her day doing her usual stuff. I'm gonna take her to the vet but was wondering if anyone might know or has, had this problem and what did you do?

Her weight seems normal but I guess her muscle tone has altered a little as she got older
Drinks water outside from bowls, stream and puddles
She only throws up her food no clear liquid
When she yawns her mouth looks ok.
She had some bad teeth removed and her teeth cleaned erlier this year.
She potties outside in the garden.

No she's not losing weight. She had a blood test earlier this year when she had her bad teeth removed but I will ask for another one.

Answer 1

Yes at 14 yrs old she should be checked over by a vet for this.

You should provide her with fresh water inside the house every day and take note of how much she is drinking as older cats are prone to kidney failure. You can also look out for a musky, sweet urinary smell, which would also indicate kidney proplems. In which case she would need to see a vet straight away for treatment and a special diet.

Make sure you mash her food well so she doesnt have to swallow chunks that are too large for her to digest. You did the right thing stopping her milk as this upsets so many cats stomaches.

You could also try feeding her a diet of boiled chicken and plain boiled rice fro three days to see if this helps calm her stomache down, then re-introduce her normal food.

At 14 yrs old she probably requires 4 small meals a day and biscuits on the side, rather than one or two large ones and biscuits.

You can purchase a tube of fur ball remedy from your local petshop. Its a cat malt in a tube and you just dab a little anywhere that she can reach to lick it off ( paw or lip).

Good Luck with her I do hope she's alright.

Magina & Cat

Answer 2

Have you had a lot of extra activity around the house due to the holidays? The extra stress can cause that. Some cats are sensitive to dye in food-maybe try a different brand of dry. Of course, make sure to groom your cat to avoid fur related GI troubles.
My vet recommends a visit twice a year for geriatric cats with basic labwork. Predators will not show when they feel bad as it's a sign of weakness-sometimes the problem is serious before you notice anything.
That said, my 16 year old has bouts of vomiting as often as once a day and yet she is happy and shows no signs of illness either at home or on vet exam-maybe it just is old age. You're doing the right thing to have your kitty checked out.

Answer 3

Since she is 14 it might be worth taking her to the Vet for a check up/M.O.T.
Has she been losing weight, muscle tone?
Is she drinking a lot more water than usual?
Is she sicking up clear liquid?
Does she have a sore mouth?
These are some questions your Vet may ask as part of the diagnosis.
She may do better on a "Senior" cat food - usually less high protein and maybe some rice in it.

Answer 4

Is the water clean? - she could have got a bug from that. I would guess that it's hairballs - that's the only time my mum's cat throws up. Take her to the vet who will be able to give her something for hairballs. Is she eating grass? - this will combat hairballs. Also the vet could tell if she has some kind of bug.

Answer 5

I have an 8 year old tomcat who vomitted a lot. I found that giving him smaller portions of food (though no decrease in total daily amount) helped.

You could also check the dry food for contamination and make sure that the bowls are washed regularly.

I'm no vet by any means, but I found it worked in my cat's case.

Answer 6

I have cats that throw up all the time and some infrequently.
The one that pukes all the time and has cost me over $1200 in vet bills over the yrs. trying to find out why,.. has the vets stumped.
They finally called it "gastro-intestinal disease", suggested giving pepcid a/c daily, special vet food (which my fussy cat definitely won't eat, and would have to be force fed) and they also said prednisone.
I heard from lots of animal-rescue and pet people to try yogurt. I did and it curbed her puking tremendously. I syringe 4cc's daily into cat and it soothes her throat and she pukes much less.
But this is a drastic case. You kitty could just be having a touchy tummy due to her senior yrs. and also that you slightly changed her diet (omitted milk, which she's been use to and obviously from her age, did not harm her).
Try plain yogurt, she may just lap it up,.. some cats love it, mine just happen to be the fussiest cat in the world!

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

try brushing for a minute or two every day and see if that fixes it. If it doesn't she needs to go to the vet for a blood panel. Throwing up can be the first sign of diabetes, organ issues etc and a blood test will show what's going on.

Answer 8

My cat does the same thing- my vet told me to keep a small amount of food in his bowl at all times- if i leave alot, he binges and purges, but if I only feed him twice a day, bile can build up in the stomach.. so my vet said to just keep a small but constant amount of food in his dish. I got an automatic feeder and rigged it so only a bit of foo comes out at a time. I also use food made for senstitive systems.

Answer 9

Ask the vet for a blood test to check her liver and kidneys. Frequent vomiting can indicate a problem there as well as increased drinking.
Is she losing weight???

Answer 10

You could talk to your vet about getting her anti hairball medication.Or maybe now that she is older she needs cat food for senior cats.Talk to a vet about changing her diet.