Vomiting cat - should I be worried now?

[Catsofa]

My cat is being sick, is there anything I can do to help? At what point should I try to contact an emergency vet on a Friday night?

CONTEXT: Obviously cats vomit all the time and mine does it occasionally and then comes back later and eats it if I don't find it first with my foot because cats are, well, cats.

But mine is now 15 years old and has aged a lot in the last 6 months or so, lost weight, her back legs got much weaker and wobblier and got very very slightly dull eyes, although still into things and plays and eats as much as ever.

Tonight she has vomited up all her dinner with big plaintive howls rather than the usual vomity grunts, as though it's really hurting her, rather than a more usual recreational cat-vomit session. She has nothing left to bring up but has just had another go at vomiting, and howling. She has access to water and I just put down a little bit of milk to help with the acid burn from vomit, but she doesn't want it.

Before this second go she had a nibble of one of my house plants, a red bulbous thing that I have no idea what it is. She can also reach a spider plant and I think has occasionally had a chew on that over the years.

Am I right in thinking that they sometimes chew plants to induce vomiting? Should I remove the plants? How long/bad should I let this get before I call a vet? Are there any warning signs that should make me call a vet ASAP if present?

Sorry there is so much vomit in this post :(

I don't know what the 'red bulbous thing' could be but recreational houseplant chewing isn't a good habit even when - like spider plants - they're not actually poisonous. (As far as I know.)

I wouldn't be happy about the howling while she's being sick though. They don't like vomiting but in my experience it's more usually small distress sounds and plumbing noises. Howling is another matter.

I'd give the OOH vet a phone and get a quick consult, myself. In any case, she should be seen by a vet sooner rather than later because of the other things you mentioned and at her age.

Yeah, it was kind of a big YOWL of the sort that she normally does when she really really doesn't like something. She is a very vocal cat, and does occasionally howl that loudly when really hungry and annoyed that I'm having a lie in so her breakfast is late. It is an alarming noise though, and was definitely unhappy vomiting more than "normal" cat vomiting.

I guess I just wondered if I might be being silly calling a vet for a vomiting cat, given how vomity cats just are.

She didn't do it again, followed me around for head rubs, demanded a replacement dinner an hour later and is now zonked out in favourite cardboard box next to the radiator, so I reckon I'll just call the vet for a normal appointment tomorrow. Would stress her out to chuck her in a box and in a taxi anyway. Taxi drivers always assume she's injured or something because she screams the taxi down, but it's just because she doesn't like it.

I guess I could take a bit of the red plant in to see if the vet thinks it's anything that might affect a cat particularly.

Thanks for advice!

That's good then - and if she's a yowler anyway, not quite so unusual. I'd still make a vet appointment soon for her to be checked over. (The loss of weight and the wobbly back legs etc are worth a vet having a look see given her age.)

Glad she's perked up.

(Vomiting is a bit of a judgment call on the part of owners. The occasional vomit goes with the territory but if you know your cat's ways then vomit that doesn't fit their pattern - eg number of times, amounts, circumstances and so on - is worth keeping an eye on. She may have eaten something that disagreed with her - particularly if she goes out and hunts.)