Cat started to vomit most days

[Athenaviolet]

Got rescue cat a few months ago.

Aged c. 4yrs.

Settled in fine.

Fussy with food- just licked jelly/gravy off those foods so now we just give her the pate style wet food & dried food.

She was occasionally eating grass outside then coming in and being sick-happened a few times over months.

But now she is being sick almost every day! Every time she goes out she heads straight for the grass. If she gets some she comes in and vomits it up alongside what looks like her wet food. She doesn't seem ill. We have recently moved which has stressed her a bit (staying close/hiding under beds) but she seems to be settling in ok.

We have also been trying out cheaper brands of cat food to cut bills. Maybe it's this?

We aren't sure what to do just now apart from keeping her in, away from the grass. Reluctant to go to the vet as the moving has left us vv short of cash and she doesn't seem ill at all or distressed. Her coat is shiny. She is a healthy weight. She is friendly with us.

What else can we try?

Are you using anything on your grass? That would be my first concern - especially as she's only sick when she eats it. Can cats be intolerant to eating grass? I suppose it's possible but you'd have to wait until someone who isn't guessing comes along!

If she was sick before you switched brands, it's unlikely to be the food, but it is possible that something in the new food is irritating her stomach and causing her more upset.

I think this is almost natural behaviour for cats, they use grass as an emetic. Our cat certainly does this more in the summer months.

I suspect the reason cats do this "in the wild" is to expel any worm burden or fur balls they may have - although our cat does it even after he has just been wormed and has never had fur balls (he doesn't wash!).

Make sure your cat is regularly wormed - with a quality wormer from your vets not a supermarket brand. Groom her regularly. However, if she is drinking excessively I would get her checked over by a vet

How frequently are they meant to be wormed? I think she is 'due' in August from what we got from the rescue place.

I 'think' it can vary depending on their risk level. My own current old boy has very limited risk indeed so is wormed less frequently than, say, a hunting cat who goes outside. (They might be recommended for worming as frequently as monthly if they were eating possibly infected prey most nights.) The Lodger used to be wormed about every couple of months.

Remember to get one that covers the full range of worms. Some of them don't.

Stoopid question! Has the vomiting increased since changing food? Have you tried a day or two of chicken or fish?
My cat needs very regular grooming or she vomits a lot!

PS - you might find this old thread by Lone interesting with regard to worms.

Frequent vomiting can be a sign of kidney problems which are common in cats. I would get the vet to check her over and take some bloods to be safe.

I would worm at a minimum of every 3 months down to to 6 weeks frequency if she is out and about outside. Get a quality wormer from vets, ones you can buy over the counter do not have all the appropriate chemicals to cover all types of worms.

Cats do not need to be hunting to get reinfected with worms. There life cycle means they can lay dormant in larvae form within the cat and then migrate through their tissues to reinfect their digestive tract (which is where worming treatment act).

*their

I'd take them to the vet with persistent vomiting.

Any consistent increase in a pattern of vomiting warrants a vets visit, there are a huge number of things it could be.

One of mine comfort eats during times of stress, like moving (I free feed dry). He eats more than his little cat tummy can handle. So if he's stressed, I weigh out the amount recommended on the packaging, and that's all he gets. I grow barley and oat grass for him, and even though he has a good old chomp on it, doesn't make him sick.

I'd be inclined to take to the vet, with a stool sample.

Your question re. worming, every 3 months, more if she's a prolific hunter and consumes prey. I use Milbemax or Drontal. Like a PP said, stuff from the supermarket/pet shops doesn't work and can be harmful.

She goes outside but not for very long. She's only been out all night once. She hasn't brought in any prey so I don't think she's catching anything (noisy collar).

We have switched back to premium dried food and given her some fresh chicken tonight.

We will get some worming stuff. How much is it usually?

I buy Drontal from here for less than £1.50 per tablet. I think my vet charges about £8 per tab. Really important to know your cat's weight though. They have a dosage/weight table on their site.

I do think it a good idea to take her into the vet though. They'll also weigh her accurately for you.

My eldest girl cannot stomach anything other than Royal Canin Sensible dry food - she vomits if we give her anything else (although occasionally has Applaws chicken tins for a treat that she can mostly hold down too). It was recommended by the charity we rescued her from and we haven't deviated from using the same brand and her vomiting is down to maybe 3-4 times a month

She's been fine today so we'll see if it returns over the next few days.

What type of food does your cat eat? Mine was sick often when we were using the rubbish food, GoCat and isn't sick at all since we moved to iams.

Our cat was diagnosed with kitty IBS but when she was switched to a special food the vomiting decreased significantly.

Our cat had been being sick pretty often. It had got to the stage where I had resigned myself to it being something that just happened. It turned out she had eaten a foreign object, months ago, and we had to have surgery to remove it. She hasn't been sick since.

Mine was a very vommy cat when she was on Whiskas but is a less vommy cat (still fairly often, once a week or so) on Iams, which she's been on for the last eight years (now 11). She also doesn't tolerate wet food of any kind or eat any human food at all.

I have spoken to both the vet and our catsitter about it a number of times over the years, who both told me some cats are just a little more sickly than others, particularly if they are outdoor cats and regularly wormed so not likely to be a result of worms etc. But a major increase in frequency would certainly send me to the vets to get her checked out.