WHAT is making my cat throw up?

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

She’s absolutely fine in herself, eating as normal (begging for treats), playing, chatty, in and out to the garden. Thursday she had been a bit sick when I got in from work. Friday fine. Saturday she was sick in the early hours (2am-ish) and DP thinks it was a hair-ball. Today she threw up about 4.

On Thursday night/Friday I gave her poached chicken. Saturday DP went and got Royal Canin hairball food and she had that, then again this morning.

We rang the vet on Saturday and they said just to keep an eye on her, and as she was well in herself not to bring her in. We have access to a vet-nurse line through insurance and I called them today. The nurse said to ring our own vet again tomorrow and to feed her snack sized portions of her usual food (not the RC) at intervals until then.

I’ll obviously call the vet again tomorrow, but any ideas? She’s nine, and I actually had her at the vet in June because of vomiting and the vet said she thought she had probably eaten something she shouldnt have but was given a clear bill of health. That time she was definitely not herself (although by the time of the appointment had perked up considerably, of course) whereas now she reminds me of a guy I was at uni with who would “tactical chunder” then keep drinking - she throws up then goes straight to her dish looking for food.

Tax paid below.

One of our cats had the same symptoms and it turned out to be pancreatitis.

It was treated with antibiotics and fluid replacement and she made a good recovery.

BTW your cat looks like my cat.

@TheShellBeach i just googled that and she is definitely not lethargic or lacking in appetite, but great to know that if it is it can be treated. Your cat and my cat are twins! 👯‍♀️

I have a serial puker. He eats too much he throws up, he eats too fast he throws up, he doesnt eat he throws up, he has a hairball he throws up, he licks the plates he throws up, he steals the dogs food he throws up. Had all the tests going cost us a fortune the upshot is he's just a puker. The moral of my story is whilst you should get it checked out it could be the vets find no answer.

@Hellocatshome she’s never been a puker, but this year we have had more in the way of hairballs - she’s quite long haired for a short haired cat.

Were the tests invasive? She absolutely hates going to the vet and I am worried she is going to be so stressed. My DP is away for work tomorrow for ten days and usually he takes her because I can’t bear it!

They did an xray and blood tests and a urine test and we had to take in a poo sample which was lovely as what comes out the other end isn't great either. I think he must have kitty ibs as well as the vomiting. Vets are convinced he is health though.

When I took her in June the vet gave her an injection and said that if she vomited again within 24h then we needed further investigations, but didn’t say what those would be.

She’s absolutely furious because she is begging for snacks and getting none. Normally of an evening she settles down after we’ve eaten, sleeps until about 10.30, gets into the “begging spot”, has two Dreamies, then goes out for a final patrol of the garden - poor wee soul doesn’t understand what’s going on.

Hi - I had a cat like this and it turned out that she was coeliac! We switched to a rice based food, rather than wheat based and it sorted her out very quickly.

Interesting @ŁadnaPogoda - can that be something that develops in an adult cat? She’s nine.

I really hope it’s something simple, I love her so much and can’t bear to think of her being poorly. She’s very bad for munching on grass, and the vomit on Thursday had a big green leaf in it so maybe it could be something like that. The vet nurse on the phone mentioned anti freeze poisoning can cause vomiting but she is bright as a button in herself and never near any cars (doesn’t roam, is just in our enclosed garden or indoors).

My 12 year old cat has a few days puking each month - mainly hairballs but also as a previous poster put for eating too much / too quick etc etc after a couple of days she's perfectly fine. Eats (and begs) normally during the few days. Vet investigated and just decided that's what she does ..... no further action unless she becomes lethargic / poorly with it.

@notapizzaeater she is currently going wild with the ball toy pictured above - so really not at all lethargic! Live scenes below.

I had this with my cat at the beginning of the year. Paid for sickness injections, teeth out etc. Turns out it was worms. I felt bad but after a seroius dose of worming tablets and flea treatment she was back to normal within a week

My old girl went through this when younger and my vet said some cats are just pukers
She advised feeding a digestion diet so I started hills i/d and royal canin gastrointestinal and this cured her so worth trying as long as your vet says no worrying other signs

Do you happen to feed her Felix Doubly Delicious OP? One of my DM's cats has been being sick with no explanation and she found some reports online of this food causing issues so changed his food and the vomiting stopped. He then accidentally ate one of the others food (DM was using up what Doubly Delicious she had as it hasn't affected her other two cats) and promptly started vomiting again.

If the vomiting is lots of hairballs, maybe she's over grooming? New cats nearby or something else bothering her?
Is her flea treatment up to date?
I think chomping grass occasionally and vomiting is nothing to be worried about.
I'd look for any other changes of behaviours too - eating/drinking ok?
Eating too fast definitely makes my cats puke. You can tell this has happened because the food is barely digested.

@Mags11 funnily enough we have a worming tablet right here for her as it’s been three months, but figured we should wait until her tummy settled.

@Velvetpaws75 really hope it’s this!

@Beamur no changes we can think of and she is entirely well in herself. I don’t think she is over grooming and I try and brush her most days but realistically it is probably more like 3/4 times a week.

I have this exact same issue and I'm taking mine to the vet tomorrow. I can't sleep because I'm so anxious that it's something serious. She's well in herself, going to the toilet but begs for food to the point she tries to grab it out of my mouth.

My sisters cat had this she elevated her bowls and it fixed the issue bizarrely

I also had a cat who had a hairball and then just couldn't stop puking he had an injection to stop it apparently it happens sometimes he managed to scrape his throat so the blood was alarming but not significant it was just a small scrape

One of my cats has bilious vomiting syndrome. He will vomit on an empty stomach. (TMI warning) The vomit is mostly just bile but occasionally has bits of grass etc in it. This happens more often in the early hours of the morning, since he hasn’t eaten since 9ish the night before. He is 15ish now and has developed this in the last year or so. Leaving some dry biscuits near where he sleeps has stopped it. He is happy as Larry otherwise (and spoilt rotten).

Thyroid.

Could very well be an allergy or the food.

My teenage hood cat looked exactly like yours op!
One of mine was also a serial puker, she's much better after being changed to grain free food. It was like the stuff she was sensitive too. Would build up in her system and make her sick several times in the side of 24 hours. She'd be ok for a while and then it would happen again.
90% improvement on Amazon brand grain free food. And the rest was helped by a slow feeder. I was amazed that she's a guzzler!

I have a puker too, nothing wrong with her, she just pukes a lot.
Welcome to cleaning the carpet a lot!

@Theunamedcat agree raised bowls helpful for cats with acid stomachs causing nausea and/or vomiting and also for cats with arthritis or mobility issues as easier eating position
I have some lovely raised ceramic bowls but just raising ordinary bowls on a book or two works too