Cat vomiting after eating

[glorytaker]

OK, my cat has been vomiting after eating occasionally for the past couple of months. I thought it was that the food was stale so I bought a new bag and that made things better, but she still vomits sometimes after eating Science Diet adult original. I notice she tends to vomit about 2-3 minutes after eating and drinking some water. I've been keeping the water fresh. The food she vomits back up is tube-like and has some chunks of food. Is she just eating too fast? I don't think she does this after eating everytime, just sometimes. Otherwise, her behavior is her normal kitty self (playful, attentive to the birdies outside, no weight loss, etc). BTW, I'm a 4th year med student so I'm just want to make sure I don't need to take her to the vet because she seems fine in every other aspect.

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[chris03333]

OK, my cat has been vomiting after eating occasionally for the past couple of months. I thought it was that the food was stale so I bought a new bag and that made things better, but she still vomits sometimes after eating Science Diet adult original. I notice she tends to vomit about 2-3 minutes after eating and drinking some water. I've been keeping the water fresh. The food she vomits back up is tube-like and has some chunks of food. Is she just eating too fast? I don't think she does this after eating everytime, just sometimes. Otherwise, her behavior is her normal kitty self (playful, attentive to the birdies outside, no weight loss, etc). BTW, I'm a 4th year med student so I'm just want to make sure I don't need to take her to the vet because she seems fine in every other aspect.

Sounds like you are describing regurgitation and not vomit. I would take her to the vet there might be a problem with her esophagus.

 

[KCW]

Hi Gloria- I saw your posting. I think you should take your cat to the vet. My cat had a similar problem, and we found out way later that she actually had diabetes, and consequently, she ended up dying from it. I have a lot of experience with animals ( in the home and shelter setting), and I would not recommend this to you if I did not think it was necessary.
Good luck,
KCW

 

[rdc]

OK, my cat has been vomiting after eating occasionally for the past couple of months. I thought it was that the food was stale so I bought a new bag and that made things better, but she still vomits sometimes after eating Science Diet adult original. I notice she tends to vomit about 2-3 minutes after eating and drinking some water. I've been keeping the water fresh. The food she vomits back up is tube-like and has some chunks of food. Is she just eating too fast? I don't think she does this after eating everytime, just sometimes. Otherwise, her behavior is her normal kitty self (playful, attentive to the birdies outside, no weight loss, etc). BTW, I'm a 4th year med student so I'm just want to make sure I don't need to take her to the vet because she seems fine in every other aspect.

I disagree with the post about regurgitation - from what you describe, the food is making it to the stomach and is being vomited up. However, i agree with everybody about taking your cat in for a check-up. It may be nothing, but better to get it checked out.

 

[bern]

You really should take her to the vet. Vomiting is often a problem for cats with renal failure and probably a bunch of other serious diseases as well. You might want to get some lab work done if the vet dan't figure out what's going on with an exam.

 

[PsychoLulu]

OK, my cat has been vomiting after eating occasionally for the past couple of months. I thought it was that the food was stale so I bought a new bag and that made things better, but she still vomits sometimes after eating Science Diet adult original. I notice she tends to vomit about 2-3 minutes after eating and drinking some water. I've been keeping the water fresh. The food she vomits back up is tube-like and has some chunks of food. Is she just eating too fast? I don't think she does this after eating everytime, just sometimes. Otherwise, her behavior is her normal kitty self (playful, attentive to the birdies outside, no weight loss, etc). BTW, I'm a 4th year med student so I'm just want to make sure I don't need to take her to the vet because she seems fine in every other aspect.

Hey Glory,

How frequently does your cat do this? Do you see hairball at the end of the vomit when it happens?And did your vet find anything when you brought your cat in? Am curious because my cat does this too, sometimes with hairball, sometimes not, and she does it anywhere from once a week to once every few months.

My vet is running some blood work now to make sure it's not hyperthyroidism, even though she did say it's rare (but not unlikely) in a cat as young as mine (5/6 yrs old).

I don't think it could be diabetes as indicated in a former post as you would notice other key symptoms, in particular inappropriate elimination caused by polyuria, as well as polydipsia and weight loss. Vomiting is usually in more advanced case of diabetes, and so you should be seeing other symptoms too, but since your original post indicates that your cat is BAR, I doubt diabetes is the case....(but hey, I'm not starting vet school till later this year, so what do I know, right? )

Still, a visit to the vet is a good idea, and let's share our vet's findings when we get them?

 

[glorytaker]

Wow, I'm sorry I've ignored this thread. I'm glad I checked it again. I've been keeping a log lately of when she vomits. I notice she is more likely to vomit if her bowl has been empty for a while (like over night). I used to keep a full bowl of food for her all the time and the vet said she was gaining too much weight so I started to ration her (about 1/2-3/8 cup per day until her bowl is empty again). The vet said if she gained any more weight (she was at 12+ lbs in Aug) she may get diabetes. She's vomited 8 times since X-mas that I've noticed and logged. Each time has been after eating and drinking. Then she vomits a bolus of food a few minutes after eating. About a minute or two later, she vomits again, but it's almost all water/ brown color of Science Diet.

The funny thing is, she tries to eat what she throws up, and she does if I don't catch her. If I throw the vomit away, she just goes on with her kitty routine and doesn't eat again like she's not hungry anymore. And I think if she re-eats the vomit, she doesn't throw it up again.

BTW, my cat is only 2 years old and doesn't have any signs or symptoms of disease or sickness. I'm starting to mix in Science Diet Indoor Cat formula with the SD Original and I may just keep her bowl filled with Indoor SC and see if she keeps vomiting. I think the simplest answer may be that rationing her food gets her hungry, then she over eats when I give her some food, drinks water --> food expands in kitty stomach --> vomit. I mean, the simplest answer could be the solution.

The thing about weight gain/loss-- I was hoping she'd lose a pound or two since the vet said she shouldn't get any heavier d/t risk of diabetes. Well, I'll post back in a few days and let you report on how she does with being back to full bowls of food. If she still does that, I'm going to take her to the vet. But right now, my medical gut instinct is that she's eating too fast. Although, I would like to do an EGD to just make sure.

 

[glorytaker]

One more thing, it's not hairballs. She's an all-black cat so her hair balls are pretty easy to find. Plus the only time I had problems with hairballs was last spring when she was shedding like crazy. Oh, and she ate a small leaf that I dragged in from outside, then she threw it up shortly afterwards. Oh, yeah, and she never had problems with throwing up if I always kept her bowl full. I've also been washing her food and water bowls more often the past month but that doesn't seem to affect anything.

 

[julieDVM]

One more thing, it's not hairballs. She's an all-black cat so her hair balls are pretty easy to find. Plus the only time I had problems with hairballs was last spring when she was shedding like crazy. Oh, and she ate a small leaf that I dragged in from outside, then she threw it up shortly afterwards. Oh, yeah, and she never had problems with throwing up if I always kept her bowl full. I've also been washing her food and water bowls more often the past month but that doesn't seem to affect anything.

I would suggest, given the duration of this problem, that it would be a mistake not to get your cat seen by your vet. Cats are finicky animals - and in some cases, the cat will appear completely normal with the exception of the primary complaint, yet they may have a serious illness.

Your cat, at age 2, should not be vomiting as frequently as you describe. Although you may be correct, and obviously it would be unprofessional to make any kind of educated diagnosis without a physical exam, there are a multitude of conditions that could result in your cat vomiting. It may be as simple as your cat is eating too quickly - or it has allergies - or it could have a tumor - who knows. The simple fact is the longer you wait to take your cat in, the further you potentially complicate its condition.

 

[glorytaker]

You're right. I saw a man who couldn't eat or drink anything and had lost 40 pounds over the few weeks. The nurse wouldn't get him to drink contrast for his Abd CT and she couldn't even get an NG tube down his throat. A GI consult and EGD later reveal a tumor in his esophagus obstructin over 95% of his esophagus. Lucky for me, my vet doesn't take appointment -- it's walk in only.

 

[PlainsPod]

OK, my cat has been vomiting after eating occasionally for the past couple of months. I thought it was that the food was stale so I bought a new bag and that made things better, but she still vomits sometimes after eating Science Diet adult original. I notice she tends to vomit about 2-3 minutes after eating and drinking some water. I've been keeping the water fresh. The food she vomits back up is tube-like and has some chunks of food. Is she just eating too fast? I don't think she does this after eating everytime, just sometimes. Otherwise, her behavior is her normal kitty self (playful, attentive to the birdies outside, no weight loss, etc). BTW, I'm a 4th year med student so I'm just want to make sure I don't need to take her to the vet because she seems fine in every other aspect.

The cause my certainly be of a sinister nature, but also consider something like IBS. Your vet may put your cat on a short course of oral steroids should this be the case. I'm not a vet. In fact, I'm a podiatrist, but I do have 2 cats...one of whom has/had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

 

[Joslin]

If you don't have time to get to the vet for a while, I would recommend trying to feed your cat from an elevated bowl. A thick book under the bowl should do it. The cat could have megaesophagus, in which the esophagus is too dilated, or wide. With the head angled down, it can just sort of come back out. This condition may stand alone, but is often secondary to a more serious condition. So definitely get the cat checked out, but in the meantime try the raised bowl so it's still getting nutrients.

 

[glorytaker]

Actually, this is really weird. I hope you guys can explain this. But since I've switched to Science Diet Indoor Cat formula, I've pretty much just kept her food dish full or at least it's not empy for a long time such that she doesn't go hungry. She hasn't vomited since. And she seems to like the Indoor Cat formula better. Thanks for all your guys' insight!

 

[zufuss]

Actually, this is really weird. I hope you guys can explain this. But since I've switched to Science Diet Indoor Cat formula, I've pretty much just kept her food dish full or at least it's not empy for a long time such that she doesn't go hungry. She hasn't vomited since. And she seems to like the Indoor Cat formula better. Thanks for all your guys' insight!

I think cat vomitting is probably one of the most difficult things to diagnose. Cats are notorious for vomitting and there are just a plethora of possibilities as to why they do it.

For some It could be a matter of hairballs but not likely in this case. She may have a sensitive stomach. Science Diet has a sensitive stomach formula that could possible help. Don't just switch your cats diet. Start off 2/3 old food 1/3 new food. Then after a week or two 1/3 old food 2/3 new food. After another week or two make the complete switch.

All the other reasons posted are also viable possibilities for why your cat is vomitting.

I have many friends whose cats all have various vomitous disorders. For the most part its something you just have to live with and attempt to control better.

Does your cat inhale her food? and Is it comming out undigested?

You could try a container that makes it difficult for her to devour her food fast. Say a tall narrow container where she can only eat so far down and limits how much she can eat at once.

I think you could take your cat to 3 different vets and get 3 different diagnosis and treatments regimes.