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jaacka

My cat won't stop throwing up....

jaacka
17 years ago

She is only about 4 years old (don't know for sure, she just showed up one day and we figure she was about a year old then), she's a house cat, she eats purina indoor formula, she's overweight, we call her the calico pig. She doesn't eat any people food, and I'm not aware of her eating any rodents, no access to poisons (we have small kids).

And the past three days she has been throwing up. Sometimes it's unchewed cat food, other times it's nasty foul smelling bile. She doesn't act like she has a hair ball, she's not "gagging", she'll just be sitting there and throws up. And at first, she just laid around, wouldn't even hardly move, now she is acting completely normal and hyper and still throwing up.

What can I do for her, without taking her to the vet? Does it help their system to feed them grass? Whenever she gets outside (which is rare, we have a mean dog), she immediately goes out and eats the grass.

What can we do for her? I'm tired of cleaning up cat yack all day!

Comments (35)

  • mindy_32
    17 years ago

    Take her to the vet .. throwing up for 3 days is not normal. Poor kitty is probably dehydrated at the very least for throwing up for 3 days. It can be something very simple, but right now she is not well and probably in pain and uncomfortable. How would you feel if you threw up continuously for 3 days? .. take her to the vet

  • noinwi
    17 years ago

    There are many things that can cause her to vomit. You really do need to take her to your vet to make sure there's not a medical problem.
    In the mean time, since she's overweight, you could get her a reducing food. Don't cut back on her food drastically, because cats losing too much weight too fast can develop serious liver problems. However, some cats are "gobblers" and will eat so fast that they bring it right back up. If that is what she is doing, put smaller amounts in her dish more often. And, as previously mentioned, make sure she's not dehydrated...provide plenty of fresh water or start giving her some canned food with a little water added. You can also give her something for hairballs... a little butter or cooking oil added to a treat(NOT mineral oil), or pick up one of the commercial hairball remedies available.
    Also, make sure she is not constipated. Getting too backed up can make her vomit. A hairball remedy, or giving her some canned (pure)pumpkin will help move things along.
    The best thing is, of course, to take her in and have her checked out. Better to pay a little now and avoid heartache, than pay a lot down the road and possibly lose your kitty. Good luck to you.

  • sammycat
    17 years ago

    I agree -- please take her to the vet. She may have something stuck in her throat or wrapped around her tongue. Perhaps some holiday decoration (tinsel can be very dangerous for cats) -- or thread or dental floss?
    Its not normal for cats to throw up that much in that short time frame. Keep us posted.

  • kelly_wells
    17 years ago

    I'm not an expert by any means. Three days of throwing up requires a visit to the vet ASAP.

  • quirkyquercus
    17 years ago

    Did anyone mention you should take your cat to the vet?

    I don't think grass is commonly prescribed by anyone for this!

  • labmomma
    17 years ago

    Why would you not want to take the cat to the vet? It is not normal for a cat to throw up for three days. If it is more than a hairball, there is something going on.

    Time is very important when something like this is going on. Your cat may have an obstruction or something serious. Take the cat to the vet today - let them know when you call that the cat has been vomiting for three days. Ask them to see you today or tonight at the latest.

    No matter how experienced we pet owners are on this thread, with the exception of Megan, no one has any professional veterinary skills. Let the vet take a look at the cat a.s.a.p.

    If you can't afford the treatment, discussed that with your vet in advance of the appointment, most vets will work out a payment plan with you.

    Good luck and please do not wait any longer. If you wait, something that could easily be treated may turn into something that kills your cat.

  • rivkadr
    17 years ago

    She's sick. Take her to the vet. It's your responsibility as a pet owner to do so.

  • airforceguy
    17 years ago

    If you had a child (maybe u do) and he/she was throwing up with no reason, would u not take him/her to the DR?? I see no diff why u are not taking the cat to the vet. Just my 2 cents!! Best of luck

  • beeanne
    17 years ago

    Jaacka says...What can we do for her? I'm tired of cleaning up cat yack all day!....................................................................................................................
    hopefully your cat has been to vet by now or is better.
    Couldn't resist commenting on this.
    I clean up cat yack almost every day so can't really feel sorry for ya. :-)Our 10 yr old cat has done it his whole life. Nothin' wrong with him that any vet has ever found.

  • michelle_s_phxaz
    17 years ago

    I have the same problem as Beeanne, a cat who throws up daily. Nothing wrong with him physically, he just gorges himself on food and yacks it up, no matter the amount. He just eats too fast. We tried putting golf balls in his food bowl to slow down the eating but it doesn't work. Since we have three cats it is difficult to control how much he eats sometimes.

    Some cats are just like this, but definitely take yours to a vet to rule out any bowel or stomach obstructions first.

  • iluv_my_cats
    17 years ago

    It could be something or nothing. one of my cats did something similar about a year ago and it was very simple and cheap to treat with antibiotics and a liquid solution to soothe his belly.
    It was gastritus like we humans get and it affects them the same way. Its always worth taking them to the vets if you are unsure i'd rather pay a bill than risk loosing my cat for something that could be treated easily

  • dreamgarden
    17 years ago

    Do you have any poisonous plants he could have gotten into? If the yack is nasty and foul smelling, it could be pretty serious.

    If you don't want to take your cat to the vet, at least ask a Vet online what they think the problem could be.

    Ask A Vet - Pet Health Questions and Veterinary Advice
    www.askvetadvice.com/

    AllExperts.com-Animals/Pets
    www.allexperts.com

    About.com/Veterinary Medicine
    vetmedicine.about.com/library/viewers/ucemergency.htm

  • ega1r_blueyonder_co_uk
    16 years ago

    Hi, just wanted to say that when your cat is throwing up the general advice is to take her to the vet, but I just wanted to say my cat was fine, she is a burmese until we taken her to the vet with a wee eye infection. She was treated with the antibiotic called antirobe and since then she has been throwing up daily. She got to the stage where she was throwing up blood. My husband and I have spent nearly a grand in less than a month and the vet finally diagnosed that the antirobe scratched all of her throat and that she will probably be on antibiotics which coat her oesophagus for a very long time. Its been 4 weeks now since we taken our perfectly healthy cat to the vet and now she has to go all the time because of them !! I do hope your cat gets better though, but I just wanted to let you know that sometimes the vet do get it wrong and can cause problems in a perfectly healthy cat.

  • joepyeweed
    16 years ago

    Not all vets are created equal.

    The poster asked, "What can I do for her, without taking her to the vet? "

    My first thought is why the hesitation about taking her to vet? Is the cat totally traumatized by vet visits? Is the vet really far away from where you live?

    Vomiting can be a sign of eating problems, hairballs, kidney failure, tapeworm, tumor, stress etc... An occasional vomit is usually normal. However chronic vomiting is probably a good indication that the cat needs medical attention.

  • quirkyquercus
    16 years ago

    You can pick up the phone and call your vet. I have to believe the advice you get over the phone from your vet that is familiar with your animal and has your animal's records, is going to be a bit more thorough than what you're going to get on an Internet message board.

  • makr1964_aol_com
    16 years ago

    How much is "a lot"? I have a 14 year old cat who is spry and healthy, but throws up 2-3 times per month. We have changed out the food, as has been suggested above, and it seems to help for awhile, then she throws up again. I'm content to just clean it up when it happens, but my wife is losing her patience (she takes pride in her clean house). When she does throw up, it is usually substantial, and appears like undigested food.

  • rivkadr
    16 years ago

    Our cat throws up occasionally when she eats too fast -- one thing we've found that helps is raising her bowl up a bit, so that she's not bending down to eat.

    My feeling on it is that you if your cat is throwing up abnormally -- i.e. differently than usual, that's when you take them to the vet. One throw up is fine. If it turns into multiple barfs, then you definitely need to get them to the vet. My cat had fatty liver disease last summer, which took two months to recover from, and over $3000 in vet bills...it was our own fault for not noticing that she was sick. I thought her throwing up was just her "usual" barfiness, but if I'd been paying more attention, I would have seen that it wasn't. Learn from my mistake: when in doubt, take them to the vet.

  • justashley85
    16 years ago

    We have a 2 year old cat that HAS been taken to the vet and they prescribed a high fat dietary supliment and they gave her a pill for a tape worm. She is still throwing up and we do not know what to do for her. Her vet visit was a couple days ago.. Anything we can do now that shes seen a vet..any ideas on what MAY be wrong with her?

  • katsmah
    16 years ago

    What is your cat eating and how often is she vomiting. My cats were vomiting a lot last year. At the time they were eating dry and a supermarket brand of canned food. This spring when the recalls were happening I really started researching their food and changed them to premium canned food only. The vomiting has cut back to an occasional hairball and their health improved.

  • justashley85
    16 years ago

    Posted by katsmah (My Page) on Thu, Nov 8, 07 at 23:14

    What is your cat eating and how often is she vomiting. My cats were vomiting a lot last year. At the time they were eating dry and a supermarket brand of canned food. This spring when the recalls were happening I really started researching their food and changed them to premium canned food only. The vomiting has cut back to an occasional hairball and their health improved.

    My cat was eating an offbrand dry food, also as a treat for her she would get her favorite friskies wet food. Since taking her to the vet, they gave me one can of wet food that they wanted half of gone by yesterday it was a prescription wet food the vet gave us... She told us to force feed her if she wasnt eating on her own. She has still persisted to throw up poor dear. She was also given a tube of high fat dietary suppliment that we give her twice a day. The weird thing is, before the throwing up spells, she was urinating in the ODDEST places. *cry* i dont know what to do for my cat, and im afraid shes going to pass (

  • katsmah
    16 years ago

    What did the vet give as a diagnosis? Have you spoken to them since the visit to let them know she is still vomiting?

  • miller_kimberly_hk-cs_net
    15 years ago

    My cat constantly throws up. (My grandma's cat does the same thing!) I talked to my vet about it last time I took her in and he said it is very normal for some cats. They eat too much too fast and it has no where else to go but back up and out. I still haven't found the magic cure to get her to stop. Every time I try something it works for a little bit and we are back to the throwing up. Most recently we tried feeding her once a day and that worked for a little bit only to have her starting scarfing down hers and go after our Westie's food. Good luck, if you find a solution please let me know!

  • runsnwalken
    15 years ago

    IN gen Purina is crap, most of the vet food is crap. no. you want to go with a food thats low in carbs and has no grains, the grainy purina is why she is overweight, its probably also why cat is throwing up.

    Most supermarket/wal-mart, petco type Pet food is basically toxic treated garbage, in a pretty bag.

    At 4 your cat should be in her prime not throwing up

    Try Innova EVO, Instincts, wellness core/grain free wellness, Ziwi peak. Or Orijen

    Raw diets are even better but they can be expensive, challenging to make/ect. go with pre made like Natures variety,Bravo,primal.

  • animalsarentfood
    13 years ago

    I can't believe cleaning up the vomit was even worth mentioning.
    The only thing you should be concerned about is whether or not she is dying.
    Three days of that sort of vomiting is usually a sign of a deadly illness, and you're lucky she hasn't already died from dehydration.
    Take her to the vet.
    Sell your husband's car or mug an old lady if you have to.

  • petaloid
    13 years ago

    I agree that the cat should have been rushed to the vet, but if you look at the date of the original posting this was happening over four years ago.

    At any rate, welcome to the Pets Forum!

  • shelleybl
    13 years ago

    Stop the food that you have been feeding it and give it a few days with another type (either chicken, duck, beef etc) to see if that helps. My cat would throw up and it turned out, she had an allergy to ALL seafood! Imagine, a cat allergic to fish? So, I had to throw out her vitamins, fish oil, and read all the ingredients within her labels of food, despite that her food was all natural and organic. I would never feed a cat anything but pure organic food as many store brands have many filler agents which are not good for them (despite marketing!) She stopped throwing up immediately and she has been extremely healthy and happy ever since! So, remember, animals have food allergies and health issues like humans!

  • bullhead3031_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    I have a cat who can't seem to leave plants alone, this causes her to vomit. She got into one yesterday and vomited three times that day. I have moved all the plants outside, so we'll see how this does.

  • kittens
    13 years ago

    Let's hope the OP has taken the cat to the vet by now :) :) :) :)

  • mateoj517_AOL_com
    13 years ago

    My 10y old cat (I can't put his name but it rhythms with kitty) been throwing up food for years. Monday morning he threw up alittle food, minutes later my boy was dead. I tried to get him to breathe by mouth to mouth But, he was gone. Vets told me multiple times he's ok (that's normal). There was no signs of health issues prior to monday. Less than five minutes he was gone, So...if your cat pukes lots or even alittle, take your PET CAT seriously not your carpets

  • ef_aol_com
    13 years ago

    I think my cat throws up on purpose. Whenever my husband and I don't get up when he wants us to (meaning get up and head down to make coffee and give him some half'n'half in his treat bowl), he comes in next to the bed and throws up on the floor. Most of the time there's not even much there, just the awful noise that brings me screaming out of a sound sleep. Obviously I have to get up immediately and clean it up (a few times he's even done it ON the bed) but I try not to let him "win" by giving in to his bullying. I put him out of the bedroom and try (try, try) to go back to sleep. Since I work until late at night, this really messes with my sleep habits.

    But back to the point, I actually think he's doing this on purpose because he never - or rarely - ever throws up at any other time of day, or in any other area of the house. He's just getting himself worked up because he wants us to get up when he wants. He has no concept of "weekends" or "sleeping in".

    Anyone else have a cat like this?

  • btiger1426_comcast_net
    13 years ago

    we have a 12 year old cat who is afraid of her own shadow. She throws up - it's almost like we can see it coming. I think she eats to fast. She eats fancy feast turkey - only a teaspoon full at a time. an hour later, she throws up. I can't get her to the vet because she's so nervous, she's an indoor cat. sweet but eats too fast. any suggestions?

  • dboudreau413_gmail_com
    13 years ago

    the vet is fricken expensive dumb asses, that's why. omg

  • Whitey_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    "I think my cat throws up on purpose. Whenever my husband and I don't get up when he wants us to (meaning get up and head down to make coffee and give him some half'n'half in his treat bowl), he comes in next to the bed and throws up on the floor. Most of the time there's not even much there, just the awful noise that brings me screaming out of a sound sleep. Obviously I have to get up immediately and clean it up (a few times he's even done it ON the bed) but I try not to let him "win" by giving in to his bullying. I put him out of the bedroom and try (try, try) to go back to sleep. Since I work until late at night, this really messes with my sleep habits.

    But back to the point, I actually think he's doing this on purpose because he never - or rarely - ever throws up at any other time of day, or in any other area of the house. He's just getting himself worked up because he wants us to get up when he wants. He has no concept of "weekends" or "sleeping in".

    Anyone else have a cat like this?"

    You dont give the cat half and half.... are you Nuts? why the hell you think its throwing up /boggle

  • californiangardener
    12 years ago

    My previous cat had a similar problem. It is possible your cat may be sick so you should take her to the vet just to be safe.

    However, it could be an issue that your cat is eating her food too quickly and it's too much at once so they throw it up. My previous cat suffered from this for a long time. There are several ways to tackle this problem.

    First, you could give the cat only a little bit of food at a time. Give a little. Wait 10 minutes. Give a little more, repeat process until all the food given. This is a simple method, but I also realize some people are busy and don't have 30 minutes to feed / wait / feed wait.

    Second, (and this may sound a little weird and it ONLY for dry food, not wet) but put large SMOOTH stones in the food bowl. The purpose of doing this is that it takes the cat longer to pick out the food bits around the stones / crevices. It basically forces the cat to eat more slowly.

    Third, you could give your cat only wet food. This method worked very well for a friend of mine who also had a cat who threw up all the time because he ate too quickly. In general cats take longer to eat wet food.

    Anyhow, I understand the frustrations of cats throwing up all the time. It gets a little annoying cleaning it up constantly. Good luck!

  • Clgklg_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    So, I had a question about a rescue cat that we just inherited a month ago throwing up but, there are some pretty mean people answering these questions and not very understanding so instead I will continue to surf.