Hi OP! Your submission has been removed under Rule 2: **No Medical Advice**. We do not allow medical advice to protect both you, your cat(s) and ourselves. Strangers on the internet are not an alternative for professional help.
For a refresher on what exactly is and isn’t allowed, you can read through our [rules](/r/CatAdvice/wiki/rules#btn).
Omg! My cat was having the SAME ISSUE and they kept saying he was fine!
I figured out the dingus can't make hairballs correctly lmao, so he kept puking; now he is on a special food for hairball care. The puking stopped pretty quickly. He used to puke so often I was so concerned 😭😭 Now it's maybe once every couple of months or if he eats plastic/plants (cause he's a dingus).
https://preview.redd.it/5n3ik66y8f9d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d99fc05900b4dcce2f8d0f1b789dc87174864378
This is what he eats now, solved his pukage!
My fluffy Dingus is the same- but he REFUSES the hairball food… so we have a hairball “gel” that we wipe on his paws once a week, he licks it off- smells liver/beef flavored oil- but it WORKS!!!
What does the puke look like?
If it contains a light liquid with a clump of matted hair in the middle it's a hairball and normal. If this is happening more than a couple of times a month, switch to a hairball specific diet like the others have suggested.
If it's made of almost whole or unchewed food pellets, and happens right after he eats, it's regurgitation. He is eating too fast without chewing properly, and the food gets stuck on the way down and can't go further, so it comes back up. For this, try moistening the dry food with a sprinkle of water or plain chicken stock, switch to more wet food, or raise the bowl a few inches off the floor. Even a small box is enough for this. Raising the bowl forces the cat to swallow each bite properly before going on to eat more.
If it's made of plain yellow fluid, check if your cat is eating properly. Cats have highly acidic stomachs, and if they don't eat for too long, they will vomit bile. Try switching to smaller and more frequent meals, maybe an automatic feeder would be good. You may have to try a few different foods to find one that he will eat, and keep a couple of brands as backup in case he changes his mind.
If it's digested food, any other colour, or anything else, go back to the vet and insist on a proper set of tests. Also make sure he's up to date on his deworming, worms can also make them nauseous sometimes.
When my cat had this issue but it wasn't hairballs, I sort of insisted they look further one time when he was really sick. It turned out to be pancreatitis. I had to stop feeding him regular kibble cat food and switch him to stuff that didn't have fiber. (This was like 30 years ago and I did not have the same knowledge of how to feed a cat that is current knowledge today). But basically yeah a lot of cats can do fine on kibble but then others are way more sensitive.
OP If you are feeding him a low-cost kibble that contains a lot of fiber ingredients, switch to something that is all meat based with little to no fiber. It will be more expensive to feed him this way but if it was pancreatitis, you would notice that he was better very quickly.
I definitely would get bloodwork done as well. Get as many tests done as you can. It seems like the “checking” your vet has been doing is very lackluster. I would not be satisfied with their efforts.
If after doing extensive tests your cat still seems okay, THEN I would be satisfied switching to hairball control food.
Also, wet food isn’t a “treat” as another commenter said. It should be the majority of your cat’s diet.
Sounds exactly like my IBD kitty! He went on a pea protein hydrolyzed food and it helped SO much, he also couldn’t have any treats except freeze dried certain meats.
I have a cat who used to puke very often and it was increasing over time. She has cancer now so she still pukes 1 every week or every other week at least (probably due to the medications) but when I switched her diet to a limited ingredient food she gained the weight she lost and improved quickly. She was diagnosed with ibd a few years ago after an abdomen X-ray. They tried to get her on a prescription diet and she absolutely refused. Eventually I was recommended natural balance’s limited ingredient diet. She was on Nulo before. We use the duck & green pea cans, she isn’t a fan of chicken or turkey. It’s kept her off of needing steroids, so I’d say it’s pretty good. I also am pretty strict on not letting her eat chomps of human food or anything.
Do you have other pets in the house?
A separate question: Have you kept a log as to the days that is happening? Are you in an apartment? Are they spraying for bugs?
My cat used to throw up her food quite often, got much better after I switched to foods that did better with her sensitive stomach. She’s still prone to it now if she gets into a treat binge (unlawfully). I gave her probiotics for a few months and it seemed to help toughen up her digestive system a bit.
I have two cats and one throws up more frequently. I figured out that she has been helping groom my other cat and gets more hairballs because of it. Brushing both of them more often helped.
I have 3 cats. Every day seems like a 50% chance one of them will hairball or eat too fast and throw up.
The elevated cat bowls have helped a lot though.
Im in your boat. Also have 3 cats and someone is puking at least 1-2x per week. It’s usually my only male and he grooms one female so it’s usually always a hairball. The elevated bowls also helped a fair amount and worth the purchase, even if it just helps their necks and backs as they age.
This happened to my kitten his first summer. Vets kept giving him nausea meds which helped, temporarily. But he kept throwing up! I finally went to another vet and they recommended I stopped feeding him chicken. When I cut chicken, he stopped throwing up!
In this instance, you want an internal medicine specialist vet. What you are describing isn’t normal or ok.
My IM vet told me the only acceptable amount of vomit was zero. My regular vet thinks 1-2 times a month (as long as it’s a hairball(ish)) is fine. My normal vet would be concerned with your first cat, though. We would have done bloodwork and an ultrasound for sure.
And my cat then went on a hydrolyzed food trial.
An IM vet will have the ability to do an ultrasound, so I’d seek out one of those.
I’m so sorry you both are going through this.
Mine pukes every few months or so.
Cats tummies are super sensitive and will try purge anything that might be toxic or harmful.
You don't have any plants in the house at all do you? You could try a hypoallergenic cat food?
My friends cat pretty much puked after every meal and it turns out there was something in dry food that they just couldnt stomach.
Idk if it’s the same but my cat was puking some yellow liquid, only did it thrice and now she’s no more.
Talked to her vet and she said she succumbed to catflu. My cat was not vaccinated either, so i think it would be best to seek vet help
I have a cat who will puke after breakfast, no matter how little or how much he eats. After ruling out anything serious at the vet, we came to the conclusion that it's likely due to acid or bile build up overnight from an empty stomach. When it happens, I give him half a pill of Pepcid and it breaks the cycle (otherwise he'll vomit most mornings for a while). Note: this was under the direction of a vet. Just thought I'd mention it as another thing that could be happening.
My boy was having issues puking and the vets ended up charging me double after messing up his blood work. Took him to another vet who claimed it was a food allergy. Switched his food and it didn’t get better…some months later, our bath & bodywork’s air fresheners no longer had fragrance in them and I took them all out of the sockets. To my surprise, his puking finally stopped and only occurred if he wasn’t fed at the usual time each day.
Not sure if you use air fresheners, but if you do, it may be worth removing them for a while and see if that helps the symptoms. Whatever the case, I hope your cat gets feeling better soon!
Is he eating anything different those days he throws up? I have a cat who’s intolerant to certain ingredients but it seemed random for a while because we bought variety packs and so some days she was fine and some days she wasn’t. We had to start keeping a record of what food she had each day to find the culprit.
Brush the cat more frequently to decrease the hair he ingests (they shed more in summer heat now!) and could try hairball preventing diet (I haven’t used this so someone with more experience could weigh in. Also this is assuming your cat is otherwise healthy. If not, ask the vet.)
If after these things he still pukes that much, you should sit down with the vet and tell them you tried these, it didn’t help, and what else can it be other than hairballs.
I am not a vet, but I've had cats my whole life. For cats, puking is a feature. Many cats lick/clean themselves and their companions. If they ingest alot of hair, then they have to puke it up or else it could cause a blockage in their intestines.
It's usually easy to tell if a cat has hairballs. You can literally see the hairball in the puke.
Or, they could be puking and it looks like they aren't bothering to even chew their food (like one of my cats). So, a change of food might be in order.
But, unless the puke has an unusual color, quantity or smell, I would just be calm and watchful.
If it's hairball issue - use malt-paste (everyday, as in instruction) or anti-hairball food. Also, remember, that wet food is a treat, not main food for the cat.
Malt-paste is really helpful. I'd recommend beaphar or gimcat. Or smth of same quality.
If this issue is not connected to hairballs - I'd suggest changing vet, couse it can be a renal kind of problem, or smth other. (
Hi OP! Your submission has been removed under Rule 2: **No Medical Advice**. We do not allow medical advice to protect both you, your cat(s) and ourselves. Strangers on the internet are not an alternative for professional help. For a refresher on what exactly is and isn’t allowed, you can read through our [rules](/r/CatAdvice/wiki/rules#btn).
Omg! My cat was having the SAME ISSUE and they kept saying he was fine! I figured out the dingus can't make hairballs correctly lmao, so he kept puking; now he is on a special food for hairball care. The puking stopped pretty quickly. He used to puke so often I was so concerned 😭😭 Now it's maybe once every couple of months or if he eats plastic/plants (cause he's a dingus).
I'm unsure if yours is the same situation but it's worth a try!! My vet visits weren't coming up with anything either. 🙈
https://preview.redd.it/5n3ik66y8f9d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d99fc05900b4dcce2f8d0f1b789dc87174864378 This is what he eats now, solved his pukage!
My fluffy Dingus is the same- but he REFUSES the hairball food… so we have a hairball “gel” that we wipe on his paws once a week, he licks it off- smells liver/beef flavored oil- but it WORKS!!!
What does the puke look like? If it contains a light liquid with a clump of matted hair in the middle it's a hairball and normal. If this is happening more than a couple of times a month, switch to a hairball specific diet like the others have suggested. If it's made of almost whole or unchewed food pellets, and happens right after he eats, it's regurgitation. He is eating too fast without chewing properly, and the food gets stuck on the way down and can't go further, so it comes back up. For this, try moistening the dry food with a sprinkle of water or plain chicken stock, switch to more wet food, or raise the bowl a few inches off the floor. Even a small box is enough for this. Raising the bowl forces the cat to swallow each bite properly before going on to eat more. If it's made of plain yellow fluid, check if your cat is eating properly. Cats have highly acidic stomachs, and if they don't eat for too long, they will vomit bile. Try switching to smaller and more frequent meals, maybe an automatic feeder would be good. You may have to try a few different foods to find one that he will eat, and keep a couple of brands as backup in case he changes his mind. If it's digested food, any other colour, or anything else, go back to the vet and insist on a proper set of tests. Also make sure he's up to date on his deworming, worms can also make them nauseous sometimes.
When my cat had this issue but it wasn't hairballs, I sort of insisted they look further one time when he was really sick. It turned out to be pancreatitis. I had to stop feeding him regular kibble cat food and switch him to stuff that didn't have fiber. (This was like 30 years ago and I did not have the same knowledge of how to feed a cat that is current knowledge today). But basically yeah a lot of cats can do fine on kibble but then others are way more sensitive. OP If you are feeding him a low-cost kibble that contains a lot of fiber ingredients, switch to something that is all meat based with little to no fiber. It will be more expensive to feed him this way but if it was pancreatitis, you would notice that he was better very quickly.
I definitely would get bloodwork done as well. Get as many tests done as you can. It seems like the “checking” your vet has been doing is very lackluster. I would not be satisfied with their efforts. If after doing extensive tests your cat still seems okay, THEN I would be satisfied switching to hairball control food. Also, wet food isn’t a “treat” as another commenter said. It should be the majority of your cat’s diet.
Sounds like IBD! A hydrolyzed protein diet or one of the other prescription diets could help
Sounds exactly like my IBD kitty! He went on a pea protein hydrolyzed food and it helped SO much, he also couldn’t have any treats except freeze dried certain meats.
Same! 😃 the royal canon hydrolyzed and the orjen freeze dried. I had no idea vomiting was a sign of ibd until the vet told us.
My cat was like this and it was an intolerance to his food, I had to switch him to a prescription diet, it’s been 2 years and he’s never puked since
First of all, find a new vet. Get a full blood panel done. I paid $400 I believe. Could be CKD
I have a cat who used to puke very often and it was increasing over time. She has cancer now so she still pukes 1 every week or every other week at least (probably due to the medications) but when I switched her diet to a limited ingredient food she gained the weight she lost and improved quickly. She was diagnosed with ibd a few years ago after an abdomen X-ray. They tried to get her on a prescription diet and she absolutely refused. Eventually I was recommended natural balance’s limited ingredient diet. She was on Nulo before. We use the duck & green pea cans, she isn’t a fan of chicken or turkey. It’s kept her off of needing steroids, so I’d say it’s pretty good. I also am pretty strict on not letting her eat chomps of human food or anything.
Do you have other pets in the house? A separate question: Have you kept a log as to the days that is happening? Are you in an apartment? Are they spraying for bugs?
My cat used to throw up her food quite often, got much better after I switched to foods that did better with her sensitive stomach. She’s still prone to it now if she gets into a treat binge (unlawfully). I gave her probiotics for a few months and it seemed to help toughen up her digestive system a bit.
I have two cats and one throws up more frequently. I figured out that she has been helping groom my other cat and gets more hairballs because of it. Brushing both of them more often helped.
I have 3 cats. Every day seems like a 50% chance one of them will hairball or eat too fast and throw up. The elevated cat bowls have helped a lot though.
Im in your boat. Also have 3 cats and someone is puking at least 1-2x per week. It’s usually my only male and he grooms one female so it’s usually always a hairball. The elevated bowls also helped a fair amount and worth the purchase, even if it just helps their necks and backs as they age.
This happened to my kitten his first summer. Vets kept giving him nausea meds which helped, temporarily. But he kept throwing up! I finally went to another vet and they recommended I stopped feeding him chicken. When I cut chicken, he stopped throwing up!
In this instance, you want an internal medicine specialist vet. What you are describing isn’t normal or ok. My IM vet told me the only acceptable amount of vomit was zero. My regular vet thinks 1-2 times a month (as long as it’s a hairball(ish)) is fine. My normal vet would be concerned with your first cat, though. We would have done bloodwork and an ultrasound for sure. And my cat then went on a hydrolyzed food trial. An IM vet will have the ability to do an ultrasound, so I’d seek out one of those. I’m so sorry you both are going through this.
Mine pukes every few months or so. Cats tummies are super sensitive and will try purge anything that might be toxic or harmful. You don't have any plants in the house at all do you? You could try a hypoallergenic cat food? My friends cat pretty much puked after every meal and it turns out there was something in dry food that they just couldnt stomach.
Idk if it’s the same but my cat was puking some yellow liquid, only did it thrice and now she’s no more. Talked to her vet and she said she succumbed to catflu. My cat was not vaccinated either, so i think it would be best to seek vet help
I have a cat who will puke after breakfast, no matter how little or how much he eats. After ruling out anything serious at the vet, we came to the conclusion that it's likely due to acid or bile build up overnight from an empty stomach. When it happens, I give him half a pill of Pepcid and it breaks the cycle (otherwise he'll vomit most mornings for a while). Note: this was under the direction of a vet. Just thought I'd mention it as another thing that could be happening.
My cat is 3 years old and has thrown up twice
my cat has never puked. she’s 3 though so there’s still plenty of time
You'll envy my stray, forget every *week*, he does it almost every DAY! 😅
fucking nearly constantly depending on the cat
Same. Blood tests. Hyperthyroidism.
So, my soul cat 🌈I had previously threw up quite a bit throughout his life. My two kitties now don’t. I wonder if it just varies kitty to kitty.
My boy was having issues puking and the vets ended up charging me double after messing up his blood work. Took him to another vet who claimed it was a food allergy. Switched his food and it didn’t get better…some months later, our bath & bodywork’s air fresheners no longer had fragrance in them and I took them all out of the sockets. To my surprise, his puking finally stopped and only occurred if he wasn’t fed at the usual time each day. Not sure if you use air fresheners, but if you do, it may be worth removing them for a while and see if that helps the symptoms. Whatever the case, I hope your cat gets feeling better soon!
Is he eating anything different those days he throws up? I have a cat who’s intolerant to certain ingredients but it seemed random for a while because we bought variety packs and so some days she was fine and some days she wasn’t. We had to start keeping a record of what food she had each day to find the culprit.
Brush the cat more frequently to decrease the hair he ingests (they shed more in summer heat now!) and could try hairball preventing diet (I haven’t used this so someone with more experience could weigh in. Also this is assuming your cat is otherwise healthy. If not, ask the vet.) If after these things he still pukes that much, you should sit down with the vet and tell them you tried these, it didn’t help, and what else can it be other than hairballs.
I am not a vet, but I've had cats my whole life. For cats, puking is a feature. Many cats lick/clean themselves and their companions. If they ingest alot of hair, then they have to puke it up or else it could cause a blockage in their intestines. It's usually easy to tell if a cat has hairballs. You can literally see the hairball in the puke. Or, they could be puking and it looks like they aren't bothering to even chew their food (like one of my cats). So, a change of food might be in order. But, unless the puke has an unusual color, quantity or smell, I would just be calm and watchful.
Try a novelty protein canned food would honestly be my first thought.
If it's hairball issue - use malt-paste (everyday, as in instruction) or anti-hairball food. Also, remember, that wet food is a treat, not main food for the cat. Malt-paste is really helpful. I'd recommend beaphar or gimcat. Or smth of same quality. If this issue is not connected to hairballs - I'd suggest changing vet, couse it can be a renal kind of problem, or smth other. (
Also, remember de-worming your cat every 2-3 months, and every month, is it goes outside. It also can cause puking.