My cat throws up every 1-2 days

[Mary Beth]

Hello!

First of all sorry if my english is not perfect, I hope you will understand my problem anyway.

I have a two-year-old cat who throws up every 2-3 days or so. This problem started about 3-4 months ago. Other than that her behaviour is absolutely fine, she plays, has a good appetite, her coat is shiny, etc. She is a short-haired cat, but because of this problem I have been giving her anti hairball paste every day for 3 weeks now, but nothing has changed. I took her to the vet, they took blood from her, but they found nothing wrong. I was recommended to give her anti-hariball paste, which I already did. And try giving him food for cats with sensitive stomachs, but so far that hasn't worked either. What should I do now?

I don't want to keep taking her to the vet, because also last time she was so stressed out that even after we got home she was panting and breathing really fast for an 1 hour... Of course, if this continues, I will have to take her to the vet again, but I wonder if you have any idea what is wrong with her, what I should try.

[marigold575]

Hello

Does your cat eat really quickly? My old boy used to throw up every few days, nothing regular and he had been fully checked out. We tried hairball paste but it didn't help. In the end we found that feeding him from a bowl that was raised off the floor helped, we used a flower pot to lift his food up about 6 inches and that reduced the vomiting a lot.

He also suffered from colitis and was a terror for eating really high meat content food at home but slinking off to eat anything he could nab from neighbour cats and that always made him sick - I got to the point where I could tell which cat food he had eaten.

Obviously if your cat loses weight or condition head back to the vet.

I hope it settles soon.

[Mollycat]

What is the cat vomiting - is it the food, or a hairball, or just bile, water or foam?

Does your cat go outside and eat grass?

Hairballs have an important role to play in a cat's digestive system, for this reason personally I do not agree with these so-called hairball preventing pastes and foods. The fur they swallow must be eliminated, if a large enough ball of it gets stuck in the intestines and causes a blockage this is life threatening for the cat. However if it comes up in a vomit as nature intended this is no problem at all to the cat and just a little inconvenience for the human.

At times of the year when the coat sheds more, the cat is more likely to deliver more hairballs as well.

[Mary Beth]

Hello

Does your cat eat really quickly? My old boy used to throw up every few days, nothing regular and he had been fully checked out. We tried hairball paste but it didn't help. In the end we found that feeding him from a bowl that was raised off the floor helped, we used a flower pot to lift his food up about 6 inches and that reduced the vomiting a lot.

He also suffered from colitis and was a terror for eating really high meat content food at home but slinking off to eat anything he could nab from neighbour cats and that always made him sick - I got to the point where I could tell which cat food he had eaten.

Obviously if your cat loses weight or condition head back to the vet.

I hope it settles soon.

Hello!

Thank you very much, that's a good idea, I will definitely try it! Her bowl is already little raised, but not nearly 6 inches, so I'll raise it more to see if that helps. Thank you again!

[Mary Beth]

What is the cat vomiting - is it the food, or a hairball, or just bile, water or foam?

Does your cat go outside and eat grass?

Hairballs have an important role to play in a cat's digestive system, for this reason personally I do not agree with these so-called hairball preventing pastes and foods. The fur they swallow must be eliminated, if a large enough ball of it gets stuck in the intestines and causes a blockage this is life threatening for the cat. However if it comes up in a vomit as nature intended this is no problem at all to the cat and just a little inconvenience for the human.

At times of the year when the coat sheds more, the cat is more likely to deliver more hairballs as well.

She is an indoor cat, but we have cat grass at home and she eats it sometimes.

There were a few occasions when she threw up in the morning before a meal, I guess it's because she was too hungry? On such occasions, she only vomited foam. So I usually get up a bit earlier in the morning to feed her. But other than that, she throws up food. And of course I see hair in her vomit, but I wouldn't call it a hairball. This is mainly food with some hairs. But since the problem started we have changed food one time and nothing has changed. So I don't think it's a particular food that makes her vomit.

[Mollycat]

Ok have you tried leaving a bowl of food down all the time? Cats naturally eat many small meals through a 24 hour period and though some get on with set meals for some it can unbalance stomach acid ... just a thought.

[Mary Beth]

I don't think it would be a good idea, because then she would probably eat all day and gain a lot of weight (especially since she is an indoor cat). If there was some food that I could leave out all day and be close to 0 calories, I'd be up for it.

[Mary Beth]

Do you think something like this might help? https://vetfood.co.uk/acid-balance

[Mollycat]

I'm on my 9th cat and this is the first time I've had any weight issues with free feeding. Cats naturally regulate their own food intake, though some things (like being indoor) can throw them off course. It's not guaranteed to work but for some cats it takes a period of adjustment before they realise they don't need to eat everything immediately.

If free feeding isn't an option could a timed feeder help, delivering several small meals through the day rather than having nothing while you sleep or go out? Personally I wouldn't give any additives until you know what's going on.