Oh no, my kittens have been throwing up! Advice please?

I'll try to explain without writing a book like I usually do (probably will), but to sum it up: kittens have been puking, I have spoken to the vet already, need advice!


On Sunday, we went into the kitten room and noticed some wet spots on the floor. There were a few small ones near each other and one more on a different side of the room. It looked like the kittens had splashed water around or something, but we cleaned them up with enzyme cleaner anyway. While my husband was cleaning them up (about 10:30 am), he saw Pixel throw up. It was clear with a little bit of white foam, and looked almost exactly like Saliva. We basically panicked and watched her like a hawk all day, but she didn't do anything else!

She seemed drowsy for a little while after she puked and slept for a while. I was afraid that she wasn't eating or drinking, but later on in the afternoon, I saw her take a large drink of water and she seemed fine. We offered a small plate with the juice from a can of tuna on it and both her and her brother drank that (we felt they needed moisture!). We offered wet food fairly late in the evening, and both ate quite a lot of it, and we thought they were doing well.

All day yesterday, my husband kept a close eye on them. They seemed fine, but around 4:00 pm he noticed a small pile of vomit, about 2" square and faintly brownish. He cleaned it up and called me and I called the vet. The vet and vet tech did not seem overly concerned, and told me that they were probably fine.

I got off of work at five and dropped off some movies and picked up some things for dinner and he called me again around 5:30 to let me know that one of the kittens had vomited again, this time clear with the white bubbles. I called the vet back and said "Should I bring her in, I am worried." And they again did not seem overly concerned, but tentatively scheduled an appointment for today at 3:15. Shortly after I got home, Pixel drank some water and then I watched her throw it up a few minutes later. Not long after that, she drank again and then took a nap. Then I saw Bamf eat some food, and a few minutes later he threw up vaguely brownish liquid and one kibble. So then I knew that BOTH OF THEM were throwing up...

Neither of them vomited after that. Both drank water and more tuna juice. Both were nibbling on their food this morning and seemed perfectly fine, responsive, affectionate and snuggly. I checked everywhere and couldn't find anymore vomit this morning.


Background info: They were dewormed on Wednesday with Drontal, they are just over four months old, they have received three Panleuk shots, but it has been over a month since the last one. They have not received their rabies shot. On Saturday, we went to the county fair and ate giant greasy onion rings. When we got home, we MAY have let the kittens lick our fingers. They may have eaten carpet fuzz, small threads from a toy, etc. I am not feeding them anything different from normal. I have looked at the expiration dates on everything, and the only date on the Taste of the Wild samples that I have been feeding them since last week is 02/08!


So what could be causing BOTH kittens to puke? I would think that if one of them ate something, both of them probably wouldn't have eaten it... Does Drontal have side effects that wouldn't show up until 3-4 days later? Should I take them to the vet at 3:15? Should I push it back a little (I am supposed to be off of work at 4:00 pm)? They have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow anyway, to potentially get their rabies shot. Should I just take them today, for peace of mind, even though the vet is implying that nothing should be wrong?


Between them, they have vomited about 6-10 times, no more than four or five times per kitten, and no more than 2-3 times per day. It appears to be shortly after eating or drinking.


Thoughts? (Thank you for reading)

I can't really address the vomiting issue except to say that it does seem odd. My kitty is about the same age as your two, and he has never vomited. Perhaps it's the food, perhaps their stomachs (are the kitties related?)

I have a suggestion re: rabies shot.....they really shouldn't get that before 6 months of age....and not while they are under any stress. The vomiting is a stress to their system..so until it gets under control....wait on the rabies shots (unless of course there is a reason why they might come in contact with a rabid animal soon) You don't want to stress their immune system any more than it needs to be.
My kitty has all his kitty shots except Rabies...and he won't get that until after 6 months of age/or after he gets neutered, but not at the same time. He is at no risk for contracting Rabies.

I hope your kitties stomachs settle soon. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
Can you try a totally different food and see if they vomit? It's a good sign that their energy level and interest has not changed.

I would reschedule their rabies vaccine until they feel better.

In this area, most vets prefer to wait until they are 4 months old to spay or neuter - and they must have their rabies vaccine beforehand.

It may be due to the out-of-date food, who knows.
We strictly avoid any people food with our kittens - even licking our hands or cleaning up our dishes after a meal (they really want some yogurt, it must smell good). Little tummys are more prone to get upset.
And this time of year, hairballs are an issue for our grooming fiends - sometimes they throw up a couple of times before they manage to get the hairball up.

I was planning on holding off on the rabies vaccine until they felt better. Their appointment last week was for their rabies shot, but we held off until this week because Pixel's gums were still a bit pink and Bamf seemed a little ucky. We will hold off again, I am sure!

As for eating people food, it would have been a complete accident. We haven't exposed them to any actual food, and I was just thinking that we hadn't washed our hands after coming home from the fair, we went right in to pet the kits. It may be the food. I was only feeding it as treats, but I am just worried that they are sick. Vomiting kittens is very scary, and I lost a kitten to Panleukopenia in February, so any vomiting scares the crap out of me. These kittens had 3 Panleuk vaccinations before ever coming to my house, so I do not think they have that.

My husband says that they are active and silly as of right now, and have spilled some food around the room like good little brats.


So would you take them to the vet today for the vomiting, or wait until tomorrow? I would just use the appointment time that was going to be for their rabies shots to see about their bellies. Should I see if they vomit any more today?

Or what?

LOL. Sorry I am paranoid. Thanks for trying to help.


Edit: They are about 4 months and 1 week old, also.

Update to the big storybook here, husband says kittens have not vomited at all so far today and are acting normal. They drank some water and have eaten some dry food, he offered them wet but they were not very interested in it. He is watching them like hawks.

I called the vet and pushed the appointment back to 5pm so that I can finish out my work day. It will help my peace of mind to have them looked at by the vet. I will update later tonight with how they are doing and what she has said.

I love TCS. It helps me be a little less worried about my babies.

It never hurts to take them to the Vet if the situation is bothering you that much. If they are fine, then you will be happier in your mind...if there is something wrong, then it will be diagnosed and corrected.

My kitty, Samson, was born March 5....sounds like your kitties were born around that time. Samson weighed 5.9 pounds last Tuesday.....wonder what he will weigh tonight.....I weigh him every Tuesday...want to keep track to avoid overweightness!!

Let us know how you make out at the Vet's office!