Kitten vomitting

Over the past few days, our 9 mo. old kitten has been vomiting once per
day. He vomited once last week and we thought it was because of the
new food we bought him (Wiskas dry). However, even after we switched him
back, he still vomited once per day for the past 2 days. He does not
vomit right away after a meal, usually a few hours after he eats.

His behavior is quite normal. However, he may be a little less energetic
due to his lack of food intake. He hasn't had any diarrhea.

When he eats, he doesn't chew very much. I don't hear a lot of
crunch that goes with every bite of food. He chews maybe once per
bite and then swallows the food.

He had all his shots. A month ago he was exposed to a healthy adult
cat for a weekend and we know he was taken care of well. Our apartment
is clean and we've never had cats here before.

Here is what his vomit looks like next to what we feed him normally
(Purina for kittens, dry). Does the vomit count as predigested or
postdigested food? When I looked close up, i saw strands of hair
tangled in between clumps of food. The vomit is clumpy, dry, and
can be picked up quite easily with a paper towel without much staining
of the carpet.

What is wrong with our kitten? Should we go see a vet?

yeah i think a vet trip is needed, just to rule out anything sinister, it may be that you have switched foods to quickly and its upset the kittens tummy

oh and welcome to TCS

Thank you!

What is the differential diagnosis here? Is there anything I can inspect at home to rule out the worst possible causes?

And would it be too dangerous to wait and see how he will be in a few days?

Originally Posted by coolbeans999

Is there anything I can inspect at home to rule out the worst possible causes?

Click to expand...

Sure, you can thoroughly search your home to make sure he didn't eat anything that could have possibly caused a blockage. Kittens get into the darnedest things that you never think they would.

What you're seeing is regurgitation. Likely his food isn't agreeing with him or he's eating too fast. The latter you can watch for at home because the vet will rely on you to tell them if this is the problem.

Also, he's still a kitten so he needs to be eating a kitten food for at least a few more months to ~18 months of age. Something to talk to the vet about.

give your vet a quick ring they would advise best, my flash started doing this and it turned out that she had eaten a food bag tie which got caught in her intestine so she needed a major operation, now im not saying that has happened to your kitten.

we cant give you an acurate diagnosis over the internet only a professioinal vet can

thanks a lot for the help! we'll take him in today.

Could just be hairballs, but kitten like to eat things they aren't supposed to! And cats can get pancreatitis, especially if his abdomen is tender; not likely, as he is still perky and very young, but anything is possible.

Good luck!

Okie