How long does food stay in the stomach (versus before it gets to the litter box)?

Not a nutrition question, but rather trying to back into a possible diagnosis, which could be emotional or physical based.

Yesterday Ritz didn't want her second breakfast (I feed raw, around 3:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., right before I go to work), opting to sleep instead.  She didn't even get up from the sofa to say goodbye.  She slept all day while I was at work (my sister checked on her at 4 p.m. and she hadn't eaten the two pieces of food I'd left).

When I got home at 6:30 p.m., Ritz acted normal, hungry, a little playful (normal) and cuddly.

This morning she wanted her first and second breakfast, but ten minutes later threw up everything she ate this morning, as well as yesterday's food.  I feed raw, and the food from yesterday (pork) was undigested as well as the food from today (beef).

To add a psychological component to the mix:  last Wednesday I returned a cat I'd been fostering for two months to the cat colony I take care of for several reasons, one of which was that Ritz' animosity towards Twiddledee was escalating, not de-escalating.  Totally unprovoked, Ritz would swat/hiss/etc at Twiddledee.  Post-Twiddledee, she seemed more relaxed, more cuddly.  But I wonder if she is missing the 'stress' of having Twiddledee around or if she is thinking she is next to be abandoned (as she was three years ago, along with her litter mates). 

Any idea what is going on with Ritz?  And yes if this pattern continues or escalates, I have no hesitation about taking her to the vets.  But she hates the cat carrier (bloody paws and all), can't be picked up, has to be cornered, so I don't want to cause her unnecessary stress.

Thanks.

Stomach contents should normally be emptied after about 2 hours. From eating to colon, it's about 12 - 14 hours.

Stress can stop digestion.

A blockage of some type (including hairball(s)) can stop digestion.

If there was no hair in what she threw up, if she continues to be on again / off again lethargic and throws up more food, I'd get her to the vet, because obviously she needs an x-ray.

If she eats and seems fine...

I don't know if you have a health food store where you'd be able to locate loose powder slippery elm bark, and, if possible, George's Aloe Vera Juice, the combo of 1/4 teaspoon of SEB and 1/2 a teaspoon of aloe vera (mixed, allowed to gel up, and then fed or syringed if possible) is VERY soothing and anti-inflammatory. If there are hairballs, it may help them pass.

Thanks.  Pooping is fine (for raw feeding).

Update: Ritz threw up again, two of the three pieces she ate.  My sister Becky stopped by while I was at work and fed her three pieces of beef.  Ritz groomed herself, rubbed against Becky, then chewed on a throw rug, and a few minutes later, threw up two of the three pieces.

Becky noticed that there are some strings/thread missing from the rug. 

In retrospect, I noticed Ritz chewing on the rug this morning and then she threw up, but didn't add 2 + 2.  (The rug is now history....)

Question:  what symptoms should I be looking for in case a string is still in her or Gosh forbid, it gets caught in an intestine.

Other than the vomiting, I don't know. The vomiting is the most typical clue to a blockage. :dk:

!!!!!

I believe you feed raw, and you will be interested in the vet's diagnosis:

Vet suspects Ritz ate bad meat (pork) and was eating yarn/thread to make herself throw up.  The bad meat introduced bad bacteria.  He heard no sounds in her belly/gut and he listened for 2 minutes.

So I have to get some anti-nausea medication and antibiotic filled at the pharmacy (Tschiffely Pharmacy will compound medication into tuna/chicken flavored liquid medicine) and sprinkle probiotic on her food indefinitely.  (She just ate some beef heart and loved loved loved the beef flavored FortiFlora.)

He also looked through what she threw up this morning and said "it's not a balanced diet", where are the carbs, the vitamins.  Cats in the wild eat the intestines.

While he certainly didn't convince me to switch to canned (he didn't try), he did convince me to order some supplements (Altrium? sp) and FortiFlora.

Yep, I feed raw. I also give the kitties a probiotic daily. My theory is that in the wild, they eat the entire animal, effectively getting a dose of probiotics with every meal they eat.

But Fortiflora is really not a good probiotic. It has animal digest, and is made only of fermentation products (dead bacteria, not live cultures). In fact, most pet probiotics are made of fermentation products, not live cultures. My vet recommended a human probiotic, and using 10 billion CFU (colony forming units). Many of us are using Natural Factors double strength acidophilus+bifidus with goat milk:
...and it's the animal digest that makes Fortiflora such a great topper for eating enticement.

Alnutrin? From Hare-Today or Knowwhatyoufeed.com?

mschauer analyzed the diet I feed my cats with and without alnutrin. We couldn't see any real difference in the analysis. You're much better off feeding her egg yolks a couple times of week, and adding some taurine, vitamin E, B-complex and some type of omega 3 supplement (500mg of salmon oil or krill oil or something). There's a couple of threads in the raw forum where we discuss supplements, if you're interested. Or start a new one!

Hope she feels better soon.

Thanks.  I was a little suspicious about the FlotiFlora because of how much Ritz loved it--she literally licked the package.  Kind of like kitty crack.  Though it may come in handy when I have to give her anti-nausea and anti-biotics these next two weeks.  (hope to get it flavored liquid form)

I'll do more research before ordering supplements, specifically with or without calcium/bone.  Ritz loves bone, but she is prone to constipation, but she really needs to chew bone for teeth (she has had one dental cleaning already at age 2.)   I do have Krill oil.  The one time I gave her egg yolk she didn't eat it.