Trying to save a puking cat

My mom has a cat who throws up almost everytime she eats. It is right after she eats and it is obviously food chunks. The vet has not found anything wrong with her, but my mom will not pay for expensive tests.

A few months ago Pooh (her cat) got dehydrated from puking so much and had to be rushed to the vet. My mom (who is not an animal person) was upset and said if this happens again they are just going to put her down.

I did some reading on this site and found suggestions to put the food on a plate so they don't eat too fast or to raise the bowls so they have to chew the food more (something about the angle of their throat). I suggested trying these but unfortunately my mother is upset with me and has decided all my ideas are bad, so she will not give this a try.

I hate the thought of putting a cat to sleep because she may just eat to fast, but she will not bring her to the humane society. I've decided that next time they go on vacation I am going to switch her bowls and see if it helps. It's all I can think of to do.

So here is my question. What do you think is most likely to help a cat that pukes up her food, a flatter surface so she eats slower, raising her bowls or something else. I'm not sure how many shots I'll have at this so I want to make the most of the first one.

Thanks for any opinions/ideas you can share with me. Also, my mother is not the kind of person you can reason with. I tried talking to her and it only makes her mad. The only way I can think of to do this is behind her back.

If you can feed your cat several small meals a day instead of two huge meals, then that helps with vomiting. My cat used to vomit her food every once in a while, and I started feeding her smaller meals four times a day and she doesn't throw up anymore. Do you think this is possible for you and your mom?

I can definitely try that. They take LONG vacations. If Pooh isn't puking as much when she gets back I really believe she would keep it up.

That's a good suggestion to feed more frequent, smaller meals.

Could you tell us a little more about the food she is eating? ls it wet/canned or kibble? What brand and flavour, etc.

l had one cat who yakked almost every day. With a change in diet it cut down to a couple of times a week. Now it's pretty rare for him to yak, although it's always him - never the other two. l'm sure we can help you to help this poor kitty  

Besides food, is the cat pretty healthy? Healthy weight, coat, energy level, etc? And how old is she?

She only gets dry food. I believe it is Iams. Otherwise she is healthy. She's not vey active but she plays with her ball stuck in the track toy and her mice every morning and then spends most of her day on her window perch. She has a little belly so I'd say she's a little overweight. But she has a beautiful coat and is very loving. We're not exactly sure how old she is (she was a stray) but we believe she is about 12.

My cat used to throw up frequently  - nearly every day - food in whole chunks or barely digested not long after eating.  I found out that many cats do not tolerate corn gluten very well (and it's a filler in many cheap cat foods - not sure about Iams, check the label), so I changed my cat's food to Purina One Beyond - yellow bag, with salmon and brown rice - no corn gluten, and he stopped throwing up. (the idea of smaller more frequent feedings is good too, especially if she tends to gorge or bolt her food down)

My aunt did the same thing (changed foods), and she said it really helped her cat too.

(I also started him on fancy feast salmon dinner, 1/3 of  a can a day, and Vets best Hairball remedy - really helped stop non-productive hairball attacks.)

Also, learned recently that feeding your cat some wet food isn't a bad idea either - my cat was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney failure - he's 16 now - and had to change to only wet food (had to give up fancy feast - too much sodium for his kidneys and too high protein) - stuff I had to get from the vet, but wasn't too expensive.  It's really helped him a lot - he's much more active and feeling so much better now.  He doesn't even seem to have hairballs now either.  But I still give him a few  kitty treats - hard cat food - for his teeth (plaque). 

If changing food doesn't help after a week or so (mine was in a matter of 2 or 3 days, I think), then see your vet.  It could be something more serious.  Hope  this helps!

{PS:  My cat used to eat plastic bags - which would block his stomach up some (and throw me into a panic!), and he would then throw up the next few days until he 'passed' the plastic in his litter box.  Something about the smell of the bags - go figure - but I have to hid every single plastic grocery bag!)

I had a 5yo who ate IAMs kibble exclusively, threw up at least twice a week, then developed intestinal lymphoma and died.  Anyway in his last months, I switched him off of IAMs and onto Nutro Grain-Free and he never threw up again.  Granted by that point, he was also taking prednisone for his cancer - but I always credited the food change to his non-vomiting.

My three guys all were used to IAMs, but adjusted to Nutro Grain-Free very easily.  Not to push Nutro as a brand, but the grain-free idea might have merit and is something easy for your Mom to do.  I really wished I had taken Kinney's constant vomiting more seriously as it was happening.

My moral of the story is vomiting is not a normal situation, although many vets would just brush it away as a problem of eating too fast (as did mine).  Food allergies in cats are fairly common.

This really reminds me of my mom and how she said Simba's third eyelid was perfectly fine and he ended up having a viral infection and that his gums were fine and he ended up having gingivitis. I found out because I had a friend drive me and my boy to the vet. Try different flavors of food or an all-natural brand. Read the ingredients. Like if you look at Nine Lives, it's actually full of crap. Try an all-natural food or some chicken or turkey. Is your mother always stressed? Maybe the cat is picking up on her stress? Does the cat play and use the litterbox regularly? I'm so sorry that your mother is being ignorant as well as stupid about this issue. I hope the vet doesn't agree to just put down the cat because your mother doesn't want to bother. That should be animal abuse!

My cat Peanut has allergies too. We're not sure to what, but because he's had so many steroid shots over the years the vet doesn't feel it's safe to test what it is.

Maybe I will try introducing some of Peanut's food to her. I believe Iams has a lot of corn in it.

Thanks for all the advice. I hadn't thought the type of food could be the issue.

Be sure to let us know how changing the food turns out. I suggested that because, despite my avatar photo, that cat I'm holding was not our original cat. We got two B&W sisters, but they were sick from the start. Ebony had diarrhea and didn't gain weight. I bought cans of all-natural kitten food and her stools were less watery, though we did have to put her down. So your cat may have a sensitive stomach, intolerance for a certain food or allergies. No way to know for sure without tests. Offer to buy the food yourself, so your mother has less of a reason to get angry, and try different flavors. If you are worried about the cat not getting enough protein, you can try freeze dried whitefish. That's what I used to get Simba to eat his food when he was sick and couldn't smell his food. It's pungent, but it pure protein. Don't worry if it says it's a dog treat, as long as it says 100% whitefish for its ingredients. I got mine at PetSmart...or was it PetCo? Good luck!

I'm just brainstorming here (I'm worried about your mother's indifferent attitude for the cat's vomiting,) you should make sure the cat's eating environment is quiet and stress-free. I'm sure that could some digestive issues if there is a lot of noise and/or movement when the cat is eating.

Pooh used to be my sister's cat. She didn't get along with the current cats so my sister gave Pooh to our mom. She is still very attached to the kitty though. So I told her what was going on. She is much closer to my mother and she really cares for Pooh. She's also a lot bolder than me and not afraid to tell people what she thinks. So I passed on all that you have all said and she going to take care of things. I will definitely let you know how the food switch goes.

I'm sorry Pooh isn't feeling well.  The thought of someone putting a cat down for what could be a minor problem is distressing.

It sounds like regurgitation, which could be because the cat eats too fast, or it could be some sort of blockage (like a large hairball that won't let the food pass through her stomach).  I had a kitty who ate too fast, and found a (dog) bowl like this, at Petsmart, which made her eat more slowly, and solved the problem:


Also, check out healthier foods (Iams has a lot of unhealthy and indigestible ingredients in it; kitties aren't meant to eat grains or any plant material, for one thing - they're strictly carnivores and their system is made to digest meat only).  Blue Wilderness is the healthiest thing I can find around here; before Petsmart came to my town we had the option of WalMart or grocery stores.

Let us know if any of these suggestions are helpful (once you get to try them out, that is)!

Sending good vibes!     

I know its been 2 months since I posted. Since I posted last Pooh has gotten worse and we can't seem to figure out the reason. She now pukes at other times too. She sleeps with my parents and and pukes in their bed so much that my mom has started keeping a towel in bed so she can quick stick the towel in front of pooh when this happens. This is not food chunks though. Another weird thing is that Pooh was sitting on my mother's lap and my mom got wet. It didn't discolor her pants or smell like urine.

Pooh had a check up about 2 weeks ago and the vet could not find anything wrong with her. Obviously something is wrong because she is getting worse. No cat should puke that much. And we don't have a clue what the leaking may be. Slowing down her eating has not helped. I was going to start switching her food but now am nervous because of the leaking. Anyone go through anything like this before?

First of all, I'd work to change her food to something either grain-free or something for sensitive tummies.  I had a kitty who was a 'scarf and barfer'.  I had to put marbles in her bowl to slow down her eating.  We also reduced the amount of food we served at each feeding and feed more frequently.  This helped immensely!  You do have to wash the marbles every few days or else they get gross.    How's her pooping?  Does she appear constipated or have hard stools?

Sorry I haven't been on in a few days. Been crazy here! Anyway parents are coming back this weekend, so I decided to wait to talk to them first about a food switch. Maybe give them a sample of the food we use. I also found a bowl with bumps in it. It works like the marbles to slow down eating. I'm going to gift that to them. It's similar to the one Laniecat suggested. I'll let you know how it goes.

My thoughts are this-

I would feed canned only diet, and have an ultrasound done, sounds to me like it may be either a partial blockage, possibly even a lodged hairball that can't pass, or may even be cancer, lymphoma or stomach cancer.

Iams is not a great food to be feeding over time, dry only is not good either.

I have a feeling if mom was not afraid to spend the money for an ultrasound she might get a clear answer about what has been going on, rather than dealing with vomit all the time.

She must care about the cat because rather than just putting her down she is using towels to catch the vomit.

Ultrasound can easily give a conclusive diagnosis, also vet cost for this greatly vary so it is well worth calling around before going to her 'usual' vet for it.

The wet spot, if she allows it to dry without washing it, bet it will smell like pee. Might be early staged kidney disease or a buildup of crystals in her urine.

Has this cat had bloodwork done?  There are so many possibilities of what causes a cat to puke.  It could be an intestinal upset, a partial blockage, a virus, an ulcer, kidney disease, diabetes this list could go on.

Sorry I've been gone so long.

Pooh has just been to the vet and she couldn't find anything physically wrong with her. I bought a thing you put in the bowl to slow down their eating and we're going to do some diet changes. I'll let you know how thing go. Thanks for all the advice.

I had a cat who would throw up anytime we fed her anything with a fish ingredient, so maybe it's something like that.