Cat vomited, acting a little strange

Hello.

I gave my cat two Whiskas hairball control treats and a short time later she vomited (not fur, just food she had ingested earlier).

I groom her frequently, but she's very furry.

She does this on occasion, but as soon as she vomits, she goes back to her normal, playful self.

But today, it was like she couldn't finish vomiting and remained somewhat lethargic. Right now, she's resting near me, but her body posture is a bit tense/stiff, also her breathing seems a little faster than normal.

I'm a little worried maybe something got stuck on the way up, if that makes sense.

Do I have any reason to be concerned?

Thanks for any input.

Sorry, I just saw this.  There may have been something in the treats that upset her stomach.  Or you may be right, something got stuck coming back up.

I would call the vet, though, if she isn't better by tomorrow.

If she's got a rapid heartbeat and labored breathing, don't wait until tomorrow to call the vet. Bring her to the ER because something life threatening is happening. Those treats you mentioned are pure junk! full of horrible ingredients. How often does she usually vomit? Kitties should not be vomiting, it isn't normal, especially regularly. Something else may be going on with her health, she could even have pancreatitis from the way she's laying in a tense position like that. Please don't wait too long to call the vet. 

Good point, Finnlacey.

Thanks for the replies. She seems to be alright now, but I was a little scared and will keep an eye out to see if her behavior changes. I think maybe she just became too stressed when she vomited? She doesn't vomit very often, she used to cough up fur balls with some frequency, but ever since I got a Furminator, she doesn't cough them up that often. Which makes me worry a little, is she not coughing them up because she no longer has them, or are they in her digestive tract?

I used to give her a petroleum jelly product for hair balls (Defurr-um, etc.), and she would go crazy licking it, but all of a sudden she stopped wanting to take it and will run away as soon as she smells the product (I've tried all the products that I could find, the jelly, even those biscuits that have the jelly inside). She loves those Whiskas hairball treats, so every now and again (like once a month) I will give her 2-3 treats. But I think I won't anymore, if they're upsetting her stomach.

Do you happen to have any suggestions for this?

Thank you very much!

Petroleum jelly or jelly of any kind is extremely bad for them. it's not even good for us frankly. it's a paraffin like wax that can do a lot of damage to the digestive system. I would not ever give her anything with jelly or any other kitty again. Many of us use egg yolk lecithin. 

Really? I've been to different vets and they all recommend products with petroleum jelly (I'm sure they are safe for the cats, otherwise they wouldn't be for sale). I've tried all the brands on the market here. But anyway, she decided she doesn't like that.

I don't think I can feed her capsules. She gets really annoyed when I try to give her any kind of medicine. Also, if she recognizes the package or the sound of the package of a certain medicine, she'll bolt and hide really fast before I can even try.

... Which is problematic when I'm trying to help her.

She's on an obesity diet (Royal Canin), I've thought of mixing it with the occasional hairball diet (of the same brand). But I'm not sure if that's a good idea, she might get diarrhea or worse, take a liking to the hairball food and start refusing the obesity diet.

we can agree to disagree on that one, vets sell a lot of things that I don't agree with. anyway, you don't give the capsule, you open it up and mix it in her food.

finnlacey said:

 
we can agree to disagree on that one, vets sell a lot of things that I don't agree with. anyway, you don't give the capsule, you open it up and mix it in her food.

Click to expand...

  But it sounds like you are feeding her dry food?  If so, the egg yolk lecithin won't mix too well in dry food.  BUT, if you are trying to get your girl to lose weight, feeding canned food is really the way to go anyway.  It's much higher in protein (normally), which makes them feel more full.  If you get a low carb canned food, and there are many out there, then it's like the Atkins diet...my Vet calls it the Catkins diet.  Besides, wet food is better in the long run (and much less expensive then prescription weight loss food!  If you're interested, we can help you with the food over in the Nutrition Forum.

Well, I'm happy to say my cat seems to be OK today.

But the treats are definitely out.

Yes, she eats dry food. When she was a kitten she ate wet food, but the vet recommended switching to a dry obesity formula. I know opinions on this are mixed (some vets say wet is better, others swear by dry). I could probably give her a little bit of tuna or those little pate tins and mix it in. But sometimes she just frowns upon most food... I used to give her little bits of grilled fish when I was cooking, but she stopped being interested in that, just sniffs it and goes away.

Thank you very much for your replies.

Fish isn't very healthy for cats.

If you can afford it, I would start feeding her all wet. Try different brands and see which one she likes best.

I am probably old school, but had a female that used to get hairballs stuck in her throat and gag on them.  I would get out the petroleum jelly and give her a blob of it and it would pass through the other end.  I have read pros and cons of petroleum jelly (also heard butter being used) read years later - I am remembering them saying that petroleum jelly is totally indigestible and passes through their systems without damage or absorption.  She did live until 19yo, btw so this didn't kill her.