Vomiting up bile and/or saliva only. What could this mean?

the3rdname

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One of my 10 month old kittens was infrequently vomiting up a little bit of bile or saliva, never food, and now it's happening every day.  He has access to food pretty much 24/7, it can't be explained by hunger on an empty stomach, so it just doesn't make any sense to me.  He's also broken a couple of nails in the past two weeks. as in torn off completely except for a few splinters broken.  It happened earlier today while roughhousing with his brother and there was a fair amount of blood that had, what seemed to me, a stronger than normal metallic odor.  I'm wondering if the two things could be connected, the nails and bile issue.  He's always been on the lean side, if that helps.  

He has a healthy appetite, is playful and alert, everything is perfectly normal otherwise.  We have a vet appointment this week, btw.
 

zoneout

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I would STRONGLY urge you not to feed dry food to him.   Besides the possibility that the food is making him vomit,  it is a major factor contributing to urinary blockages which are expensive to treat and fatal if untreated.

Please read for further info:

http://www.catinfo.org
 
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the3rdname

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I would STRONGLY urge you not to feed dry food to him.   Besides the possibility that the food is making him vomit,  it is a major factor contributing to urinary blockages which are expensive to treat and fatal if untreated.

Please read for further info:

http://www.catinfo.org
Thanks for the concerned response, Zoneout.  I actually plan to switch all my kitties to a raw diet at some point in the not-too-distant future (when I'm able to make the financial and labor investment).  At this point in time their diet is mostly wet with a little low glycemic dry (Orijen).  I've tried an all wet diet and found that the kittens thrive better on wet + dry.  They eat more and the caloric load is better suited to their physical development.  There are water bowls of varying types all over the house that are drunk from frequently; I don't feel that water intake is a concern at this time.  

I have an IBD cat with multiple food sensitivities/allergies, so I'm all too familiar with the result of food-related digestive problems.  This issue seems to have its origin elsewhere.  I've recently increased their fiber intake and have started giving them a small amount of coconut oil every day to help combat any potential difficulties passing hair.  I'm starting to wonder if he might be unable to vomit up hairballs but vomits up a bit of bile instead.  It's a distinct possibility according to the research I've done.  

So far appetite is still great, he's running around playing, acting normal.  No bile vomit yesterday or today so far (knock on wood).
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Unfortunately, it sounds like you may have another cat with food sensitivities
  It's just hard to know.  Glad to hear he's got a Vet appointment this week.  I'd be very curious to hear if there's any relationship to the claw's breaking.  Seems odd, but, again, you just never know.
 
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the3rdname

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Good news!  I don't know if it's coincidental or what, but he stopped vomiting bile/saliva when I started giving him coconut oil.  And we haven't had any nail problems since my original post, so I decided to hold off on the vet appointment for now.  

I know these things aren't always resolved so easily; I count us very lucky!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I've heard good things about coconut oil, both for internal and external use.  Let's hope this issue has now been resolved   He's still pooping and peeing normally too?
 
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