Frequent vomiting food

This is more venting than anything else, but this is just one of those days when I feel like I'm at my wit's end with one of my cats that throws up his food on a regular basis. It's always the same thing; he eats and then within about 15 minutes, it all comes back up again. Vet can't find anything wrong with him. I've tried different foods--no effect.

I'm just so tired of cleaning up cat vomit everywhere around my house. I feel like I can't have anything nice, and I have to keep anything I don't want damaged covered with sheets and towels. And then I have to wash them when they get messed up. Then I'll find a pile of it that I missed like I did just now. I keep a bucket in my bathroom that I use mostly for cleaning up his messes.

My sister also has a cat that throws up a lot, and her husband finally insisted that he be an outdoor cat. I won't go that far, but I am more tired of cleaning up cat vomit than words can express.

does your cat eat fast?

detmut said:

does your cat eat fast?

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Yes, we think that's the problem.

I have a cat that occasionally will eat too fast and regurgitate it.  So is he regurgitating or is he throwing up?   I know it may seem like a silly question but after experiencing throwing up with a sick cat I can tell you there is a difference.  Does your cat come back for more food a few minutes after the throw up?  Is the food still mostly solid?  If you give him dry food just leave it out so he can graze.   This hopefully solves the problem.  Is he just one cat?  If it is a multi-cat household, maybe you need to feed him in a separate location so he does not feel rushed to eat.  With my cat it does not happen every time he eats --but still occasionally happens.  He tends to woof down his food.  I try to portion out some food here and there and leave a lot out when I am gone during the day-- some days they eat some food while I am gone and other days it looks like they haven't touched it.   Good luck with your cat.

Oh also when my cat had some stomach issues the vet recommended giving him 25mg of Pepcid AC -- it did not help my cat --but maybe you want to try that.

2catlady brings up a good point.  Is your cat truly vomiting, or regurgitating.  There is definitely a difference, and your Vet needs to know which one is really happening.  With vomiting, your cat will heave it's stomach muscles, and possibly let out a few odd sounds before he lets go of the "mess".  With regurgitation, suddenly there is just a pile of "mess" with absolutely no warning at all.  Your cat will just open his mouth and it will flow out and then they will go about their merry business as if nothing has happened.  The causes of these two things are vastly different, that's why it's so important for your Vet to understand just what is what.  Then they can try to decide how to try to fix the problem. If it's truly vomiting, it could be something like IBD...did they check for that?  Have you ever tried changing his food to see what would happen, or tried things to try to slow down his eating?  WHAT does he eat?  Knowing that we could give you tips on what to do to slow him down  

I happen to have a cat who regurgitates his food IF I feed him too much at a time.  Knowing this, I simply limit the amount I give him at any one sitting.  I do NOT free feed, simply because that particular cat does not know the meaning of grazing .  He would lay down with the food bowl between his front paws and eat until it was empty .  Believe me, I know this for a fact, because when he was young, he did exactly that .  I even tried putting a ball in the food dish to slow him down and even though it did slow him down, he still ate more than he should.  So everyone in the household went on scheduled feedings, and we switched over to wet food so I could really monitor them.

I feel your pain with the cleaning up constantly though, as now I have a kidney cat, and she is sick almost every day.  At least there's a reason for it, although not a good one  

David68 said:

This is more venting than anything else, but this is just one of those days when I feel like I'm at my wit's end with one of my cats that throws up his food on a regular basis. It's always the same thing; he eats and then within about 15 minutes, it all comes back up again. Vet can't find anything wrong with him. I've tried different foods--no effect.

I'm just so tired of cleaning up cat vomit everywhere around my house. I feel like I can't have anything nice, and I have to keep anything I don't want damaged covered with sheets and towels. And then I have to wash them when they get messed up. Then I'll find a pile of it that I missed like I did just now. I keep a bucket in my bathroom that I use mostly for cleaning up his messes.

My sister also has a cat that throws up a lot, and her husband finally insisted that he be an outdoor cat. I won't go that far, but I am more tired of cleaning up cat vomit than words can express.

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I believe @2catlady meant to have said  "2.5mg", not 25mg of Pepcid.  1/4 of a 10mg pill is the standard vet dosage for pepcid, but what you seem to be describing is a cat who eats too fast. 

Is your cat getting wet or dry food?  And how much, and how often?

If its wet you can test this idea (eating too quickly) by refrigerating the food (make it thicker and a bit less interesting) and then smash it into a pancake and see if that gets her to eat more slowly. 

To answer the questions:

Throwing up the food is preceded by "ack-ack-ack" sounds and heaving. Like I said above, it usually happens within 15 minutes of eating. Sometimes it's almost immediately after eating, but it varies. If his meal stays down past that mark, he doesn't throw up.

I have a four cat household, and he eats a mix of wet and dry. He throws up the dry a little more often, but there's no hard and fast rule. I was using one of the Blue Diamond kibbles, but it got to the point where that came right back up. I'm now using Purina Gentle as an experiment, and it had helped.

He loves to go outside during daylight hours, and he misbehaves if he doesn't get to go outside. But when he comes back in, he often runs straight to the food bowl, wolfs down a lot, and throws it up. Feeding in small amounts helps somewhat. Maybe I should start leaving a bowl out on the porch during the day so he can eat smaller amounts more frequently.

In general, he's a very athletic, high-strung, high-energy cat, even at age 9, but no thyroid or kidney issues.

David68 said:

To answer the questions:

Throwing up the food is preceded by "ack-ack-ack" sounds and heaving. Like I said above, it usually happens within 15 minutes of eating. Sometimes it's almost immediately after eating, but it varies. If his meal stays down past that mark, he doesn't throw up.

I have a four cat household, and he eats a mix of wet and dry. He throws up the dry a little more often, but there's no hard and fast rule. I was using one of the Blue Diamond kibbles, but it got to the point where that came right back up. I'm now using Purina Gentle as an experiment, and it had helped.

He loves to go outside during daylight hours, and he misbehaves if he doesn't get to go outside. But when he comes back in, he often runs straight to the food bowl, wolfs down a lot, and throws it up. Feeding in small amounts helps somewhat. Maybe I should start leaving a bowl out on the porch during the day so he can eat smaller amounts more frequently.

In general, he's a very athletic, high-strung, high-energy cat, even at age 9, but no thyroid or kidney issues.

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The most telling thing to me is when you say if he keeps it down past 15 min, then it doesn't come up. This is strongly indicative that it is not a food or medical problem, but a eating too fast problem.  I agree leaving food outside for him could help, using foods that are gentle, not overly rich, and working to control how fast he eats by some combination of portion control or getting him to eat more slowly could help.

how many meals a day does he get?  Try doubling them while halving the quantity?

I would say it's somewhat food related, if the Purina Gentle is helping.  When I used to freefeed kibble, one of mine (NOT the piggy), would often throw up shortly after eating, so I started feeding him Purina Sensitive Stomach, and he stopped throwing up.  I honestly don't know what's in those sensitive stomach formulas that help, but something apparently does. 

Anyway, for kibble eaters, to slow them down you can try putting a clean golf ball or other ball about that size into the food dish so they have to eat around it.  There are also dishes you can buy that have obstacles permanently built in to slow down fast eaters.  Just google "slow feed bowl".  Portioning out smaller portions throughout the day as Stephen suggested is also a GREAT idea, if it's possible.  You can even try putting his kibble in a plastic container like a cottage cheese container or small yogurt container with a lid and  with a small hole cut in the side or bottom just large enough for one of two piece of kibble to fall out, then he has to roll the container around to get the food out.  Show him how it works and let him at it.  since he's athletic, he might enjoy that!  

IF you leave food on your porch, remember you may end up feeding a BUNCH of cats,(and possibly other animals) most of whom aren't yours.  If you don't have a problem with that, and your cats don't have a problem with that, try it out. 

i too am at my wits end with chloe, my cat. shes around 4 years old, she was a stray and i rescued her when she was about 5 months. she was in perfect health and used to eat really well in fact she became a bit overweight! it all changed a couple of years ago when she began to vomit after every meal. i took her to a a couple of vets (unfortunately i am from pakistan where we dont have good vet services) and they ran several tests. her alt was only very slightly high, other than that her blood report was good. the vets told me i have to live with it! she cannot eat dry food, she regurgitates it immediately, fish, beef, canned food too is a no-no, she can only eat minced boiled chicken breast. thats it. and if by any chance she finds and eats a bone in the mince, she pukes everything! we dont have any in depth type tests for animals here so i cannot take her for any... ive learnt to give her just a little bit in the morning, then add a little more later...otherwise she eats too quickly and vomits. i feed her twice a day. so can anyone help me, please? is it a food allergy? shes fine otherwise, has never been a very active cat, but has her moments! once she throws up, she'll eat again after about an hour and wont puke that out. help please!

JudyX said:

i too am at my wits end with chloe, my cat. shes around 4 years old, she was a stray and i rescued her when she was about 5 months. she was in perfect health and used to eat really well in fact she became a bit overweight! it all changed a couple of years ago when she began to vomit after every meal. i took her to a a couple of vets (unfortunately i am from pakistan where we dont have good vet services) and they ran several tests. her alt was only very slightly high, other than that her blood report was good. the vets told me i have to live with it! she cannot eat dry food, she regurgitates it immediately, fish, beef, canned food too is a no-no, she can only eat minced boiled chicken breast. thats it. and if by any chance she finds and eats a bone in the mince, she pukes everything! we dont have any in depth type tests for animals here so i cannot take her for any... ive learnt to give her just a little bit in the morning, then add a little more later...otherwise she eats too quickly and vomits. i feed her twice a day. so can anyone help me, please? is it a food allergy? shes fine otherwise, has never been a very active cat, but has her moments! once she throws up, she'll eat again after about an hour and wont puke that out. help please!

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Judy

Just eating chicken is not a balanced diet for a cat, so would you consider cooking her a more balanced meal and see if she can keep it down?  There are links here to home prepared foods: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources

I highly recommend getting a wheat grass plant for your Kitty to snack on, my cat hasn't vomited for months

StephenQ said:

 

JudyX said:

i too am at my wits end with chloe, my cat. shes around 4 years old, she was a stray and i rescued her when she was about 5 months. she was in perfect health and used to eat really well in fact she became a bit overweight! it all changed a couple of years ago when she began to vomit after every meal. i took her to a a couple of vets (unfortunately i am from pakistan where we dont have good vet services) and they ran several tests. her alt was only very slightly high, other than that her blood report was good. the vets told me i have to live with it! she cannot eat dry food, she regurgitates it immediately, fish, beef, canned food too is a no-no, she can only eat minced boiled chicken breast. thats it. and if by any chance she finds and eats a bone in the mince, she pukes everything! we dont have any in depth type tests for animals here so i cannot take her for any... ive learnt to give her just a little bit in the morning, then add a little more later...otherwise she eats too quickly and vomits. i feed her twice a day. so can anyone help me, please? is it a food allergy? shes fine otherwise, has never been a very active cat, but has her moments! once she throws up, she'll eat again after about an hour and wont puke that out. help please!

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Judy

Just eating chicken is not a balanced diet for a cat, so would you consider cooking her a more balanced meal and see if she can keep it down?  There are links here to home prepared foods: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources

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  In addition to this (which is critical!!!) , what happens when she eats beef or fish?  If she is actually regurgitating, she's probably eating too fast or too much at one time.  Regurgitating is when the food comes right back out immediately...basically they just open their mouths and the food comes back out.  Vomiting involved their stomachs heaving (like with us humans), sometimes quite a bit of noise, then gunk comes out, usually a few hours or more after eating.  

If she is truly vomiting chicken, (and beef and fish), then I would say she needs an entirely different protein like rabbit or venison.  Can you source Natures Variety Limited there, or Natural Balance L.I.D. or can you order it via the internet?  OR, can your Vet source Royal Canin hypoallergenic Rabbit for you?  Any of these might be good options for Judy to try.  BUT if you cook her food, please balance it out with organ meats (liver at least ) and some form of calcium (bones or egg shell powder or some other form) and taurine  in the appropriate percentages, or she will have a lot more problems in the near future   Please refer to the thread StephenQ provided

if i give her fish, which my poor baby loves, she tolerates it for about half an hour, then vomits. today i tried giving her a little boiled lamb heart cause i read heart contains taurine. mind you, she ate it ok yesterday, and i was so happy! however she vomited it all out today after about 20 minutes? she doesnt like beef or veal. but dont think shes vomited that... im not sure.. she just ignores the plate if i place it before her ::lol3: its so strange, some days shes fine and doesnt vomit at all, then something triggers her off and she pukes twice and sometimes thrice. we only get whiskas or felix or me-o cat food here. perhaps royal canin but like i said, she cannot tolerate dry food. dont get venison here either. doesnt like the whiskas rabbit flavour.

I am so grateful to a post I found (which led me to this cat site) a few weeks ago online "testifying" as to how Vitality Science Feline Comfort Digestive products had cured her kitty of IBS/IBD. I'd to that date spent over $1500.00 with my cat's Vet and done everything medically possible for him (steroids and every test) short of an invasive intestinal biopsy and yet my cat continued to vomit everyday sometimes 2 or 3 times and he'd lost 1/2 his body weight. I was literally watching my friend of 15 years dying before my very eyes. So long story short I E-Mailed Vitality Science's Customer Support describing my cat's symptoms and they immediately got back to me with advice. They sent me a list of foods they recommend for my cat's particular problem and more importantly told me what not to do too. I figured even though the Vitality Science products were going to set me back another $104.00 or so since I'd already spent so much and they offer a money back guarantee (and advertise a 97% success rate) that I'd give them a try. I'm so glad I did. Mr. Vegus is 100% better. He stopped vomiting all together on about day 3 of Vitality Science's plan for him. Customer Care had been available to me every step of the way. He's gained 2 pounds already and his coat is shiny again. He's obviously one of the 97% who this product and a change in diet from whatever was on sell in the grocery store including all kinds of dry food around the clock (I've since found out that dry food dries IBS/IBD cat's out ... duh) to INSTINCT brand wet food ONLY which is 100% grain, soy, and wheat FREE and (no birds: chicken or turkey as cat's oftentimes have allergies to them) only fish and meats: venison, rabbit, lamb, beef, salmon, tuna and I'm keeping my cat gravy FREE too. Bottom line: Mr. Vegus loves everything except the beef and he's now doing fine. This is my experience. What developed over 8 months time and cost me lots of money and lost sleep has been turned around in a matter of a couple of weeks. Check Vitality Science out. See if they are right for you and your cat. I wish you luck no matter what you choose to do. God Bless[emoji]128512[/emoji].

JudyX said:

if i give her fish, which my poor baby loves, she tolerates it for about half an hour, then vomits. today i tried giving her a little boiled lamb heart cause i read heart contains taurine. mind you, she ate it ok yesterday, and i was so happy! however she vomited it all out today after about 20 minutes? she doesnt like beef or veal. but dont think shes vomited that... im not sure.. she just ignores the plate if i place it before her :

its so strange, some days shes fine and doesnt vomit at all, then something triggers her off and she pukes twice and sometimes thrice. we only get whiskas or felix or me-o cat food here. perhaps royal canin but like i said, she cannot tolerate dry food. dont get venison here either. doesnt like the whiskas rabbit flavour.

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Heart is good...is DOES have Taurine in it.  Of course, it's only good if it stays down her .  But unless you are feeding a food made specifically for cats, not only do you need to feed her a protein like chicken or rabbit, but organs, specifically LIVER, and perhaps kidneys (hearts are not included in this category) and some form of calcium.  I cannot reiterate that enough.  Again, please refer to the above thread.  Oh, and COOKED bones are not good.  They can splinter too easily and cause internal issues.  Again, that thread will have things you can use for her calcium intake. 

I can understand her not liking beef...many cats don't.  It's just not natural for a cat to take down a cow, so I guess that makes sense.  Oddly, my tiniest cat (5 lbs) ONLY eats beef, and buffalo .  Go figure,    Have you tried turkey?  Or any other birds?  Do you have quail, pheasant, cornish game hens, duck, goose, goat, lamb?  I have found, when I fed raw, that if I gave them a meal of all liver, for instance, they would throw it up, but if I mixed it with the muscle meat, say liver with chicken breast, they would be ok.  Maybe you could try that with the lamb heart and chicken breast...give it to her together and see what happens so she doesn't have too much of one thing at one time.

If you cannot buy any of the brands other than what you mentioned, can you order via the internet?  I know you may not want to do that because you would need to order a case of food which you don't know if she'll eat or be able to handle, but this may be your only solution.  Is that possible?  OH!   And as to the fish you feed her that makes her vomit, what kind of fish, and is that fresh fish, or in cat food?

I first cook the chicken bones in a pressure cooker till they are so soft that you can mash them between your fingers. then i add the chicken breast and cook further.

I do add a chicken liver to the breast and mash it up as well.  I then mix in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  I also add a piece of ginger and a clove of garlic for taste!

I found some cans of fancy feast (they are quite expensive here) and she tolerated it (glory alleluia).  But yesterday i gave her the turkey & tuna and she vomited that. I think in future i'll stick to plain turkey or chicken. I'll try lamb kidneys as you suggest. We dont get venison here and it would be far too expensive to import the food, even if i could. 

We get good fresh fish here, and I steam it. But she vomits that too. I havent tried giving her raw fish though. Perhaps I'll try that and the kidneys soon.

She wont touch veal, although my other cat TiddlyWinks will only eat that, and turns his lil pink nose up at HER food. - *sigh*. What to do. 

Thank you for your help.  

JudyX, I would STOP adding a glove of garlic to that homemade food.  Garlic can damage their red blood cells, whether eaten raw or cooked.  Same with onions.   I'm actually surprised she likes the ginger, since it can be very spicy (depending on how much you use)

Otherwise, glad you have found something she will eat.