24 lb, 5 year old cat vomits a few hours after eating

My 24 lb, 5 year old cat has started vomiting a few hours after eating for the last few days.  I have not changed any food or anything.  Thinking it might be a hairball that he can't get up as he never vomits.  Looking for solutions that would help him get the hairball up quickly if that is what it is?

Does he make that horrible gagging noise and then throw up, or does it just come silently out of his mouth? One of my cats had acid reflux and he was just opening his mouth and vomiting, and the vet had me give him half of a human Pepcid before breakfast. It seemed to help.

For hairballs, my friend's long haired cat has success with pumpkin. Here's a blog page I found with some other ideas:

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/02/hairballs-natural-remedies-that-are-working/

Sophie

Maybe a probiotic would help his digestive system?

Good idea. Both of mine get Forti-Flora every day.

Sophie

When you say 24 pounds, is that because he is overweight or because he's a large breed like Main Coon cat?

I might worry about pancreatitis if he were overweight.

Yes, he is overweight.  Has been fine until a few days ago.  He still acts normal, eats, drinks, plays, he is just loudly gagging/vomiting a few hours after eating, then every few hours he does the same thing.  I heard him do that 2 or 3 times overnight.  He ate half of his food in the morning and some of the butter I put with it(trying to help if its a hairball, which I have never seen him throw up a hairball.  His sister, who is long haired does though)  I was going to try some Hairball stuff to see if that's the problem before taking him to the vet.

Thank you all!!  I weill try the suggestions and see what happens.

Well, I took him to the vet yesterday because he had stopped eating  They did bloodwork and a urinalysis, everything was normal

They gave him an anti-nausea shot and I brought him home .  Since then, he has barely touched his food last night and has been laying in the corner of the bathroom all night and this morning was still there.   I gave him some chicken and a little of his dry food, but he wouldn't touch it.  

They told me to bring him back in if he didn't get better in 1 to 2 days to have x-rays done and look for further causes.  He is sitting in one spot now.

Keep us posted! My cat that I used to have got pancreatitis and it caused similar symptoms. He was also an overweight kitty. He recovered and was fine but needed treatment.

Sophie

To RNSophie,  He is in the animal hospital now, they did xrays last night and didn't find anything.  Since he hasn't eaten for 2 days and was throwing everything up for the 3 days before, they have him in with an IV for fluids and are going to see if he will eat on his own today.  If not, then they will have to keep him another night and start an IV for food.  What exactly happens if they have pancreatitis?  They are sending a blood sample out for this also.

How old was your cat?  And is he still alive? How much did the treatment cost?

It was a while ago so I can't remember everything about it. The cat is now deceased but he died of old age issues and not pancreatitis. He lived to be 17. I remember him getting subcutaneous fluid injections because he wasn't drinking enough. He also got some kind of antibiotic but I don't remember what it was. When he came home I had to feed him with a syringe for a while, but then he started eating on his own again. It was probably a month from start to finish before he was his old self again.

Sophie

My cat was doing this. He was an older guy at the time. He had a cystic tumor and mega colon. You need x-rays and probably an ultra sound.

Sorry, I just noticed you had the x-rays done. My sister's cat was vomiting,turned out to be her Thyroid.

This is very helpful, thank you.  I brought him home yesterday.  His temp was normal, everything was normal, no pancreatitis, he started eating again on his own Friday nite.  When I got him home, he nibbled a little on the kibble that was in the bowl.  Shortly after he nibbled, he threw it up with some clear liquid.  He is still acting kindof  distant although he did come out last night and lay in the livingroom with us until after he threw up.  He then went into the garage and was there probably for most of the night.  This morning he didn't eat anything again.  I put some turkey baby food on his tray, but he hasn't touched it(his sister actually ate it the first time)  I spoke to the doctor about this and they said to try the bland kibble that they were giving him at the hospital, so I am going to do that and see if he eats.  I guess, I may have to do the same as you did if he refuses to eat again.  The only other course I was recommended to do was get an ultrasound as everything else was normal.

Marley1, I hope they can find the cause soon.
My cat also was on Prescription Diet most of his life, because of stomach issues.
The dry one.
My most important advice to anyone is to avoid dry food as much as possible.
Mega colon was miserable. Out of every thing he went through, that was the most difficult to deal with on a daily basis.

My recently adopted cats eat some dry food, but I want to really limit it.