Newly adopted 1-year-old cat throws up twice daily for three days - once food and once yellow fluid

Hi, first time cat owner and poster here!

We adopted Pika, a one-year-old DSH from a shelter two weeks ago. She was doing very well the first week. She started exploring the house the second she arrived, used the litter box and slept in bed with us from the first day, ate well, pooped well, and loved to snuggle with us. She was spayed and up to date with her shots. We brought her to the vet for a regular check-up last Monday. She was in perfect condition except a yeast infection in the ears.

Just as we thought we had a perfect cat, things started to go downturn.

Last Thursday morning, I saw a small patch of yellow "wet poop" on the carpet. It's about the size of two fingertips. It looked and smelled like poop. I assumed she had a diarrhea the night before and didn't have enough time to run to the litter box (she slept on our bed. The "wet poop" was on the carpet right next to the bed). That was the only "wet poop" she's had so far. On the other hand, she's been throwing up since the next day. It made me start to think maybe it was vomit, not poop.

Thursday afternoon, we tried to feed her wet food. She smelled at it, gagged (but didn't throw up), and walked away.

She threw up some clear, yellow liquid Friday night.

She ate some dry food on Saturday. She threw up some undigested dry food in the morning and clear, yellow liquid in the evening, just like she did on Friday. She did this all over again today (Sunday), but the dry food was more digested this time.

Pika is a little less active the past few days. She used to follow us everywhere and wanted constant attention. Now she still meows at us once in a while, but would usually walk away after we pet her for a minute or two. She also stopped purring at us. She doesn't act strange otherwise. She still sleeps with us at night and plays with the laser pointer.

The only cause I can think of is diet. She had been eating dry food in the shelter. We wanted to change her diet to wet food. We gave her both options. We kept changing the flavor of her wet food in an attempt to find out her favorite. She had some wet food for a few days and seemed fine. She started to get sick after trying out the lamb flavor. Although we stopped feeding her wet food since Friday, it didn't stop the vomiting.

Any recommendation on what we should do before bringing her to the vet?

Hello, Welcome!

I personally feel anytime a cat is throwing up or has bathroom issues, it's always good to see the vet asap.

I'm not sure, but have you tried to get Pika to only eat dry again?  And has she gone back to normal?  I know it's not healthy just eating dry, but it could be the change in food that's not agreeing with her.  Cat's can be sensitive.  I know my girl Chestnut doesn't adapt to sudden food changes.

If Pika is still playing and sleeping with you, I'm taking that as a healthy sign that it's the food change.

What is the brand of wet food you are giving her, and what is the dry?  Is it the same as she had at the shelter?

I'm sure a more experienced member will chime in with worthy advice, especially on how to transition food changes as well as easy on the tummy brands.

When she was in the shelter, did they treat her for worms and/or was she given any medications or treated for anything?

Pika has been on dry food since the day she started vomiting. She seems to be recovering. She's more active and ate a little more today. She also hasn't vomited for nearly 24 hours. I do notice she licks her mouth quite often, which I heard is a sign of nausea. We'll bring her to the vet this afternoon.

I wonder if the sudden change in brand of food is causing the trouble?

I am glad you are getting her looked at.

Is it possible she ate something she shouldn't like a string or chewed up a toy? Its hard to tell what the vomiting is from. They may want an xray to see whats going in inside-its not always possible to see blockages but they may recommend trying a bland diet after no food for 3 to 4 hours to give the stomach time to rest.

some folks use babyfood meat- chicken or turkey is good. If the vomiting is still going on at this point I would call the shelter and ask the brand they feed her=maybe try that brand and do a slow switch-14 days to get her system used to the food. or try a different protein like rabbit/duck etc. natures balance and natures logic has some good dry kibble you can try then adding wet food once a day and see how that goes.

I really hope they figure out what is going on!