Strange regurgitation behavior

When I adopted my 6 yo cat about 1.5 years ago, she regurgitating her breakfast like clockwork, every fourth morning after eating. Over the months it became less regular and a bit more frequent. I have consulted two veterinarians who suggested change of food - tried about 8 different brands including 2 Rx varieties. No change.

She has been tested for parasites, feline leukemia, and a few other conditions which were all negative. 

The first vet suggested a steroid which did help - but she slept all the time. She only got up to use the litter box and eat so I took her off it after 2 months. The second vet said he would have recommended a stronger dose of steroid. Instead, we tried Vitamin B12 injections which certainly helped her coat and and improved the look of her stool. did little to help the vomiting.

Currently, she is being fed approx. 1 heaping tbsp of dry food (doesn't like wet) every 4-5 hours and it works well most of the time. Feeding her more seems to trigger the regurgitation soon after she eats. This is fine except I don't like being woken up at 2-3AM to feed her. I have also tried closing the bedroom and feeding her when I get up but she gets agitated and this almost guarantees a regurgitation that morning. 

She was adopted from a rescue group so I don't know her history. The rep said she did not vomit in their care - but since they had a cat room with several cats, I wonder if she did but ingested it again before her next feeding. I have seen her do this.

Anyone else have a similar experience? If you have a tried and true solution, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Thanks for your help!

Cats who eat too much or too fast will often regurgitate.  This sounds like it could be the issue here, especially since now that you are feeding smaller meals, more often, it has subsided.  You could try getting her an automatic feeder, which will dispense her food instead of having her wake you up, or you could even use a treat ball like this:  http://www.thecatsite.com/products/play-n-treat-treat-ball, OR you can make your own if you can find a yogurt container with a reclosable lid, and simply cut a few holes in the container large enough for a piece of kibble to fall out.  then put in the desired amount and close the lid.  Show your cat how to roll it around until a piece falls out, and voila.

I have a cat who sometimes eats kibble too fast and then throws it up. I bought one of those toys that look like Weebles that have a hole in the side. The cat has to knock it over to get a few pieces of kibble. That worked like a charm, and the vomiting stopped. I got mine at the grocery store.

Thank you so much for your thoughts. She does eat fast and I have considered that this is a contributing factor. But since it was happening only every 4 days and 98% of the time the regurgitating happens only after the first meal of the morning, the vets and I have tended to discount it as the primary factor. They are stumped, too.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to weigh in. 

Thanks much for your feedback. I do not have one of those treat toys. A friend has them for her dogs but I've never seen them for cats. I do hide treats around the house at my bedtime. She hunts and finds them immediately and eats them before I fall asleep. I suspect she would do the same with the treat ball. BUT it would take her longer and it's more exercise for her body and brain. I'll check Amazon or make one. 

Thanks for your feedback. All thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. 

My Mook is a barfer. Stress = barf , some foods = barf,  not eating even when food is available and then gorging always = a barf. She has perfect blood work , no parasites and the food she throws up is one flavor and we just don't buy that.  We try and make sure she has regular meals so her tummy doesn't go empty too long but it is just a part of who she is and we have learned to manage it.  Medications were never recommended and we use a cat specialist. When she does barf she will go lick some plastic and then eat again and it stays down.

This is not violent throwing up she just sort of yowls and plop. I've had her since she was about 10 days old and she has always been this way and at 7 got another perfect health evaluation.

This isn't the one I have. I bought that at the grocery store in the pet food aisle. But here is one that's similar from Chewy.com.

https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-funki...gclid=CKSm5-Tr4NECFQctaQodeY4CvA&gclsrc=aw.ds

Put his morning food in it every morning to slow him down. My cat eventually slowed down enough that I didn't have to use it. But if he starts throwing up again, I get it out.

Kitten's Mom: 

Thanks for the feedback. Good to know you have a healthy 7-year-old with the same issue. Mine is pretty vocal when she's hungry, but is much more "yowly" on most of the mornings she does it. I am pretty much at the point that I'm hoping to manage it with the regular meals, too, but am not pleased with the early morning wake-up paws!  

DreamerRose:

Thanks for the link. I made a quick one with a toilet paper roll and she did seem to like it so next time I order from Amazon or Chewy, I'll probably order one. If it would help me make it through the night without a wake up and/or give her another activity, I'm willing to give it a try. If not, I'll pass it along to a friend with a cat. 

Thanks to both of you for your input.