Cat throwing up

Hi Guys I'm a little worried about Patty...As some of you know, I've had her for about a week and half. Before that she was the cat at my job. Well the first day I bought her hom, she threw up a hairball and then later on what appeared to acid. Thwe problem is at my job she wasn't eating that healthy. She'd eat a dry and wet foods, but mostly the cheaper kind-if that makes a difference. Also, they'd change the spot where she'd have her food sometimes, which I know is not good. I think they would sometimes even give her milk. Here I give her fresh food and water every day. I try to change her water at least 2-3 times a day so its fresh. Her food is always in the same spot. The food I'm currently giving her is Iams-dry food. I also like to mix in some treats for her like Whisker Lickin's-Tartar Control, Whisker Lickins-Chicken Flavor-both by Purina and Temptations by whiskas..i mix these treats in with her regular food.. She seems to like it..I also give her wet food but only every other day...The brand I'm currentl;y giving her is Fancy Feast. The other day, like 2 days ago..she ate a lot. She woke me up around 7ish..I filled her plate..and hr and a half later she came back and when I looked it was empty..so I filled it again. She ate very well that day. The following day, I was a little concerned that she didnt really eat much..hardly touched her first plate. Then towards the night and next day she started eating again. Last night and today she's thrown up. It seems like digested food-mush and even some un-digested food...the dry pellets..I need to leave to work in a few minutes..but I put the food away and am only leaving the water out. Any help of info is greatly appreciated. I thank you all your time in reading this..I will try and log on at work so I can check responses...Thanks so much and please let me know if I need to give you guys more info..Take care

Has she been for a vet visit at all?!

First of all, thanks for taking this kitty into your home. Don't switch her up with so many foods- it isn't good for them, their stomachs are pretty sensitive. Nix the Fancy Feast (junk food for kitties). Don't feed the pouch foods (wet stuff) stick with Iams or Science Diet or even Max Cat.

Vomiting can be hairballs, worms, overfeeding, stress or illness. You change her water so often, you also might need to look at the tap water being the culprit. You want to feed the cat, and not the bowl, and don't free feed. Give out little bits of food on a schedule if you can, or buy an automatic feeder. Dry food air spoils quickly and wet food lasts about 20 minutes out all day.

She may be allergic to (or just unaccustomed to) some of what you're giving her. Stick to a couple of types of food for now, but if she's still throwing them up within a day or two, try just a dry food left out, something like Purina chow, which most cats do well on. Can you find out what she was eating at work? Anyhow, when you introduce anything new you have to just mix a bit (more each time) with her old food, so she won't react. BUT, if she's still just throwing up anything (oh, and don't give her milk at all) within 2 days, etc., call the vet.

You need to pick one food brand of wet and one brand for dry, different flavors are okay. You can give either only wet or only dry or both depending on you. But for cats with sensitive stomach like my cat Buddy don't mix it up too much. My cat can't handle to many treats, he throws up . If I switch his food or give him too much he also throws up. My vet also told me if he has a sensitive stomach and can't handle too much food at once then split his meals into four meals, smaller portions instead of 2 big meals. I used to feed my cat the "junk food" cat foods such as whiskas, which was the only junk food he didn't throw up(Friskies, Fancy Feast etc, made him sick), until I read so much bad things about them. I switched to Nutro Wet foods, which they sell at petco and petsmart. He is fine now eating those. He did get sick the other day though, because he got greedy and broke into his cat treats and ate the whole thing and got himself ill
Just try to keep his menu simple so not to upset her tummy, and keeps the portion sizes smaller at least until she is feeling better. Try not to over feed your cat, just because the bowl is emtry, doesn't mean she is hungry again. Overfeeding will lead to her gorging herself and throwing up. If you have any doubts though that is more than what she is eating that is getting her sick, then you should seek the advice of a vet. GOOD LUCK!!

Hi Everyone..Thanks for the quick responses..well to answer some questions..no, I don't think she's ever been to a vet. I do want to take her by the end of the month to get all her shots and get checked up and soon after that spayed.(I'm just hoping to save money since I know that visit will prob cost me close to 200 with all her shots and all. About the food she used to eat..I think it used to be nine lives-the wet kind. Not too sure about what brand of dry food will try and find out. I know last wekk I was feeding her Purina-Little verttles..something like that the ones that come in the brown packet and are soft and she loved those and I don't think she threw up while eating that. So are the treats I',m feeding her bad? I can cut them out of her diet for now. Also, a friend of mine gave me some catnip today-I don't know much about it just that cats "love" it and it helps their digestive tract? Not sure if thats true. My tap water should be ok..I have a filter on it and use it with my fish tanks(although I do add water conditioner to the fish tank water) Before I left today I put the food away and will pick up some purina food and feed her that. Any idea on how much she should be eating? Someone also recommended to me that she might be throwing up b/c shes not accostumed to eating so much..may be eating too much and too fast..I feel so bad for her..Other than that, she seems healtyhy and happy..playful and sleepy..lol Thanks again for the advice and more input is always welcome

also, just wanted to add..about 2 days ago when she ate a lot..she did during the night rip open the ziplock back i used to keep her uneaten food in..so maybe she made herself sick by eating so much..and thats prob why she didnt eat much the following day Thanks for the advice again guys..youve been very helpful

Buddy does the same thing, he rips open his food bags, I had to put child locks on the cabinets, since he will eat until he is sick, he has done it before. For a full grown cat a can of food 2 times per day, and if she is extra hungry you can put out dry food about 1/4-1/2 cup per day. Nine lives, whiskas etc, are not the best foods to feed, they are = to feeding macdonalds. If you are unable to switch to a heathly brand like nutro and many other premium brands, just keep an eye on weight gain since the supermarket stuff can pack on the pounds. Trader Joes premium food is good to and it costs the same as whiskas and 9 lives. Treats are okay in moderation, they are meant to be given just as a treat. Instead of milk, you can give "cat sip" which is a milk especially for cats. Good Luck and Congrats on your kitty.

thanks for the advice I bought her a big bag of Iams Cat Food Dry-for hairballs and weight control.(Is that a good food to give her?) When I got home today, she ate a little...really not much at all..a few bites...she did however, go crazy to the scent of catnip...LOL put some on her toys and some on top of her food Thanks for the advice..hopefully she won't throw up again

Oh, I hate to say anything now, you are so well intentioned, but I'm not really sure that food is right for a kitten (or young cat). It probably won't hurt her, but I don't think she needs weight control food, does she? Is she overweight at her age? Get her something that at least tastes good (I have serious doubts about that one and you're trying to get her to eat, not lose weight), plus it's doubtful hairballs are her problem at that age.

thanks for the advice larke..I think patty is around 2..I got the hairball control becuase she seemed to groom herself a lot at work..I think maybe sometimes to fill herself up with hair since she didn't eat as much there..Here she seems to eat often and she seems to eat the Iams, but if you guys can suggest a better brand or food, thats great too..Thanks!

Even if she is overweight, a diet dry food is not the way to go, doesn't help. I am not sure if she is or not, but the best food is Wet or Dry of your choice (i prefer wet food personally) Wet or Dry with no by products!! Nutro is a great choice. Nutro comes in wet and Dry. I heard Royal Canin Dry is good too. Iams is okay. Just check the label, if the first ingredient is "water, meat or by products" its a good idea to try something else. You'll figure it out. It took a lot of trial and error on my part to figure out what food to give Buddy. Buddy gets sick easy and also has a never ending appetite, after a while you will find the right food for you and your cat and things will be great. Hope things work out well for you and your new kitty!