My kitty keeps vomiting

I have a kitty who will be four months old on 4-17. He is very playful and curious, looks healthy-clear eyes, nose, ears etc.--but he vomits once--usually at night--every six days or so. He has done this since I adopted him three months ago. He has had all of his immunizations and our vet says he is healthy. Is this common with kittens? Any ideas on what I should do?

Thanks!~marny

what are you feeding this kitty? it will help to know that.

A few things come to mind. He is eating way too fast and it comes back up. If you feed at one time, I would try free feeding and let him eat when he wants. It also may be that he is not tolerant of the food he is eating. You may want to try another brand of food. Sometimes the smaller the kibble, the better. If you decide to try, I would gradually mix the new with the old to make the transition easier.

I have been feeding Riley Science Diet--both wet and dry. He has access to his dry food whenever he wants it, but I only give him small portions of the wet food so it won't sit on his plate and spoil. I have all-wood floors, so I am kind of wondering if he could be getting chemicals on his paws and then ingesting them when he cleans himself. I usually just use water, but there could be wax residue. Any suggestions on a different food I should try, or any ideas of a safer way for me to clean my floors? Thanks for your responses!marny

I would put a small amount of his kibble into a sandwich bag and break it up with a hammer and feed him the small pieces instead of the big chunks. Also, put a little bit of water over his dry food, this stops them from inhaling it as well. Science diet is usually pretty good on their digestive systems, though I have had a few cats that have turned up their noses at the stuff.

I don't think I would put a great deal of worry on the floors as long as they are dry when he walks on them. Do you give the wet food in the morning or evening? If it's in the evening, you may want to stop giving the wet food for a few weeks to see if that may be causing it. I have 2 cats who can't tolerate even just a few TBL of wet food. Like Hissy said, you can also try smashing the kibble into smaller peices to see if that helps.

Does he have long hair? If so, he may be developing hairballs early. My Trent started vomiting fairly early in his life, too, and he has a bit of a hairball problem. If he does have long hair or semi-long hair, start a brushing routine now so he can get used to it and this will also help with the vomiting.

Riley is a ragdoll, so he has the traditional medium-length hair. I usually brush him once a week or more, but maybe I should start being more diligent about it. I am going to stop giving him his wet food at night and see if that makes a difference. However, as I have been talking to more and more people about this, I am finding that some cats are just more prone to vomiting. This may just be one of his quirks.--at least he always runs to his litter box instead of throwing up in my bed or on the floor. Thanks again for the responses. It is really comforting to have finally found a source of information beyond my vet.~marny