Cat Throwing Up Often

I have a two-year old male DSH. It used to be that he threw up on occasion, almost right after eating his food, and we suspected (along with the vet) that this was just the result of his eating too much too fast. When I catch him eating too much I usually stop him, and he's fine. Now it seems, however, like almost every time he eats he throws up, even though he's not eating that much. The "event" happens almost immediately after he's eaten, and I think it's gotten to the point where he's actually starting to lose weight.

The vet still is convinced that it's because he's eating too much or too fast, or that he's allergic to his food. We've switched him to the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, but that hasn't helped. I've noticed that when he eats, however, he almost always swallows his food whole and doesn't chew it first. I'm wondering if this could be causing the problem, and thought someone might have a recommendation for a quality cat food with large pieces of kibble.

Any tips anyone might have to help would be greatly appreciated. In terms of his general feeding habits, both he and his younger "sister" (1 y/o female DSH) free feed, and only eat dry food (they have tons of water present at all times).

Thank you in advance! I'm looking forward to solving this!

I think you'd better change the food to wet, since he's going to keep eating kibble too fast no matter what.

I had a problem with Nedicks hoovering up her dry food and puking it up. It was suggested to me on here that I raise up her dish a bit--that compels kitty to eat slower.

Raise the dish , put a rock or marble in the middle ... wet is a great idea...

Nutro and Royal canin both have big dental pieces..

My Trixter used to throw up his dry food a lot, too. In my opinion, its too hard to digest and it causes a lot of other health problems as well. I would switch your cats to canned foods, for sure. It is MUCH better for them for many reasons, anyways, and will most likely stop the vomiting. Switching my cats to wet food not only has kept their bodies better hydrated and healthy, but also aided in my Trixters diabetic remission. He is now a diet controled diabetic thanks to low carb canned foods, so he no longer needs insulin injections.

It is my opinion that dry food causes diabetes, obesity, dehydration and can lead to kidney problems, pancreatitis, etc. Most commercial dry foods are 35-50% carbs, which cats do not metabolize like other mammals. Not only is dry kibble like feeding breakfast cereal to a meat-only eating species, but it is also only 10% moisture, when a cats natural diet consists of 75% water (live prey). It is said that cats on a diet of prodominately dry food are chronically dehydrated, as cats naturally do not have a strong thirst drive as it is, and with drinking AND getting 10% water in their food, they are only getting about half of the water they need for a healthy balance. I can bet you will see a significant difference in the health, happiness and activity level of your cats within 2 weeks of changing their diet to canned foods, and I, along with MANY others, will say that you can help prevent many health problems by doing so, as well.

Check out www.felinediabetes.com for more information on feline nutrition, and a food chart which displays carb contents of the different brands and flavors. 10% carbs and under is best, not just for diabetic kitties, but for ALL of them. Click on Janet and Binkys food list at the top of the page on that site. Hope this helps you! <3

Edited to add: Any diet change for cats can be touchy, so it is my advice to make the change slowly to avoid tummy upset. When i switched my boys to all canned, I started by mixing the dry into the canned and slowly over time I took out the dry. Now they get NO dry and they are thriving and loving the feedings. You can also get a lot of info on feeding by visiting the forums on www.felinediabetes.com.

If the problem persists after you try the changes mentioned above, you might wish to send your kitty for X-rays or ultrasound.

I had your problem two years ago. My cat puked after eating. At first it was only once in a while. As time passed, the problem aggravated and she vomitted every time she eats. Her appetite gradually reduced.

Initially we thought it was hairball that caused the problem and that she eats too fast. After that we switched the brands of food. We even stopped her from taking dry food. All this, to no avail. I lost her and the cause of it - lymphoma.

Suzanna

Hershey does this wilth certain food.. the only food he doesn't thorw up is Purnia One and Chicken Soup.. The vet ran tests on him and didn't find anything.. before you go with tests try switching food.. I spent 500 dollars on tests..