Are liquid hairballs normal (nasty Pic)

[Kennethkeen]

Before I get stuck with a $300 vet bill for unneeded blood work I'm just curious if liquid furr balls are common. Some have been suggesting that it's eating to much. What looks like there are chunks of food inside what looks like vomit but I've been told by friends that are vet assistants it could just be a normal over eating reaction.

 

[backwoodsvet]

Don't know if this would be helpful, last time I went to the store I bought the wrong dry food, a more costly brand than I normally get....
them ate it up like something else more so than normal, shortly after I started getting the same thing that you picture, un-chewed pieces in a watery throw-up, from several of my strays, this was not normal till I brought that different dry home....
I got rid of that new dry food and in no time, no more throw-up and eating went back to a normal level.........
Hope that info helps some.......................

 

[neely]

My first question would be how often does this happen? If it's just occasionally I wouldn't worry too much but if it's several times a week it may be a more serious cause for concern. Does your cat snarf down their food? The reason I asked is because that could be part of the problem. If so, this TCS Article might have some helpful information for you:
How to Keep Your Cat from Scarfing Down Their Food [A Guide] - TheCatSite
And this thread about vomiting bile might also have some advice: Cat vomiting bile

 

[fionasmom]

To me, this looks like regurgitated food and not hairballs.

 

[lisahe]

To me, this looks like regurgitated food and not hairballs.

Full agreement here with fionasmom and K Kennethkeen 's vet tech friends! It can happen when a cat eats too much, too fast.

Did the vet techs already make suggestions on how to prevent this? Feeding small meals spread out during the day (and night) can help. So can feeding food spread out (rather than heaped) on a plate. This can also happen if a cat eats and then follows the food with a big drink of water. One of our cats does that every now and then after she eats dry food; she's a fickle thing and is (fortunately!) shifting back to eating more wet food again.