Cat Throwing Up Time To Time

Kalsajo

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I have a five year old cat named Toby, and I'm a bit concerned for him. He's been throwing up time to time, not daily but at least every once a week/month. His diet only consists of dry food, and it definitely does not look like hairballs. Should I take him to the vet?
 

kitty chew

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Hi, It wouldn't hurt to get him checked out. Also, you should try giving him some wet food. I think it's good for them to have a bit of both. Best of luck.
 

jen

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In a nutshell it isn't normal no. Is the food whole or digested? If it is once in a great while because he ate too fast and the food is whole pieces that come back up right after he eats, that is one thing. If it is more then a couple times a week, or the food is digested I would be more concerned.

I also agree to ditch the dry. The diet should consist of mostly canned/wet food. Dry can cause obesity and makes them dehydrated which can lead to diabetes and kidney issues.
 
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Kalsajo

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Thank you for the replies! I'll take him to vet as soon as I can, and inspecting closer it seems that the food is digested. He does not vomit for several times in a week. However, once he's in the process of vomiting he gets all puffed up and runs away. He returns back to his normal behavior after a few minutes.

Are Friskies a good wet food? We've actually bought Toby Friskies before, but he never actually finishes the wet food. I've been giving him Meowmix dry food, and he eats the food very little at a time. I cannot tell if this is normal cat behavior.
 

di and bob

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i have had several cats that just throw up. It may be from food allergies, stress or irritable bowel. Burt was my last one that threw up weekly, and he lived to 17, but he did die of cancer in his abdomen.
 

maggiedemi

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I agree, I would add some canned food to his diet, I use Friskies Pate. Also, maybe try hairball treats or paste every other day or 3 times a week.
 

mingking

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Any wet food is fine. Of course, if you want the best, I'd do more research on better quality foods. If you'd like, I can give you a few links but it can get quite overwhelming honestly. There's lots of different ways people feed their cats. For example, I feed my cat set meals 3-4 times a day and I only feed wet food.

I've always been told to give at least one 3 oz can of wet food a day. It helps with hydration and also helps to keep cats from getting crystals and kidney issues.

Cats that are free fed usually just graze. So they'll eat a little bit throughout the day so it's normal behaviour. You can just give maybe a 2-3 tbsp of wet food at once a couple of times throughout the day. Or, if you find a wet food that Toby likes, it can become a routine for the both of you where you feed him the canned at a specific time every day.
 

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I've got a frequent vomiter too. There are all sorts of reasons for it - ate too fast, stress, too many treats (4-5). Wet food stays down better, but he throws it up too. The vet suggested I run Feliway all the time, and that does seem to help.

I've got a lot of carpet, so during one period when he was constantly vomiting, I sat him down and had a long serious talk with him. I explained he was throwing up too much, and to please try to keep it down. And if he couldn't, then please head for the tiles in the foyer or the kitchen. He listened very carefully to everything I said, and believe it or not, it stopped the vomiting for a month or two. Come to think of it, the last two times happened in the foyer and the kitchen.
 

daftcat75

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I've got a frequent vomiter too. There are all sorts of reasons for it - ate too fast, stress, too many treats (4-5). Wet food stays down better, but he throws it up too. The vet suggested I run Feliway all the time, and that does seem to help.

I've got a lot of carpet, so during one period when he was constantly vomiting, I sat him down and had a long serious talk with him. I explained he was throwing up too much, and to please try to keep it down. And if he couldn't, then please head for the tiles in the foyer or the kitchen. He listened very carefully to everything I said, and believe it or not, it stopped the vomiting for a month or two. Come to think of it, the last two times happened in the foyer and the kitchen.
Can you have a talk with my Krista? She finally has learned not to vomit from heights after her cat Gallagher episode. The splash zone was huge! But just the other morning I woke to her retching on the bed next to me. I picked her up still retching and tossed her off the bed just in time for that barf grenade to explode at ground level. Whew! Ugh!
 

cheesycats

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My female scarfs and barfs dry food, sometimes it’ll be hours after and still completely undigested. I’m convinced all dry food is just extremely hard on cats. It’s just so unnatural for them.
A decent quality budget friendly canned food is fancy feast. You can do two meals of wet a day and if you work (or when ur asleep at night) you can leave a little dry out. That’s what I do but I do it just so they don’t scream all night.
If you choose to keep dry food an option pleasssse feed something better quality. Meow mix dry is pure junk. Take a look at merrick, nature’s variety, tiki cat, applaws, or dr elseys dry. Better quality food you’ll feed less, have smaller, less frequent, less smelly poop, a softer coat that sheds less, and a healthier cat in general.
 
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