Cat Throwing Up

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

My cat throws up most mornings after eating, never at night or afternoon. I've tried giving her only a little food but she still throws it up. Her last feed is around 5PM. Thoughts?

 

[maggiedemi]

My cat used to throw up every morning too. I think it was just too long for him to go without food. Can you give her a little snack before bed?

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

I will try the snack before bed. Hope that works. Thanks.

 

[arouetta]

If your stomach is empty you will eat far too much too fast, and that will also often trigger vomiting.

How many times a day do you feed your cat? If last meal is at 5pm, is there a meal no later than 5am? Meals should be as evenly spaced as possible and most certainly should be no more than 12 hours apart. And if that far apart, there should definitely be a sufficient amount of food to last all day/night. Plus cats are not nocturnal, they are crepuscular. In the wild their schedule is primarily focused on dusk and dawn. So the 5pm feeding isn't the greatest timing to take into account your cat's activity schedule.

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

I feed them around 7AM, then treats/wet food around noon and then their last meal around 4:30/5pm.

 

[artiemom]

I would give your cat a meal before you go to bed and leave some food out for her. Cats like to eat at night. Too long without food creates a lot or acid in the tummy.

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

Thanks Artiemom, i will try feeding later and see if that works for her. My other 3 cats do not throw up like this one.

 

[sargon]

It seems frequent enough that I suspect may be the food, not the frequency...

There are a number of ingredients (many of which are in fairly high end cat food) that, for some cats, can cause them to throw up.

-grains and grain proteins (things like corn gluten, wheat, etc. )
-carrageenan: an all too common thickening agent found in a lot of wet cat foods, which is poorly tolerated by a lot of cats, and which also may cause health issues.
-certain meats: like humans, some cats have or develop food allergies.
I'm sure there are others, but it is usually one of those three causing the issue.

A couple of other possabilies is that your cat is just eating too quickly (they make slow feeder bowls to help prevent cats from wolfing down their meals.), or that maybe your cat's water is a bit off (using ceramic or stainless steel bowls that you clean and replace the water in daily, or a fountain feeder (also stainless steel or ceramic) will help there.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to check with your vet, as there are some potentially serious issues cats can have that can also cause vomiting (at least one of which, severe parasitic infection, can be transmitted to you!)

 

[missmimz]

My Cat is Vomiting - What Do I Do?

 

[orange&white]

Changing the last meal time to just before bed seems the easiest thing to try first. Always try "easier" before "harder".

But I also agree with Sargon, that it might be the food and not the timing. Three meals within 24 hours should be all right on your current schedule. If changing the last meal time doesn't work, then you may need to look at a change in foods.

Also, the article Missmimz linked had an interesting suggestion: Give him a few treats 15 minutes before breakfast to get his stomach acid working. He might throw those up, but then be able to digest and keep down his real breakfast.

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

Yesterday, I fed her and the others at 7:45 pm and this morning gave her about a dozen crunchies 15 minutes before her breakfast (I only feed them wet food, mostly grain free). First I gave her about 2 tbsp, no throwing up, so gave her 2 more tbsp and still no throwing up. So, I will keep this routine and see if that solves her problem. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[MoonRockyMistyMuffin]

I recommend giving him something before bed. He might be going too log without food, then eating too much or too fast in the mornings, which can cause vomiting.

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

So, this is the 3rd day with Minette not vomitting. I now feed them all around 7:45 pm and this seems to have solved her problem. Thank you all for the advice.

 

[Munki]

I give mine a little butter on the paw if it's a hairball they yack up. It helps when they lick it off, to clear anything in there.

 

[smokeyferalkitinminette]

It is not a hairball. I've been feeding them all later before bed and it seems to be working.

 

[thehistorian]

Hmm, that is weird. Usually cats can go 11-12 hours without food and be just fine. I am lucky in that my two get their last meal at 6PM and they are fine in the morning. However, every cat is different and you have to find the meal schedule and combination that works for them. What is her current feeding schedule like? Something like 9:00AM, 3:00PM, and 9:00PM might work better for your girl? There is still space between feedings, but not as big as the one between my evening and morning feedings.

For example, mine are 6AM - 2 whole cans of wet food, 12:00PM - half a wet tray split between them, and 6:00PM 1/2 a cup of dry food. The 12 hour lapse between 6:00PM/6:00AM works because it convinces my male kibble addict that wet food is just the best thing ever.

 

[thehistorian]

I feed them around 7AM, then treats/wet food around noon and then their last meal around 4:30/5pm.

Ah, here we go. I find that wet food usually works best in the morning. Yeah, I would say that your schedule is a little bit too squished together for them. If she is going from 5PM-ish to 7AM-ish without food that is a bit too long. That is fourteen hours and I would argue way too long. My cats go no more than 11 to 12 hours before their last evening meal and their morning meal. I would say rearrange the schedule to make it no more than a 12 hour lapse and see if that helps.

 

[MoonRockyMistyMuffin]

I'm glad the new feeding time is working for you!