Finding clear puddles (lightly yellowish when wiped up) around room?

[Parktaejoon]

Hi all! I don't have any pictures unfortunately. But yesterday I was cleaning out some old boxes and found that one of them was soaked through at the bottom. I thought at first that this was cat pee, but noticed that there was no smell at all even though there was a LOT of it. I could not see any other issues with my two young cats (2 and a half years old, both), so I thought it was a one time thing and let it be.

However, whilst cleaning in my closet, I noticed another large puddle of clear liquid. I wiped it up this time and saw that the napkins came away slightly, slightly yellowish. Not sure what this could be, and googling key words isn't helping me so far. There was no foam, but I imagine foam could have settled if I hadn't noticed it for a while. I've been home all day and the cats seem fine, are eating their wet food as per usual, and do not seem dehydrated. Litter box activity is normal.

Has this ever happened to your kitty?

 

[Dakera]

Are you sure it comes from your cat? Not a pipe leak?

 

[Parktaejoon]

Are you sure it comes from your cat? Not a pipe leak?

yes they were in two different locations, both of which have no leakage from the ceiling. Leaks would be totally visible. Would be weird spots to leak from anyway. There's also no reason a leak wouldn't stain the rest of the stuff in the box (which one of my cats loved to sit in before I had to throw it out due to... well, you know) except for most of the bottom of it.

I ruled that out and thought it's most likely to be vomit. I also heard one of my cats trying to hack something up earlier so maybe they're waiting on a particularly nasty hairball. But even so I never heard about this kind of behaviour with hairballs, so I thought it's better to check.

 

[Dakera]

That could be it indeed, if it’s bile, the smell is very faint. If it’s just hairball, maybe you could help them with adding some fiber (pimpkin, psyllium husk) or some animal fat?

 

[Antonio65]

I believe it was stomach juices. It can happen when a cat has been without food for some time (and we know how fast they empty their stomach).
It happened to me a few times, and the smell wasn't of urine, more like neutral to me. I called the vet and he told me what I wrote above.
If you look into it very closely you might even find some hair, not hairballs, just loose hair.

 

[GraciesParent]

My cat sometimes throws up water if she drinks too much of it on an empty stomach, and it's much like what you describe -- I'll find a little puddle of clear-ish, very slightly tinged fluid.

 

[lisahe]

I believe it was stomach juices. It can happen when a cat has been without food for some time (and we know how fast they empty their stomach).
It happened to me a few times, and the smell wasn't of urine, more like neutral to me. I called the vet and he told me what I wrote above.
If you look into it very closely you might even find some hair, not hairballs, just loose hair.

Yes to this. Our cats do it sometimes (including this morning...) as well.

The hacking sounds at least as concerning to me since it can be a sign of hairballs, asthma, or allergies.