My 9 y.o. indoor Cat vomits without hair ball

[fenya7]

Since 2019, we have been living outside of the USA, in Uruguay. Veterinary care and food selection are not as good as it was in the USA. Still, I continue feeding her with DR Hill"s DIGESTIVE care dry food. However, Dr. Hill's wet food she refuses to eat. I tried all 3 other wet foods available here, and she hates it. So, we have to settle with Brazilian PrimoCao of which she only likes the seafood version. I only give her bottled water. Everything is clean, I brush her frequently, she is a short hair kitty, so hair ball does not bother her. She can vomit a hairball about once a month.
However, she does vomit every 5 to 7 days, always in the morning, before she eats anything. She eats her wet food in the morning and later she has her other two meals,, both dry. Her weight is slightly more than ideal, she weighs 5,550 kilos (12,26 lbs.)
Today, she vomited 10 minutes after having her first daily meal, which is her wet food. In her vomit, there was neither food nor hair ball. It was very liquid, almost like water. It was yellowish/clear liquid.
She behaves, plays, poops and pees regularly and normally. Yes, she sleeps a lot, I would say almost 20 hours, but it now is winter in southern hemisphere.
We were at the vet clinic here a few times, the only research available is her poop. No blood, no parasites study. Her Vet here says she is OK (??)
Any ideas what could cause this kind of vomit? Any advise? Thank you all for your time and support.

 

[fionasmom]

Yellow and clear, sometimes frothy, vomit usually means that there is bile and the intestinal tract is irritated, often with an empty stomach. However, that might only be the tip of the iceberg. Two of my cats do this from time to time, but very infrequently. I monitor them immediately and it stops very quickly. If it continued, we would go to the vet. When one of my cats vomits within a short time of eating, it is usually regurgitation from having eaten way too quickly and the entire meal is there in the form that it was on the plate.

I realize that you said that the vet care you have received has not been complete, but I would want more investigation of this since it appears to have an ongoing pattern.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. At her age, there could be a number of things going on. But, first question - how long between meals does she go when this vomiting occurs in morning? Since throwing up isn't often, it could the timing on those occasions. Feeby (16+ yo) tends to throw up in the AM if she has gone too long since her last meal at night. And, while she might regurgitate her food, she doesn't always - when she does throw up just liquid, it is typically nearly clear or a tinge of yellow - aka bile that has collected in her stomach overnight. I have also noticed this occurring shortly before a hairball might happen with Feeby, so perhaps a bit of butter to help pass the hairballs might help. Just a dab on her paw or from your finger a couple times a week might be of benefit.

Just as a test, shorten the time between last meal of the night and first meal of the day. Give her something that is stomach coating late at night (vs. dry food). Do you have lickable treats available, or even perhaps basic baby food meats (with no additives)? Despite her weight, giving a tad bit of something for her to eat at night might help without adding that many calories.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I actually keep a little bowl with some freeze dried cat treats in it in my nightstand and feed it to one of my boys in the middle of the night. Otherwise, he throws up that frothy stuff pretty regularly. (Of course, I wash out that bowl on a daily basis before putting more goodies in it for the next night.) I also give them each four treats as I'm on my way to bed so they have a little something in their tummies. Plus their last meal is at 10:45 p.m. , but they don't eat breakfast until about 8:30 a.m.