Vomiting a few hours after eating

[optimispar]

Hi, this is my first time posting on this site! I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on my kitty's vomiting episodes.

2 days ago, my 4y/o male neutered cat vomited what looked like thick brown liquid (smells like his wet food, digested) with a tinge of yellow (stomach acid), a few kibble pieces that he probably snacked on and a tiny hairball (size of a fingernail). I checked to see if there were any "coffee grounds" which would indicate signs of blood, but there were none. This was around 4.5 hours after his breakfast.

He threw up like this again just now, around 4 hours after eating the same canned food as the first episode (Nulo Duck & Tuna Pate). He's never had any food with duck as the main protein, so maybe it's an intolerance? Is this how allergies/food intolerance presents itself?

I've been trying different types of canned food because he's a picky eater, and when he threw up the first time I thought it might be due to him playing with his toy too aggressively. Now that he's thrown up twice at regular time intervals after eating a particular food, I'm wondering if this is indeed related to the food.

What's confusing me is that he ate the food fine yesterday evening, and also the evening before the first episode.. He has no change in appetite, uses his litter box, and seems to be pretty content.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of consistent vomiting? I'm going to try giving him a different can later and see if he vomits again.

Also, I stupidly got pet insurance only recently and the waiting period is still a week and a half away. I know they don't cover pre-existing conditions but I would hate for them to deny everything related to vomiting in the future so I'm hesitant about taking him to the vet if it's not serious.. If it seems serious I'll definitely take him regardless of the insurance waiting period.

Thanks for reading.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi & welcome!! Sorry to hear your kitty's vomiting. If you did a complete change over in food (vs. gradual), it could be upsetting his digestive system, and may not necessarily happen the very first time he eats it. If there is a food he will eat that he has eaten before, I would go back to that food entirely and see if he stops throwing up after a day or so.

Any time you change foods for a cat, it should be done gradually to allow their systems to adapt to the new food. That means 80-90% 'old' food, 10-20% new food for at least a few days, then add more new and reduce the old over time.

I hope that is all that is going on, and once you revert back to a food he is used to and will eat, the vomiting will stop. Then, you can try again with a new food, but as I said - gradually.

 

[optimispar]

Hi & welcome!! Sorry to hear your kitty's vomiting. If you did a complete change over in food (vs. gradual), it could be upsetting his digestive system, and may not necessarily happen the very first time he eats it. If there is a food he will eat that he has eaten before, I would go back to that food entirely and see if he stops throwing up after a day or so.

Any time you change foods for a cat, it should be done gradually to allow their systems to adapt to the new food. That means 80-90% 'old' food, 10-20% new food for at least a few days, then add more new and reduce the old over time.

Thanks for your reply! I was aware of that rule for when changing kibble but I didn't even think to do that for wet food! I gave him a different new canned food last week and he was perfectly fine on that. He's still allowed to graze anytime on his kibble (that he's been eating his whole life) so I didn't think his diet would've been drastically different.

I think for now I'm going to stick to just his kibble, and his wet treat that he loves (for water intake). Also I'm gonna throw out the rest of the Nulo can because I don't want to risk another vomiting episode. Appreciate your advice!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I gave him a different new canned food last week and he was perfectly fine on that...I think for now I'm going to stick to just his kibble, and his wet treat that he loves (for water intake). Also I'm gonna throw out the rest of the Nulo can because I don't want to risk another vomiting episode.

For additional water intake, you can also try to add a bit of water to his dry food - in a separate bowl from his dry - and see if he will eat it that way. If he does, keep experimenting with more and more water over time to see how far you can take that approach!

If he likes the new canned food from last week, since he seems to tolerate it, maybe just stick with that?

Once you get him past the vomiting issue, you could keep the Nulo and add just a tad to his other food - it might not be enough to upset his system, and the taste difference might be enough that he would enjoy the change. But, if you do go this route, I think it would be down the road after you have him settled back down!

 

[daftcat75]

If you can rotate him back to foods that don't make him vomit, wait out your insurance's waiting period.

There was a vomit visit in the look back period of my Krista's insurance policy. This was the beginning of our diagnostics into her IBD. But it was enough to deny all future IBD, pancreatitis, and lymphoma claims. The insurance was still worth it. They came through twice for two different five figure hospital stays. They paid out more than I would ever pay in.

 

[daftcat75]

I looked at that Nulo Duck. I don't like it. There's four different proteins (duck, chicken, turkey, and tuna), two gums (guar gum and agar agar), salt, cranberries, and a few other non-animal nonsense ingredients. Take the Nulo back where you bought it. I haven't known a pet food store that won't take back unopened food for store credit. Everyone knows cats are fussy.

When looking for cat food, look for something that's as close to meat, moisture, organs, and supplements. Supplements are necessary because certain vitamins and minerals don't cook or travel well. Cats are carnivores with different digestion and enzymes so don't be fooled by healthy sounding vegetables and fruits. A lot of that is not digestible by cats and can very well be the reason he's vomiting. If there were cranberries in the ingredients, it meant I was cleaning cranberry vomit later that night with Krista.

A few foods that fit the meat, moisture, organs, and supplements bill are Fancy Feast Classic pates ("by-products" in the ingredients are nothing more than un-named organs = good for the cat!), Tiki Cat, especially their After Dark line, and a more expensive but high quality food is Rawz. Rawz stabilized my Krista in the last couple years of her life with her IBD and later, lymphoma.

Or for starters, I'd avoid carageenan, agar agar, and cranberries. That should filter out a lot of nonsense foods. Guar gum isn't bad.

 

[optimispar]

If you can rotate him back to foods that don't make him vomit, wait out your insurance's waiting period.

There was a vomit visit in the look back period of my Krista's insurance policy. This was the beginning of our diagnostics into her IBD. But it was enough to deny all future IBD, pancreatitis, and lymphoma claims. The insurance was still worth it. They came through twice for two different five figure hospital stays. They paid out more than I would ever pay in.

Thank you so much for your advice!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I actually recognize your username from when I looked at your posts, trying to decide whether insurance was worth it . Anyway, after he puked this morning, I took away his regular kibble just in case but eventually left it out again because he wouldn't stop meowing. He's also groomed, peed and pooped after eating his kibble, and now he's sleeping on his cat tree so I think his overall health is okay enough to wait out the waiting period. I guess my main concern now is whether the insurance company will think it's fishy that my cat suddenly developed symptoms right after the waiting period ended, and deny my claims on that basis. All my previous vet visits have been for regular annual exams & vaccines, so I don't believe there's anything in his health record so far.

He was actually on the Fancy Feast Classic Pates (1/2 can twice a day along with his kibble) but I read that their ingredients aren't the best, so I wanted to switch it up with higher quality (i.e. expensive) foods. Nulo had pretty decent ratings on catfooddb so I'm disappointed that it doesn't work for my kitty. Luckily there's nothing to return since I only had one can of Nulo! I went to the pet store and picked up a few cans (just one of each) so I can make sure that he'll find it tasty. He's super picky and won't touch the chicken or turkey FF cans so I just wanted to do a taste test of sorts. I have a few other cans left for him to test but I'll try starting with more smaller portions and mix it with his normal FF. After I go through these cans I'll definitely check out some of your recommendations. Raws and Tiki cat sounds familiar, so I have high hopes!

Really hoping that the vomiting was just due to the food, and not some underlying illness.. I'm going to take him to the vet next month for a thorough check-up.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you so much for your advice!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I actually recognize your username from when I looked at your posts, trying to decide whether insurance was worth it . Anyway, after he puked this morning, I took away his regular kibble just in case but eventually left it out again because he wouldn't stop meowing. He's also groomed, peed and pooped after eating his kibble, and now he's sleeping on his cat tree so I think his overall health is okay enough to wait out the waiting period. I guess my main concern now is whether the insurance company will think it's fishy that my cat suddenly developed symptoms right after the waiting period ended, and deny my claims on that basis. All my previous vet visits have been for regular annual exams & vaccines, so I don't believe there's anything in his health record so far.

He was actually on the Fancy Feast Classic Pates (1/2 can twice a day along with his kibble) but I read that their ingredients aren't the best, so I wanted to switch it up with higher quality (i.e. expensive) foods. Nulo had pretty decent ratings on catfooddb so I'm disappointed that it doesn't work for my kitty. Luckily there's nothing to return since I only had one can of Nulo! I went to the pet store and picked up a few cans (just one of each) so I can make sure that he'll find it tasty. He's super picky and won't touch the chicken or turkey FF cans so I just wanted to do a taste test of sorts. I have a few other cans left for him to test but I'll try starting with more smaller portions and mix it with his normal FF. After I go through these cans I'll definitely check out some of your recommendations. Raws and Tiki cat sounds familiar, so I have high hopes!

Really hoping that the vomiting was just due to the food, and not some underlying illness.. I'm going to take him to the vet next month for a thorough check-up.

If you wait out the waiting period, I don't think there is a "smells fishy" clause in the policy. You did your part. Now they're legally obligated to do their part according to the contract.

That said, if things don't settle down, or get worse, don't get too stubborn about this. Either take him down to your normal vet and take the exception on the policy. Or take him to a different vet that the insurance company doesn't know about. It's probably a shady loophole. But if they don't know about this visit (don't submit the claim!), then how can they can't ding it against him?

 

[optimispar]

If you wait out the waiting period, I don't think there is a "smells fishy" clause in the policy. You did your part. Now they're legally obligated to do their part according to the contract.

That said, if things don't settle down, or get worse, don't get too stubborn about this. Either take him down to your normal vet and take the exception on the policy. Or take him to a different vet that the insurance company doesn't know about. It's probably a shady loophole. But if they don't know about this visit (don't submit the claim!), then how can they can't ding it against him?

Haha, a "smells fishy" clause. The policy says that any illness that reasonably showed its symptom within the waiting period (and 18 months prior to enrollment) is not covered, so if I go to the vet in 2 weeks I'll have to say that he JUST started vomiting the day before.

Honestly, that shady loophole did come to mind, but not sure if I'm ballsy enough to do it haha. Hopefully it doesn't come down to that but I'm well aware of how fast kitties' health can decline and will be sure to seek professional help if it comes to it. Thanks a lot for your advice.

 

[RainOnMe]

Hi there!
My kitten had a VERY similar situation. He would throw up 2-3 times a day, about 4 hrs after eating. Everyone told me it was because he was either eating too quickly, or due to the change in food between the foster’s feeding and me adopting him. I tried EVERYTHING to address each of these issues, but the vomiting never stopped or got any better. He was 100% normal otherwise - still happy, loved to play, had tons of energy, etc.

Come to find out, it was the fragrance from a deodorizer I added to his litter. The second I dumped the litter with the deodorizer and added new litter without it, he never vomited again. If slowing down your kitten’s food intake or balancing a change in food doesn’t help, maybe see if he is coming in contact with any fragrances that could be making him sick. A non scented litter may be something to try if your kitten has a litter that is scented.
Good luck! Hope he’s feeling better soon!

 

[optimispar]

Hi there!
My kitten had a VERY similar situation. He would throw up 2-3 times a day, about 4 hrs after eating. Everyone told me it was because he was either eating too quickly, or due to the change in food between the foster’s feeding and me adopting him. I tried EVERYTHING to address each of these issues, but the vomiting never stopped or got any better. He was 100% normal otherwise - still happy, loved to play, had tons of energy, etc.

Come to find out, it was the fragrance from a deodorizer I added to his litter. The second I dumped the litter with the deodorizer and added new litter without it, he never vomited again. If slowing down your kitten’s food intake or balancing a change in food doesn’t help, maybe see if he is coming in contact with any fragrances that could be making him sick. A non scented litter may be something to try if your kitten has a litter that is scented.
Good luck! Hope he’s feeling better soon!

Thanks for your input! I don't think it's my litter since there hasn't been any change to it, and my kitty only vomited twice, over 2 days. We are using scented litter though, because I can't find the unscented version of the one we use (Arm & Hammer Multi-cat Clump and Scoop???) That's awesome that you were able to figure out what was bothering your kitty though!!

I went to Walmart last night to pick up his old Fancy Feast pates and gave him a tablespoon of it twice so far, and he hasn't vomited yet.. (though to be fair, it hasn't been 2 days, so fingers crossed he'll make it past tomorrow without puking!!) I won't be home most of the day tomorrow so I'm feeling a bit anxious about that His last two poops were kinda subpar so I'm also giving him half a tablet of the Vet's Best Hairball Remedy twice a day to help with his digestion.

Will update again on how he's doing!

 

[RainOnMe]

Ahhh, I’ve been trying to find the same thing!!! Non scented arm & hammer clump and seal!!! I don’t think it exists lol. If you ever need an alternative, fresh step clean paws non scented is great. I just had to switch my guy to that because his paws and nose are drying and peeling He is insanely sensitive to fragrance lol.

I’m sure your little one will be fine!!! Tiki Cat makes a good pumpkin purée to put over their food that helps with digestion a ton. Whole Hearted has an “easy digestion” food too. I get so nervous when I leave my kitten, I got a camera that is awesome lol. It’s the Wyze Pan Cam and it’s only like $35-40 on amazon lol. Might not be a solution for tomorrow, but if you ever need it in the future, it’s a good option. Fingers crossed for you!!!

 

[optimispar]

Ahhh, I’ve been trying to find the same thing!!! Non scented arm & hammer clump and seal!!! I don’t think it exists lol. If you ever need an alternative, fresh step clean paws non scented is great. I just had to switch my guy to that because his paws and nose are drying and peeling He is insanely sensitive to fragrance lol.

I’m sure your little one will be fine!!! Tiki Cat makes a good pumpkin purée to put over their food that helps with digestion a ton. Whole Hearted has an “easy digestion” food too. I get so nervous when I leave my kitten, I got a camera that is awesome lol. It’s the Wyze Pan Cam and it’s only like $35-40 on amazon lol. Might not be a solution for tomorrow, but if you ever need it in the future, it’s a good option. Fingers crossed for you!!!

Cats are fussy like that I do have a camera!! Bought it years ago when I first got him. I'm able to keep an eye on my cat pretty much 24/7 right now because I'm working from home but I'm pretty sure I have separation anxiety now LOL I'll make a note of your suggestions and grab a few once I'm comfortable with switching him up to new food.. Kinda scared now haha.

 

[optimispar]

Since it's been a week, I figured I'll share an update.

He (thankfully!) hasn't vomited since my first post and overall seems to be in good spirits. I immediately stopped giving him any new canned food and put him back on the FF Ocean Whitefish & Purina Beyond GF Salmon cans that he had no problems with before. He also grazes on his kibble throughout the day.

A new problem though, is constipation He only poops once every 1.5-2 days. A few days ago I saw him trying to poop with no success, and around an hour later he tried again and managed to poop 2 little rock-hard pieces. Later that day I gave him some malt paste and a belly massage and he successfully pooped (like, a lot of poop..). His poops tend to have a lot of hair in them so I'm wondering if that's what's making them harden and making it more difficult to come out, although I'm giving him hairball supplements regularly. I'm mixing in water with his wet food to boost his water intake too.

His annual vaccines are due in October so I'm debating whether I should wait until then to get bloodwork and everything done, or take him sooner than that. I guess the other option is to just get his vaccines a month early? He gets so stressed every year we visit the vet, to the point the vet was concerned about how wet his paws were from the sweat.