What Is This?

[war&wisdom]

Found it on the floor when I got home tonight. There's no odor.

 

[silkenpaw]

Looks like vomit. Care to give us some history?

 

[war&wisdom]

Is there usually no odor with cat vomit? Mine have never thrown up before.

They're 17 weeks old, brother and sister. They've had all their vaccinations and been dewormed three times (no signs of worms at any point). Their spay and neuter appointments are at the end of this month. Ares, the boy, may have something going on with his throat (some grunting sounds when eating or grooming), so he has an appointment tomorrow to check that out.

Normally, Athena, the girl, is ravenous, but just now she ate a couple bites and walked away.

Edit: Athena ate a little more, but not a ton. Maybe it's unrelated...

 

[DreamerRose]

That white foam is the result of dry heaves. One of them may be trying to cough up a hairball, but that doesn't seem too likely at their age. My Mingo has a hair-trigger stomach, and when he gets the dry heaves, I feed him a little to settle his stomach. I've found that Sheba pate is the best for this. It's soothing, easy to digest, and comes in a small portion. Kittens in general eat more frequently than adult cats, and they both may need more frequent feeding.

 

[war&wisdom]

Ares did sound like he was coughing a few nights ago, but nothing came up and he immediately went back to playing. Nothing since.

I do feed them several small meals throughout the day, mostly wet food, and they've seemed content with the frequency (never crying/begging).

 

[war&wisdom]

Is there a reason you use Sheba versus another wet food? I feed them canned Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan kitten food two to three times a day (ideally three) and set out dry food twice a day (when I leave for work and when I go to bed).

 

[Daisy6]

At that age they should be eating 2-3 cans of wet kitten food (assuming you have the 3 ounce size) because they need a lot of protein and calories. Some people on TCS say, "You can't overfeed a kitten." That is true until they reach full size.

You need to know who is throwing up and how often a cat dry heaves. Good luck.

 

[war&wisdom]

I feed them more than the recommended amount most days. I'm not underfeeding my kittens.

 

[war&wisdom]

I think I may have figured it out. It seems that one of the kittens took a tiny chunk out of the bar soap in the bathroom (new development: can now jump onto counters). The sliver was on the floor, but if one of them licked it, I could see their tummy getting upset.

It's also possible that it's a hairball.

At that age they should be eating 2-3 cans of wet kitten food (assuming you have the 3 ounce size) because they need a lot of protein and calories. Some people on TCS say, "You can't overfeed a kitten." That is true until they reach full size.

You need to know who is throwing up and how often a cat dry heaves. Good luck.

Is there a reason you think I'm underfeeding? Each of them gets 1-2 cans of wet food a day (split up into smaller meals) and all the dry they want when I'm out of the house or sleeping. This is more than the "recommended" daily amount (since I know kittens are growing and need the calories). I can't feed all wet because of my schedule, but I give them as much wet as possible.

Ares is the only one I've seen dry heaving, and it was only once. I'm taking him to the vet tonight to get his throat checked out because of the funny little grunting during eating/grooming (although he still purrs like crazy while eating and acts like a normal kitten), so I'll mention the vomit and the dry heaving.

 

[catlover73]

I would definitely mention the soap on the floor to the vet. If you have the packaging still perhaps you can bring that with you to the appointment. I do not think you are under-feeding your kitten. I am glad to hear that Ares is going to the vet tonight.