How often do your cats get sick?
By LRB1111
@LRB1111 (356)
United States
June 6, 2007 12:58pm CST
Hi there. My cats tend to throw up several times a week. Sometimes several times a day. They are healthy and have been to the vet although not recently. They have done this for years though. I know cats get sick like that every now and then but i'm wondering if it has to do with their food, or something else?
i used to leave their dry food out all day and they would whine whenever it was empty. I would of course fill it up and so i assume the problem was because they were overeating. BUT i've been limiting their food times to 3 designated times a day and i do give them wet food every now and then as recommended because the dry food doesn't contain some of the vitamins they need.
Has anyone ever had or currently have this problem with their cats ? If so, what do you think i could/should do to stop kitties from getting sick so much? How often do you feed your cats, what brands, times, how much.. ect?
They are short haired cats but i still brush them all the time so they don't get hairballs. I don't think thats the problem. I keep floors clean so i don't think they are eating dirt off the floor or anything.. What could it be? They seem happy enough and no other sources of stress in the house that i can tell.
4 people like this
11 responses
@nicolec (2671)
• United States
6 Jun 07
It really does depend on how often your cats throw up. I have one that throws up regurlary because he eats his food to fast. the vet says this is common. they kind of gorge themselves. Not in quantity, just too fast. So it doesn't settle right and they vomit. Mine also go outside, so often they throw up grass that they have eaten and can't digest. sometimes it's just hair, even though they are short haired.
What does the vomit look like? Is it chunky, like full of food? Or is it just clear? That's would be a good place to start.
@LRB1111 (356)
• United States
6 Jun 07
I think it may have something to do with how fast they eat which is why i put very little in the bowl at a time. They are indoor cats so i know they haven't ate anything they are not supposed to from outside and they have been checked for worms last time they were at vet. I do notice it happens more often after they eat.
It's different every time but never any blood so i guess this is good.
1 person likes this
@hockeygal4ever (10021)
• United States
7 Jun 07
It can be a number of things from hair balls, also not necessarily enough hair to be a "ball" but just some stuck in their throats, to eating plants and grass. It's actually quite normal for cats to do this and I wouldn't worry too much unless they are losing weight left and right. Short hair cats definitely can get hair balls even if brushed. Their tongues are like sand paper and when they clean themselves they definitely get a mouth full of hair each time they lick. This can add up in the tummy and cause vomiting or stick in the throat a bit until they cough it up. Is there anything "in" the vomit? Make sure there are no worms, which I assume you probably already figured but just in case! LOL Do they eat plants in the house? Do they get outdoors at all to eat grass and such out there?
As I said, I wouldn't worry much unless it's causing weight loss.
Oh, and by the way, technically cats will NOT overeat until they puke. A dog will but a cat will not.
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
7 Jun 07
I don't know about your cat, but I have watched mine. If he eats warm food (canned food that has not been refrigerated) he throws up shortly after eating. Also, if he eats too fast, he throws up. For instance, if his food bowl gets completely empty and then we fill it with dry food, he gobbles it very fast and then he throws up! He only throws up due to a hairball about once every 2-3 weeks. The vomitus will have what appears to be a bowel movement in it, but it is condensed/compact hair in teh shape of his esophogus.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
7 Jun 07
Do you treat him for hairballs? Neither of our cats gets hairballs (we have a short and a medium haired cat), but we still give them hairball treats every now and then to break down any hair they may have.
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
7 Jun 07
actually we have never treated him for hairballs. I suppose that I should look into that. If there is something that works it would save a lot of headaches! He is a short haired cat.
@HighReed1 (1126)
• United States
8 Jun 07
We have 3 strictly indoor cats. They would yack regularly until I switched their food. I got Purina indoor formula cat food. That helped with most of it. They still leave me hair-yack at times.
We leave the dry food out all the time. They get canned about once a week. Ours are short-haired as well. I noticed that when I gave them the drained oil from the canned tuna the yacking was less.
Do your cats get into green plants or grass? Those will make them yack. I think that's why they eat them.
If they seem healthy otherwise, I would try changing food first. If you aren't using an indoor formula food, try one.
@Beauce (50)
• United States
6 Jun 07
Hi, if your cats are throwing up several times a day, I would not say that they are healthy. There deffinately sounds like something is wrong. It is not normal to be throwing up that much. I would take them to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
Have you had them checked for worms? I know that a severe infestation of worms can cause vomiting. However, the best advise would be from a vet.
I hope that they are ok.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
7 Jun 07
Our female cat gets sick every now and again. Normally it is from eating too fast or just too much (I think her eyes are bigger than her stomach). We keep their dry food out all day and give them wet food once a day.
If they go to the vet once a year for their shots and de-worming, I wouldn't rush out to vet. I would start them on a hairball treatment (yes even short hairs get hair in their stomachs even though you don't see "hair balls" per sae) and see if that helps. If it doesn't, I would switch them to a dry (and wet if you can find it) food for cats with sensitive stomachs. If that didn't work, I would bring them to the vet.
Since cats throw up so easily it is hard to pin down what the problem is unless you live with them. You should also check for other signs that they are sick - odd meowing, not using the litter box, etc. If you call your vet, they can give you a list of things to try (I know the above two will be on the list).
@GardenGerty (157665)
• United States
7 Jun 07
I was having this particular problem with one of my cats, mostly, and one other occasionally. I have had the vet tell me to use different foods because of their health.Iams. When I used the expensive one, they threw up, and had skin issues. I had been using a certain national brand after that,(9 Lives) and that is when the kitties started throwing up all the time, even worse. I went back to either Special Kitty (Wal Mart), or the least expensive cat food that Sam's Club carries. I believe it has rice and lamb and chicken. Neither of those foods cause my cats to throw up. In the summer, two of the three do have skin problems, though. For extra nutrition I have a vitamin that I can spray on their dry foods. My black cat has beautiful hair and skin, it is just the cream colored ones that have problems. They are the ones that threw up so much, too.
@recycledgoth (9894)
•
7 Jun 07
Moomin tends to throw up now and again, usually after she has been a real pig and scoffed a whole can of tuna in one go. She gets fed once a day, usually in the evening, but she also has biscuits in a bowl if she gets hungry during the day
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
7 Jun 07
I have had a lot of cats over the years and only one of them did that. She used to get furballs and I would give her this cream I got at the pet shop to help prevent them. It smelled like maple syrup and she really liked the taste of it. We went on like that for a ouple of years and then she developed a really raspy cough as well and it turned out she had cancer in her stomach and lung. They never said whether it had been what had been making her vomit, but like your cats she had been doing it for years, so it was probably totally unrelated.
