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Causes of vomiting in cats after eating. The cat is vomiting undigested food. Why does a cat vomit after eating?

Vomiting in a cat with pieces of undigested food is a fairly common phenomenon. Rarely does the owner focus his attention on this, believing that the pet simply overate. In most cases this is true. But there are other, more serious reasons. Therefore, if a cat vomits food, it is necessary to pay maximum attention to the pet’s health condition and, if there are alarming symptoms, contact a specialist as soon as possible.

When you need veterinary help

There is no need to worry if the cat vomits once and after a short period of time after eating, the animal remains active, mobile, and its nose is cold and wet.

Urgent veterinary intervention is required if:

vomiting does not go away for more than a day;
the animal began to refuse food and water;
the cat vomits food mixed with blood, bile or mucus;
The general condition has worsened, there is no mobility.

It is important to remember that if vomiting occurs several times a day and is accompanied by diarrhea, the likelihood of dehydration and death of the animal increases.

Vomiting of undigested food - causes

First of all, a loving owner should try to understand why the cat has a gag reflex after eating.

There are several most likely reasons:

Poisoning. The animal's body is trying to cleanse itself of bad food. Vomiting is usually accompanied by diarrhea.
Infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. These may include pancreatitis, gastritis, and inflammatory processes in the intestines.
Feeding your cat poor quality food. Economy class dry food contains insufficient amounts of protein and is poorly digestible.
Big break from diet. If the animal ate a small portion of food at night, white foamy vomit may occur in the morning. This is harmless and goes away immediately after feeding.
Insufficient fluid. If your cat doesn't drink enough, she may vomit after feeding.

It also happens that the cat regurgitates the fur that got into the stomach during the licking process. This problem can be solved by using a special paste that removes hair, or by regularly brushing your pet.

Treatment and prevention

Only a qualified veterinarian can determine the exact cause of vomiting. It is prohibited to give medications on your own; this can lead to the most dire consequences if the disease is incorrectly diagnosed. After conducting an examination and collecting the necessary tests, the specialist will determine why the cat is throwing up after feeding and prescribe treatment.

What should an owner do to prevent his pet from having digestive problems? First of all, ensure proper feeding:

the animal should always have access to clean water, especially with a dry diet;
It’s best if your pet eats natural food; premium food is also suitable;
feed the cat in small portions 4 times a day, overeating provokes vomiting;
choose purchased food individually; the range is very diverse: for neutered, long-haired, young, lactating cats, etc.
Do not give too cold or hot food.

To avoid vomiting from poisoning, the animal's food should always be fresh, and access to garbage waste should be limited. It would be good if there was a tray on the windowsill with a special herb that stimulates digestion.

And, of course, you should not neglect an annual visit to the veterinarian and vaccination to prevent diseases and infections. And after suffering an illness, it is advisable to add vitamins to the cat’s diet.

With proper care and a balanced diet, vomiting after feeding will disappear forever! And the furry friend will delight the owner with activity, good appetite and excellent health!

From time to time, for various reasons, mustachioed and striped pets reject what they have eaten back, which leads to a panicky question among their owners: what to do when a cat vomits after eating, what can cause this and whether the pet has any health problems.

In fact, this is not always something to be afraid of. Regurgitation is not necessarily a symptom of illness, often the cause of food rejection is the special feline physiology. But if this is repeated systematically, worrying about the cat’s health may be completely justified.

What causes cats to burp?

There may be several reasons for regurgitation:

Cat after lambing. When the time comes to introduce the little cubs to the main food, the mother cat regurgitates the digested food and feeds it to the kittens. In this way, the stomachs of babies, which are not yet adapted to rough food, get used to digesting meat. Rejection is not a cause for concern here.
Pregnancy. At the beginning of pregnancy, a cat regurgitates food, and the reason for this is banal toxicosis. Food rejection is also possible in the first few days after lambing.
Overeating at speed. If a cat greedily fills its stomach out of hunger, regurgitation is often observed after eating to relieve heaviness in the stomach. This happens in homes where there are several pets, and everyone strives to have time to grab their portion. It happens that a cat, having swallowed food hastily, secretly regurgitates the food somewhere in a secluded corner and re-absorbs it calmly.
After sterilization(castration). Pushing out food occurs if the animal has eaten before it has fully recovered from anesthesia.
Shaking in transport. If your pet has eaten shortly before traveling, he may vomit this food along the way.
High carbohydrate content in food. Food that is heavy in this sense may not be absorbed into the cat’s gastrointestinal tract and will be rejected.
Poor quality or expired food. The cat’s body cannot digest it and pushes such food out.
Hairballs. When licking a fur coat, a cat swallows a lot of fur, which settles in their stomach and forms into dense clumps. Periodically, the animal makes attempts to regurgitate them back in order to cleanse the stomach and intestines. If this happens 1-4 times a month, this is normal.
Foreign object. If something foreign is stuck in the pet’s throat (especially something long, like a thread, New Year’s rain, etc.), the cat tries to push out the foreign body, which, once caught, is not swallowed or spit out, but causes a gag reflex.

These are the reasons that cause one-time rejection, but if this happens often, and even more so if there is a general deterioration in the condition, pushing out food resembles vomiting - it’s time to urgently contact a veterinarian.

Differences between vomiting and regurgitation

If immediately after regurgitation the cat behaves calmly and naturally, there is nothing to worry about, this is not vomiting as such. You can distinguish vomiting from regurgitation of hair or food by the following signs:

the process is painless, not painful;
general condition does not worsen, there are no signs of disease;
The cat sometimes provokes regurgitation itself as needed.

Unlike regurgitation, vomiting is accompanied by more alarming manifestations both in the state of the animal’s health and in the way this rejected mass looks:

Thick, dark brown vomit can be caused by a tumor, ulcer, foreign object, kidney failure, or gastrointestinal disease.
Bright scarlet inclusions indicate bleeding in the esophagus or mouth.
White foam. It is not dangerous if done once (means that the cat ate on an empty stomach, and as a result, gastric juice, air and mucus were released). It's a bad symptom if it happens often.
Yellow vomit indicates bile entering the stomach and irritating its mucous membrane, problems with the liver, intestines, or the cat has eaten too many eggs.
Frequent vomiting of undigested food – problems with the intestines, gall bladder, and liver. Intestinal obstruction or infection is possible.
Yellow-gray mass - it’s time to change industrial food.
Green vomit is possible with severe infections or bile or intestinal contents entering the stomach. Not to be confused with regurgitation, when the green color is caused by the cat eating grass.
Mucus impurities indicate gastritis, helminthic infestations (if there is mucus in the stool), and viral intestinal diseases.
Vomits like a fountain when the gastrointestinal tract is completely blocked (foreign body, ICP, encephalitis, blood clots, narrowing of the canal, large accumulations of hairballs inside that were not removed in time), when under internal pressure the vomit is pushed out unexpectedly and over a long distance.

These are already very serious signs in which an emergency visit to the veterinarian can be truly vital for the pet.

What to do when spitting up

Although regurgitation is not as dangerous as vomiting, and such nausea after eating is rarely a serious symptom, to reduce the occurrence of such situations, the pet may need help from its owners.

To do this, it is important to provide the animal with proper feeding: food should be fresh, at room temperature. It is necessary to observe the amount of food offered to the cat, as well as ensure the pet’s access to water.

If you are planning a trip, you should not feed your pet several hours before departure. During the journey, the cat regurgitates because the food is literally churned in the stomach and eventually vomited back out.

The body clearly does not accept any food - replace it.

You can try to remove the foreign object yourself, but if it is stuck deep, you should urgently take the cat to the doctor.

If a cat's regurgitation is caused by attempts to push fur out of the stomach, these manifestations can be reduced by regularly brushing the pet's coat and thus removing loose hairs (especially important for long-haired cats and during the molting period). Thanks to this procedure, “fur plugs” accumulate longer, and the animal, regurgitating hairballs, will be less likely to frighten its owners.

Your pet should be examined by a veterinarian at least once a year.

What not to do

When a cat regurgitates all the food one time after eating or simply rejects hairballs from time to time, nothing needs to be done. But even if your pet is vomiting, you should not:

give human drugs (it’s hardly worth explaining why);
drink water if it provokes additional attacks;
give food for a day;
give water if for some reason the animal has ingested a chemical substance;
delay contacting a doctor if your cat vomits for more than a day.

Only competent and balanced actions of the owners will eliminate the possibility of complications of existing diseases or the transformation of ordinary food or fur rejection into a more serious problem.

Every person who has a pet in their home has probably witnessed more than once that a cat vomits after eating, and not everyone knows what to do in this case. In most cases, this may be for the simple reason that she overate, and the animal simply got rid of the excess food. The same type of eating disorder is observed if the pet has not eaten for a long time.

But if a cat starts vomiting after eating food, this may indicate that she has a serious illness. In such a situation, it would be advisable to seek help from a veterinarian. Only he will be able to find out the causes of vomiting in a pet and give the owner recommendations on how to care for a sick animal.

In many cases, vomiting is isolated, but it also happens that it appears frequently and becomes chronic. In this case, only a specialist can help.

So, you should take your cat to the veterinary clinic if it does not vomit for several days;
Vomiting is constant;
The presence in the cat’s vomit of impurities not related to what she drinks or eats - bile, blood, yellowish mucus;
Vomiting occurs both before and after meals;
Vomiting occurs even if the pet has not eaten anything at all;
Vomiting is accompanied by the cat's restless behavior, salivation and lacrimation, and aimless walking around the house.

Why does a cat vomit after eating sometimes or every day?

There are many reasons for vomiting after eating. Some pose absolutely no danger, especially if they appeared only once. But if there is a regular repetition, then you should be wary.

A cat may vomit undigested food for the following reasons:

In some cases, you can see vomit with white foam, but it most often occurs in a cat on an empty stomach. When digested food is sent to the intestines, the walls of the stomach, in order to ensure self-defense from the remains of gastric juice, begin to secrete mucus. The white tint appears as a result of mixing gastric juice with mucus and air. If vomiting with white foam occurs regularly, we can talk about gastric diseases.

Establishing diagnosis

The owner himself is unlikely to be able to make a correct diagnosis for his pet, and it is not worth doing this, so as not to aggravate the situation. It's best to leave this to the vet.

At the appointment, the veterinarian will examine the animal and be sure to ask its owner questions that can help diagnose the disease. The owner must remember and tell in detail about the nature of the vomit and all the accompanying symptoms.

You should not give your cat any medications before visiting the veterinary clinic. And if the animal did take medications, then be sure to tell the veterinarian about it. This will help avoid misdiagnosis.

The cat's blood, feces, and even vomit will be collected for examination. The sooner the animal is prescribed treatment, the better. Otherwise, everything may end in the death of the pet, since there are diseases from which a cat can “burn out” in a couple of days or even earlier.

Treatment of vomiting in a cat

Treatment will depend on the cause of the vomiting. If a serious disease is discovered, the veterinarian will prescribe a course of treatment, and the owner will only be required to follow all recommendations.

Vomiting in a cat caused by overeating will require dietary changes. You will have to feed her in small portions and more often. A temporary diet will be prescribed, consisting only of lean chicken meat, boiled rice, soft-boiled eggs and cottage cheese. Accessible by the cat There should always be a bowl of clean water, because at this time she needs to drink as much as possible.

There is one good traditional medicine that helps in the fight against vomiting - a decoction of flax seeds and chamomile (chamomile tincture is also acceptable). Give your cat a spoonful of this decoction a day.

If vomiting is severe and frequent, you cannot do without intramuscular injections of Cerucal and No-shpa. The dosage of the drug is calculated based on the weight of the animal - 0.1 ml of medicine per 1 kg. The sorbents Entorosgel and Atoxil would be useful for a cat in such a situation.

But again, you should not experiment and self-medicate, and do not take any measures without a veterinarian.

What to do if your cat is vomiting

The first thing to do if your cat is vomiting is to stop feeding her for 5, or even better, 8 hours. Leave only a bowl of water. But if your pet does not drink, there is no need to force him to do so.

You can rule out any disease by measuring the animal’s temperature, as well as examining the oral cavity and making sure that there are no foreign objects or wounds there.

Prevention of vomiting

For cats, vomiting can be prevented by timely vaccination and examinations by a veterinarian.

During seasonal molting, the cat will need the help of its owner. Its fur must be combed out especially carefully, and in order to remove the fur from the stomach, the cat must sometimes be fed with special food.

Your cat should not overeat, so it is extremely important to monitor its diet and ensure that it drinks enough water.

Cat toys should not contain small parts that break off easily and can end up in the pet's stomach, causing him to vomit.

If the owner of a cat treats her with full responsibility, monitors her behavior and what she eats, she will be able to notice and prevent signs of vomiting.

Sometimes cat owners notice that their pet begins to feel sick after eating both commercial and natural food. There are many reasons why a cat vomits after eating undigested food. And the most harmless one is overeating. Murka could simply overeat and in this way empty her stomach. Vomiting of pieces of unprocessed food can also occur if the animal has been starving for a long time. The stomach may simply not be ready to receive a significant amount of food.

But a cat’s vomiting after eating can also occur for more serious reasons. For example, a pet vomits pieces of food in the presence of chronic gastrointestinal pathology.

In any case, if a cat burps after eating for no apparent reason, then he needs a full medical examination. The veterinarian will be able to determine why the animal is vomiting after eating, and also prescribe treatment appropriate to the current condition.

Symptoms requiring veterinary consultation

Vomiting of undigested food in a cat caused by overeating does not cause a deterioration in the pet’s general condition. After the attack, he feels well and continues to lead his usual lifestyle: playing, sleeping, walking.

In a situation where the reason that the fluffy is vomiting pieces of food is some kind of disease, then other pathological symptoms also appear. A purr should definitely be shown to a veterinarian if it develops:

weaknesses;
signs of dehydration;
loss of appetite;
apathy.

The following signs indicate that the condition is particularly serious::

Episodes of vomiting pieces of food become frequent, i.e. the pet vomits more than once or twice a day;
in addition to food, the gastric contents contain impurities of bile, blood, mucus and others;
vomiting continues even after the stomach is completely empty of food. The cat then vomits foam with various impurities;
attacks are accompanied by other symptoms: aimless movement around the apartment, insomnia, lacrimation and others.

Single episodes of vomiting are not dangerous, but if the cat constantly vomits after eating or his condition worsens significantly due to attacks, then he needs to be shown to a veterinarian to clarify the diagnosis.

Variations of vomiting

Vomit may contain more than just pieces of undigested food. Depending on the “additional” components, a specific type of problem can be suspected.

If you vomit white foam. It does not pose a danger in itself, but if it appears constantly, it requires consultation with a veterinarian.
Vomits with bile. This symptom indicates problems with the functioning of the gallbladder or liver. If the vomit contains, in addition to pieces of undigested food, both bile and white foam, then the animal needs to be examined and receive specialized treatment.
Vomits blood. The symptom indicates the development of a serious condition caused by damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa. It is necessary to examine the cat's mouth. There is probably a wound in it that is bleeding.
Vomits green or yellow mass with greenish inclusions. This is a symptom of a serious pathology or it may indicate a developed intestinal obstruction. In this case, you cannot do without the help of a veterinarian.

If a small kitten vomits - regardless of the composition of the vomit, the presence/absence of food in it - it needs to be shown to a doctor immediately.

Probable Causes

The reasons why a cat vomits after eating may be as follows::

poor quality diet;
feed intolerance;
binge eating;
deviations in the operation of internal systems.

Incorrectly composed diet

The reason why a cat vomits after eating may be its diet. The animal must receive high-quality protein that provides it with a feeling of full saturation. Otherwise, the pet can simply get rid of low-quality food, cleansing the stomach in the most physiological way: it simply vomits.

To avoid the development of vomiting attacks caused by bad food, you need to be extremely careful when preparing your fluffy’s diet. It is best to buy premium or super-premium food, since they contain all the necessary substances and microelements. And, very importantly, they are made from real meat.

Budget food contains no more than 2–3% natural meat. The remaining mass is represented by by-products that represent virtually no biological value - skin, feathers, veins, heads and beaks.

The animal’s body may refuse to accept such food and respond to it with a gag reflex.

When purchasing food, you need to study its composition. If it contains preservatives, dyes, propylene glycol and ethoxyquin, then you should avoid purchasing it. It will not give anything useful to the pet.

Feed intolerance

Sometimes a cat vomits after eating undigested food due to its body’s inability to accept certain foods. For example, your pet may be lactose intolerant. And then after consuming whole cow's milk, he also vomits.

Most often, nausea develops when feeding an animal natural food. If the diagnosis confirms this, then it makes sense to transfer the pet to specialized dry food that completely excludes possible allergens and controversial components.

Overeating and eating food too quickly

A cat sometimes vomits from overeating and the reason for this is the special structure of the esophagus. It is located horizontally. With a rapid intake of food or its significant volumes, the animal’s body can block the sphincter that opens the entrance to the stomach. In this case, the cat is forced to get rid of excess food by regurgitating it. As a rule, he vomits some time after eating.

Most often, such vomiting attacks develop in animals if several pets live in the same area. Competition for food forces the murka to eat as much food as possible during one feeding. The problem can be solved simply: it is enough for each cat to have its own bowl or to feed the cats in different rooms.

Deviations in the functioning of internal organs

If a cat vomits after eating food, then the causes may be pathologies of the internal organs. In particular, with inflammation of the pancreas, an insufficient amount of digestive enzymes is produced, which provokes disturbances in the digestion of food. Vomiting becomes a secondary manifestation of pancreatitis: an animal with this pathology vomits after eating quite often. Symptoms of pancreatitis include increased thirst coupled with a lack of appetite.

The cause may be inflammation of the gastric mucosa -

gastritis. The animal vomits after eating and against the background of other pathologies:

inflammation of the intestinal walls;
irritable bowel syndrome;
enteritis;
colitis;
malfunction of the endocrine system and others.

To identify the true cause of vomiting, your pet needs to undergo a complete diagnosis of the body. Because attacks can be eliminated after identifying the causes of their occurrence.

Vomiting of ants bearing kittens is worth highlighting as a separate category of problems. If a pregnant cat vomits after eating and occurs long enough, the cause is an enlarged uterus and its pressure on the stomach. To avoid this, you need to feed the expectant mother in small portions. But a veterinarian will help determine more precise reasons why a pregnant woman is vomiting.

Treatment of the pathological condition

Methods for treating vomiting in a cat depend on the causes that caused it. If it was caused by poisoning, then you can start treating your pet on your own. What can you do if your cat vomits due to poisoning?

If the owner personally observed how the cat ate poor-quality food, and after a few hours he began vomiting, then any available adsorbent can be used. The drug will help remove toxic components from the cat’s body, which will significantly alleviate the condition. The animal must have constant access to clean water.

How to artificially induce vomiting in a cat if the toxic component is unknown? Here you can use a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide. The product is used as follows:

for 4.5 - 5 kg of live weight of the pet, take 1 tsp of peroxide;
The medication must be given every 10 minutes.

As a rule, one serving is enough to cause vomiting.

If there is a suspicion that the cat has eaten an alkali or acid, then self-help can cause its death. The cat must be urgently taken to the veterinary clinic.

In order to prevent dehydration, which can happen if a cat vomits very often, the animal should be given rehydrants. They help restore the disturbed water-salt balance. The Regidron solution, sold in any pharmacy, is suitable, or you can prepare the product yourself: take a level teaspoon of salt (9 grams) for 1 liter of warm water.

If your cat vomits very often - several times a day - then she can be given antiemetics. In this case, bismuth preparations will be useful.

If vomiting after eating undigested food is caused by diseases, then only a physician can choose adequate treatment. Self-administration of medications can not only worsen the cat’s condition, but also cause its death.

Kittens require special care. They have the same health problems as all young children. What to do if your kitten vomits after eating? He needs to be closely monitored and his diet must contain high-quality food. It is important that your furry friend eats on time and does not refuse to eat, is active and feels good.

What to do if vomiting occurs?

If your kitten is vomiting and this happens for a long time, you need to try to calm down and understand the causes of the attack. If the kitten does not vomit often, does not have a high or low temperature, does not have bowel movements, and is not weak, you can treat it at home. To do this, you need to keep the baby on a starvation diet and not feed him for twelve hours. Every hour and a half, the kitten should drink clean water once. In order to give it something to drink, you need to take a syringe, remove the needle and take a portion of water and give it to the kitten.

After a fasting diet, if the kitten shows a desire to eat and feels much better, you can calmly give him food. The food must be fresh. You need to start with small portions. It can be boiled chicken or broth, rice water. You can give medicinal food. For some time, the animal is prohibited from eating fatty, smoked, and spicy foods. Immediately after recovery, the baby should not be overloaded with food, as the body is still weak.

If a kitten feels sick after eating, vomits, and this condition lasts for a long time, this indicates serious problems with the pet’s health. In this case, you cannot delay it; you must immediately contact a specialist and begin treatment. The situation may not be simple.

Vomiting in small kittens, their cause

With various diseases, the cat’s body reacts by vomiting, thereby indicating its problem..

There may be causes of vomiting in kittens if the cat feeds it with its own milk. It is possible that she may have eaten something or that she became ill and medications were prescribed. The fact is that the kitten still has a weak immune system, so it is quite possible that he is vomiting precisely because of this.
Vaccination may provoke a gag reflex.
Poisoning from household chemicals.
Another reason for vomiting may be the transition to self-feeding. Then vomiting is associated with a sudden transition to a new food.
The cause may be introduced worms or a viral infection.
If the food is of poor quality, salted or smoked, fried or fatty.
The baby is vomiting due to hair getting into the stomach. This can happen if the kitten has been actively licking its fur.
The kitten is vomiting due to overeating, or he swallowed too large a piece of food.
Vomiting can be caused by a foreign object entering the stomach of a curious animal.
If the baby vomits yellow discharge in the form of liquid, we can safely say that bile has entered the stomach. This symptom indicates the presence of diseases in the stomach.
A white foamy appearance of vomit may occur when eating rough food or if the kitten is infected with an infectious disease.

Why does a kitten vomit undigested food?

If a cat vomits undigested food and this often happens repeatedly, an examination by a specialist is necessary. Vomiting in animals is a protective reaction of the body. It appears due to contraction of the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm. At this point, the food that has been eaten is forced out through the esophagus area. The undigested type of food should alert you if there is blood discharge in it.

Often the cause of vomiting in an animal after eating may be simple overeating or if food is absorbed too quickly. The kitten has a stomach that is not so large in size; it cannot accommodate large food. For this reason, vomiting occurs.

Sometimes the cause of frequent vomiting is low-quality, low-quality dry food. If it contains insufficient nutrients and other incomplete proteins (by-products) predominate, added concentrates and preservatives. In this case, the kitten vomits because it is trying to get rid of a poor-quality product by vomiting. In order for the body to cleanse itself faster, the baby may develop bowel dysfunction. Food for a kitten should always be of high quality and nutritious.

The appearance of vomiting may be a symptom of an inflammatory process in the intestines. Unfortunately, diseases such as gastritis, pancreatitis, and colitis are also familiar to cats.

In order for your kitten to grow up healthy, you need attention and care. To find out the cause of the disease, you need to contact a veterinarian. He will examine the animal and prescribe the necessary treatment.