Cat vomiting issue

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

My cat is having problems vomiting. It started yesterday and he didn't do it again until late tonight. The vet won't be open over this weekend.
The only immediate difference was that I opened up a new bag of cat food yesterday. The kibble is the same brand (Purina One) and type (Hairball Control and Weight Loss) as always. He was passing stool normally up until now, which with the vomiting I'd expect him to pass less. Despite the bag being marketed as the exact same, I noticed upon inspection that the kibble seems thinner, smaller and less crusty than the used up bag. I don't see anything that looks like blood, hair or a foreign object in any of his little piles of vomit mush. Laying out the dry food, he had very little interest and he didn't beg for his food this morning. But if I lay out cat treats or wet food (he doesn't generally take to it) he scarfs that down. Have yet to see recognizable wet food in his vomit.

Do you know what might be happening? Did Purina make any changes to their recipe?

 

[Paul Ryan]

Probably. Pet food is likely processed in China, there could be anything in there. Inspect the bag for country of origin/processing labels.

 

[Cats]

I don't personally use Purina so idk if they changed the recipe or not, but if the food looks different than it usually does I would assume they probably did do something, perhaps a new additive that is giving your baby boy a tummy ache. I would just continue monitoring him and make sure he has cool fresh water nearby at all times to keep him hydrated through the vomiting. Stay nearby and your presence will help him feel safe and less stressed out about the sickness. Let him eat a bit smaller portions of the wet food if he is enjoying that, in case he scarfs too much on his upset tummy and makes himself even more nauseous. One of my old cats used to do that when she'd get sick, she was a goober with basically no self control lol.

Hope it clears up soon, or if not, I hope that you can get him to the vet on Monday. Give the little fellow a pat on the head for me :]

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I don't personally use Purina so idk if they changed the recipe or not, but if the food looks different than it usually does I would assume they probably did do something, perhaps a new additive that is giving your baby boy a tummy ache. I would just continue monitoring him and make sure he has cool fresh water nearby at all times to keep him hydrated through the vomiting. Stay nearby and your presence will help him feel safe and less stressed out about the sickness. Let him eat a bit smaller portions of the wet food if he is enjoying that, in case he scarfs too much on his upset tummy and makes himself even more nauseous. Hope it clears up soon, or if not, I hope that you can get him to the vet on Monday. Give the little fellow a pat on the head for me :]

I just saw him lap up all of the gravy and ignore the flakes. I'll have to go back to the store tomorrow and buy him pate so he can't do that. He never liked wet food and pate. He's got a water fountain. I'll check it tomorrow first thing to see if it's too dirty (possible source of illness). I laid out old food (where I'd spilled bits, every day, scooping his food out and it accumulated at the bottom of the box I store the food in) for him. He's not acting real happy about it either. The flakes aren't as different-looking as I thought, could easily chalk it up to it being fresher.

 

[HelpingNoone]

This year I had to drop $2k taking my cat to an emergency vet for a similar issue vomiting constantly. Ended up being a bad hairball blockage but also can be from a linear blockage like string. A hairball gel can help the former issue.

Fucking retarded evolution if a hairball can kill a cat.

 

[Masturbator]

you should try carefully touching his stomach area to see if there's any bumps and other funsies to be sure he didnt ate something on the side

 

[DefinitelyNotMe]

Im not expert or anything but i do remember we were buying special grass for our cat to chew on and clean his stomach.
Also your cat vomits daily? Maybe mine just weird but its like 1 a week for him

 

[TheGoyTism]

i have a kitty with Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD and if he doesnt have a special diet he throws up and that changed very suddenly for him. It very well could be that they changed their recipes for their food due to being bought out. Tiki cat just got bought by General Mills, and now i know that recipe is going to change because they will want to cut the cost of making it.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

maybe keep an eye if there's random leaves or bugs getting in that he's eating
my guy was eating small leaves that would get in while opening the door or stuck to my bike, then puking those up

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Im not expert or anything but i do remember we were buying special grass for our cat to chew on and clean his stomach.
Also your cat vomits daily? Maybe mine just weird but its like 1 a week for him

For two days he has
I don’t remember him doing it before in all his life

 

[Fat Gollum]

What does your cat's vomit taste like? Did you take any pictures you'd like to show us?

 

[grimacefetishist]

Too many factors here to isolate in a forum thread. Just leave a message with the vet with a callback time and number so you can get an appointment ASAP

 

[tetraterezi]

i have one cat that tosses cookies unless i feed her like half a meal wait 45 min and feed her the rest. she doesnt listen to her body at all and always gorges.
if the food seems fine, and kitty keeps vomiting, hit up a vet
(the key ish thing here, cats are built to throw up. hairballs are suppose to be part of life for cats but with enough oil in their food and good grooming, you can make it so your cat has minimal hairballs.)
but once a week is very normal for felines

i dont rely on one brand of food, we usually buy a high end one and then a mid ranged cheaper food.
keeps the cats guessing and interesting in their food.
water fountains are cool but can get dirty.
i suggest a pet water bowl in the bathtub.

 

[TheOtherSideofMakeBelieve]

i have one cat that tosses cookies unless i feed her like half a meal wait 45 min and feed her the rest. she doesnt listen to her body at all and always gorges.
if the food seems fine, and kitty keeps vomiting, hit up a vet

I had a dog like this, she was always a huge eater for her size (8-9 pound jack russell terrier) and when she turned 13-14 she stopped being able to keep it all down, she'd eat until she vomited and then keep going, so I just had to give her handfuls of kibble throughout the day rather than leave her a full bowl that she could eat whenever she wanted

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Too many factors here to isolate in a forum thread. Just leave a message with the vet with a callback time and number so you can get an appointment ASAP

I’m going to call him as early as possible on Monday and take him by physically too

 

[Checkerboard Hero]

I had a cat that did this as he got older, I ended up switching to wet food for awhile and then back to dry but under a different brand. It could be anything but this worked for me for awhile.

 

[Overwritten Tapes]

Any time I switch even the flavor of dry food, at least one of my cats pukes, guaranFUCKINGteed. Cats have sensitive stomachs, and some times batches of food might be low quality.

Iams has been the best one for me so far. I switched to friskies last week to match their wet food, and one of them threw up minutes later.

 

[Tinidril]

Maybe he's one of the "sensitive stomach" guys. One of my boys (the loser in my avatar) had a barfing problem. Almost every day; sometimes I could see hair, sometimes not. He's not *fussy* but just doesn't eat anything but dry food. No wet food, no treats, no "people food", etc.

I was feeding both boys Purina Cat Chow Indoor, which I've fed to cats from kittenhood to death at 12-13 years old. (I like indoor formulations because the stools are smaller and less stinky.)

Anyway I switched to the Naturals version of the indoor dry food, then to Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage. There were improvements in the frequency of episodes, but once I switched to Purina ONE +Plus Sensitive Skin & Stomach, the frequency was down to "normal" amounts...just every so often. He's a bit nervous too, and will groom himself bald when he's stressed, so I'm sure that added to the hairball/vomiting issue.

I also give him (once in a while) that hairball stuff that's like flavored Vaseline.

The other cat eats anything, and apparently has a cast-iron stomach.

Back to my nerd- cave....

 

[sadbird]

I've ended up with a spoiled bag before on at least one occasion so that could just be it as opposed to a medical issue, especially if it's only the new food causing it to happen. When this happened in the past, I always tested it by giving the cat something different to eat first. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and buy another bag.

 

[The Repeated Meme]

I have the same problem, one cat more than the other, here's what finally solved it:

1. Use high-quality digestive cat food: Recommend Royal Canin Adult Cat Sensitive Digestion (wet or dry, I use dry because it's more convenient, cheaper and easier to clean up if they do vomit)
2. Every morning feed each cat one packet of FortiFlora Probiotics (they come in a powder, so you can just sprinkle it on top of their food)
3. Use a slow-feed bowl specifically made for cats
4. Feed very small amounts at a time, and split feeding times into 2 phases, about 5-10 minutes apart. Dry food is really calorie-dense so don't worry about not feeding them enough, 3/8 to a 1/3 of a cup is all they need.

They used to vomit every morning about 50% of the time, now it's much more rare.

For what it's worth this is the advice I got directly from a vet. All cats are unique so your milage may vary, and if the problem persists your cat may have other underlying conditions that mine don't, so you may consider consulting a vet for personalized advice; but in all likelihood, if they don't have an underlying condition: this is the advice you will get.

Keep in mind that switching to a new cat food can cause upset stomach in cats so give it about a month or so for them to get used to it.