Is your cat vomiting? Do you know that some people refuse to adopt a cat because they think cats puke all the time? Contrary to popular belief, kitties don’t just throw up for no reason.
Years ago I used to pet sit before I knew much of anything about cat nutrition. One of the biggest complaints my cat clients would have is that their cat is puking all the time and staining their rugs. Me, not knowing better, just started to suggest switching to foods that didn’t add dyes to them so no staining. Problem solved, right? WRONG!
A cat vomiting all the time is not normal. In fact, it’s concerning. There are many reasons why cats vomit on a regular basis, let’s take a look at some of them.
Let’s start with the most obvious, hairballs. Cats love to groom, they are very clean animals and when they groom they ingest hair. It’s normal for a cat to vomit a hairball every so often but if this is happening on a regular basis you might want to take some action. Give your cat a daily 5 minute brushing to remove excess hair, during shedding season you might want to do this twice a day. Be sure to feed the best diet possible. Also, be sure to include a good digestive enzyme in their food like our Catalyst, which does two things, it strengthens the hair follicles so there’s less shedding and it also helps break down the hair that is ingested – so less hairballs.
Some other more concerning reasons for regular vomiting in cats are:
- Parasites – it’s always a good idea to bring in a stool sample at least yearly to have your cats checked for worms and parasites. If they are positive we recommend using a natural dewormer like WormeX.
- Scarf and barf – It could simply be that your cat just ate too fast and so the food comes right back up. To stop this try feeding smaller meals spread out during the day.
- Constipation – this can happen more often in our older cats. To avoid constipation be sure to feed a moisture rich diet and you can also add some extra fiber to their food like pumpkin or psyllium husk. A bit of extra virgin coconut oil works wonders on constipation too, just be sure not to give too much.
- Obstruction – this can be caused by a blockage from eating a foreign object. Be sure your cat is having a regular bowel movement, at least once a day.
- Medical conditions such as IBD – inflammatory bowel disease.
- A wide range of gastrointestinal problems, most can be fixed by changing to a healthier diet.
- More serious issues that can cause excess vomiting are thyroid disease, kidney disease, heart disease, vestibular disease and some forms of cancer.
As you can see there are many reasons why our feline friends vomit. A cat vomiting on a regular basis is a call for concern. If your cat is regularly vomiting, it’s time to make that vet appointment to find out what the root cause is.
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