Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter has a 4 yr old male tabby who is strictly an indoor cat.Two days ago he started vomitting his food in what looks like digested form, ie: pablum like. He is fed dry kibble style food. His demeanor appears normal, this has us puzzled.
We thought hairball, but all info we can access on the subject doesn't point to several daily upchucks over several days(usually during the night). He is eating normally as well. There is evidence of some hair in the vomit but not a lot.
We have started him on hairball diet food today along with hairball ointment stuff for his digestion.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

The hairball diet and the ointment may help - even if you don't see a lot of hair in the vomit often that is what is causing the problem. Eventually the hair will finally form into something that will come up, or will pass out the other end.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks so much for the advice.
Only one upchuck during the night last night . His demeanor as stated is normal, active & happy! That's a good sign but will monitor closely.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks again.
DK

You said the vomiting started on the 14th. Today is the 18th - if he's still vomiting, please take him to your vet and have a blood test performed! After 4-5 days of continuous vomiting you can be sure it's not hairballs and it might be something more sinister!

All the best!

Hi,

Vomiting can either be a sign that something serious is going on, or a normal part of a cat's life. Every cat will vomit occasionally. Usually it passes quickly.

Since your cat is eating and acting normally, this is probably something that will pass, however if there is any change in behavior, I would take him in for a vet check ASAP.

Try not to go overboard with treating for hairballs. Your cat may or may not have them and giving too much of the hairball "remedies" can cause diarrhea and/or may interfere with the absorption of his food. Whatever the dose is on the tube should be fine. Vomiting of food that is digested isn't really characteristic of hairballs.

If there is a chance that your cat has eaten something that isn't edible (some cats are prone to this) I would take him in immediately for an exam and x-ray. It can take many days for a cat to partially or totally obstruct.

Take care, and please keep us updated.

Regards,
AshleyElla

Thanks to all for your heartfelt advice.
The good news is 'Buddy' as of May19 has ceased upchucking. At first the vomit was very liquidy but the final contributions were firm & clumpy and thankfully easier cleanup.
Our challenge now is getting out those earlier stains on our light silver/grey sheer broadloom.
We have tried the commercial stain removers, pet stain removers, and the baking soda route to no avail.
At this point we don't mind if a remedy fades the carpet or takes color out, we'd accept that if we could get the yellow/brown stain out.
As always any help is greatly appreciated.
D.K.

I'm glad the cat is doing better. As for the carpet, more than likely the stains are caused by the artificial dyes and colorings in the cat food he threw up! This makes it harder to clean because they are not really organic. Have you tried a good carpet stain remover like "Resolve"? You can test it in an inconspicuous place to see if it removes color. Good luck!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!