Why Do Cats Vomit? A Vet Explains How to Help

Have a cat who's been vomiting recently? Wondering what this symptom means and whether or not it might point to something serious? In this video, Dr. Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ explains vomiting in cats. Watch on to learn about the differences between vomiting and regurgitation, which illnesses cause vomiting, and what to do if you notice your cat throwing up. NOTE: This video doesn't discuss hairballs. We'll create a video focusing specifically on hairballs in cats in the near future!

This video is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for consultation with a local veterinarian.

Video Navigation:

0:00 Introduction
0:31 About Vomiting in Cats
1:42 Vomiting vs. Regurgitation
2:56 What is Vomiting?
3:25 Types of Vomiting in Cats
4:25 Signs That Your Cat is Vomiting Due to Illness
6:24 What Causes Vomiting?
9:41 Treatment of Vomiting in Cats
11:21 Stopping Cat Vomiting
12:14 What to Feed a Vomiting Cat
15:11 Conclusion

[shawl]

Surprised hairballs weren’t mentioned as a cause. Definitely my cat’s main problem, every mess on the floor has a hairball in it. I brush her more now and add water to her wet food to turn it into a sort of soup, which has really helped her. ❤️

[stitchergary]

Thank God she narrowed it down to 1, 000 causes.. I was hoping to help my cat...

[Shalloworldmx]

My 12 year old cat just passed away yesterday. He was vomiting for almost a week (probably once or twice every day or 2, but got worse over the weekend). I thought it was because he ate too fast or because he ate something he shouldn’t. I took him to the vet office and they thought it was because of parasites or an infection. I wasn’t happy with that and went to another vet for a second opinion. They thought it was an intestinal obstruction, but after some tests it turned out to be eosinophilic enteritis, the intestines were so swollen that nothing passed through. The vets took a piece of his intestines but my cat didn’t recover after the surgery, as the tissue was too fragile because of the inflammation 💔 please, take care of your cats and don’t ever think it is normal for them to vomit, better take them to the vet for a check

[SiberianBlueCattery]

It’s impossible to find vet who provides quality of care, but seems like millions vets on YouTube!

[zoe]

One of my cats was vomiting several times a day for a long time. During that time I took him in for several tests at the vet but no one could pinpoint the problem. They thought it was just caused by his hyperthyroidism although he was getting his meds twice a day. One vet finally looked at all of the tests and came to the conclusion that the only thing it could be was intestinal lymphoma...cancer of the intestines. My poor Kitty was throwing up black vomit because of blood in his vomit. He was getting thinner and thinner and thinner. I'm so grateful to that vet for putting all the puzzle pieces together and figuring out what was wrong. I had a service come in who could euthanize him here at home while I was holding him. He was a dear sweet kitty cat and I miss him.

[richardbedard]

I'm glad you clarified the issue of vomiting. Now I'm more confused!

[carolwaller]

Eating kibble and drinking water straight after can cause vomiting/regurgitation. The reason is that due to the water the ingested kibble expands and overfills the stomach. Changing to wet food can resolve this common problem.

[inspiredtowander]

As a pet sitter, I am often asked by my clients why their cats vomit at times. I now have your great video to recommend to them. Thank you!

[gailalli]

My cat started vomiting continuously one morning. Was crying like he was in pain. Over the previous months he had been vomiting a couple times a week. Once the acute vomiting started I took him right into the vet. They gave him fluids antibiotics, and antiemetic and send us home. He vomited a few more times at home and then continued to cry and drool ALOT. Took him back the next morning for more fluids. He wouldn’t eat or drink for 3 days. Finally the vet decided keeping him and running some test was in order. After an ultrasound, the vet called me and said they found a huge mass in the abdomen and he would need surgery right away. Turned out he had a huge abscess caused by acute pancreatitis. They kept him as long as they could there for IV fluids and antibiotics...about 3 days. After that he was feeling a bit better and would not let the staff near him. I took him home and stayed up with him 24/7, trying to get him to eat or drink. It took several days but finally he would take little bites of food. Once he was eating a but, several days later, he slowly started to drink water. It’s been several months now and he is his normal self. I can’t imagine...if I had waited...he wouldn’t have made it. So, it’s always good to taken them in just to be sure.

[debq]

My cat was vomiting, I raised her food bowl so she wasn't having to bend over her bowl & the vomiting stopped.

[Calooonzy]

watching this while cleaning up cat vomit

helpful information thanks

[discord]

I'm in my 40s, had cats all my life, learned new things from this video :)

[spiralflash]

I started watching, thinking "This is so timely, " only to have to pause to clean up cat vomit! A huge amount of information! Thank you, Doc, for your wonderful, informative posts!

[sarahgreaton]

this is very informative! My cat a few years back, my cat was throwing up a bit more than normal. Took him to the vet, turned out he was allergic to seafood or had a seafood sensitivity. Changed his food and he's done so much better! His anxiety has even improved <3 the vet is always your best friend if you're unsure what's going on with your cat <3

[AaronSmith-kryf]

Feed your cat a high quality food. My little tortie female kitty was hanging around outside my house for a week or two, getting cat prints all over my car in the carport. Neighbors thought she was a stray/somebody dumped her as well. One day I have a dead mouse on my doormat lol. Couple days later she started crying at my door. Went out there, petted her, picked her up, then opened the front door and she bolted straight inside. Fed her a whole can of tuna, she literally sat on me for the next 48 hours, well now I have a cat lol.

At first bought some cheap Meow Mix at the grocery, didn't know if I was going to keep her. Noticed she was a bit gassy, laying on my chest/neck in the bed I could hear her little guts grumbling. Fed her that till I ran out and decided to keep her. Bought some good quality dry food from the local pet store. Instantly noticed she wasn't gassy, never heard her gut grumbling again, turds were smaller. Just crazy how much of a difference I could tell by switching her to high quality food. And high quality dry kibble isn't that expensive, $15 for a 10lb bag that lasts a good 3 weeks or so.

[robinholbrook]

My first time here. Great video! I’ve had cats for 50 years and yet I learned things today! THANK YOU!❤️🐾❤️

[baire]

When I asked the ladies at my cat's clinic, their response was, "that's what cats do." I felt so blown off.

[fcomme]

Thank you very much from France and french cats. Vomiting has no frontier.

[kathy-tq]

Bloodwork, X-rays, ultrasounds, office visit. 😔 so expensive.

[sheaplace]

Excellent video! Thanks especially for explaining the distinction between regurgitation and vomiting. My 14-year-old cat does both. She sometimes regurgitates her food. She has some issues with chronic vomiting which my vet and I have been working on for over a year with some success. Her labs have been good. She's due for them again next month. She does better on rabbit and sardine proteins, which aren't available where I live so I have to order online. I do have anti-nausea medicine when the chronic vomiting kicks up, and something to encourage her to eat when she is refusing food. We're still trying to fine-tune all of this, but we're making progress. She's healthier than she was a year ago. Thank you for this video. I just found your channel and will be checking in.