Dr Anne Fawcett: The reasons why your cat could be vomiting

VET Dr Anne Fawcett brings our attention to vomiting cats this week. And it may be a case of getting them to a vet if they continue to purge.

Vet Anne Fawcett with Hero the cat, at home in Stanmore. Picture: Justin Lloyd

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VOMITING is a common clinical sign in cats, for which there are oodles of possible causes.

It is all too easy to dismiss vomiting as simply the elimination of fur balls, but these are only one possible cause.

Other causes of vomiting include, but are not limited to, food intolerance or allergies, inflammatory bowel disease (yes, cats suffer from this too), parasites, bacterial or viral infection, diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney disease and even cancer. Intestinal lymphoma is the most common cancer associated with vomiting in cats.

These are the type of cats that could make a human vomit. Picture: Jamie Hanson

If your cat vomits and loses weight, has any change in appetite or thirst, or seems unwell, it’s better to get them checked out by your vet.

Blood tests can help rule out metabolic causes of vomiting, such as diabetes or thyroid disease.

I do see the occasional cat who is prone to gorge food ravenously, and then vomit afterwards. There is a simple solution for this. Feed one-third-to-half of the food, wait a few minutes, then feed another third or half and so on.

If your cat does have fur balls — these look like compacted fibrous sausages and can be tricky to distinguish from stools. If the problem does not resolve within a few days, see your vet.

Dr Anne Fawcett is a lecturer in veterinary science at the University of Sydney and a vet with Sydney Animal Hospitals Inner West.

Read her blog: smallanimaltalk.com

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