Q: Is there any reason why my cat is throwing up after eating? He has only been doing this for a couple of days but I’m beginning to worry. I have two cats so I know he eats quickly, but he has been eating fine for the last three years with no problems. Now sometimes after he eats, he vomits. He is a healthy tabby full of life, who runs around playing and sleeps fine. Any ideas?
A: Most of the time if a cat throws up immediately after eating, it is because of rapidly gorging on the food. Given the fact that you have another cat that he is competing with, consider the possibility that this is playing a factor in your cat’s vomiting. However, if the vomiting seems to be unrelated to eating, there may be other things to consider.
In general, cats will vomit either from a metabolic disorder or from a gastrointestinal disorder. Your veterinarian should run bloodwork to rule out such metabolic disorders as kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. If a metabolic disorder is not the cause, then your vet should consider a gastrointestinal disorder, such as a food allergy, food hypersensitivity, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Discuss with your veterinarian trying different diets, for example, prescription diets that are designed to be bland and not irritating to the gastrointestinal system (such as Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D, or Eukanuba Low-Residue formula). If this doesn’t alleviate the problem, a feeding trial using a hypoallergenic diet with a novel protein source such as rabbit, venison, or duck, may be warranted to rule out food allergy.
If the vomiting persists, further diagnostics such as ultrasound and/or endoscopy may be necessary to get to the bottom of your cat’s problem.