Cat Throwing Up
by Christin Richter
(Fritzlar, Hessia, Germany)
Today my tomcat started throwing up repeatedly white foam and with bits of green slime in it. He isn’t interested in eating and I don’t know what to do and have to go away tomorrow morning…Please help me!
Christin
Hi Christin.. I think my response is too late – sorry. I hope it fixed itself.
Cat vomiting is a general symptom so it is impossible to say what is causing it without more – sorry again.
Cats do vomit quite commonly as a matter of course, such as after eating some grass. Cats like to nibble grass as it provides folic acid, which improves oxygen transpotation in the blood (I say). But grass can irritate the stomach so cats sometimes vomit aftewards. This may be the case in the instance (green slime) but I am guessing as I don’t know if your cat eats grass.
Hair balls or simply hair irritating the cat’s oesophagus can be vomited up. Both these are normal and nothing to be concerned about.
Vomiting unrelated to eating is often related to an “infectious disease, kidney or liver disease or central nervous system disorder”1.
Another cause of vomiting is overeating. It depends on how long he has been vomiting for. Once of twice and then stopping is normal. But repeated vomiting over time requires veterinary care.
Poison can cause vomiting.
I don’t know what you did. But if you are going away, you might be leaving your cat in a boarding home. These are often attached to a veterinary surgery. You could leave him with instructions to take him to the vet and then immediately board afterwards.
If a cat sitter is looking after him, they should be trained to deal with a sick cat so leave instructions and let them take care of it.
If your cat has been healthy until the vomiting started suddenly, which seems to be the case, it would indicate that the problem is either transient (not caused by a serious illness) and will pass or is due to an indigestible object or poison.
I have a page on this subject: Cat Vomiting.
Good Luck
Note:
1. Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook page 188.
