Causes of vomiting in the cat

Cat lovers know that one of the main attractions of felines is their independent character, which generally marks the main difference between the two main pets, cats and dogs. However, the cat organism is susceptible to contracting multiple diseases and, therefore, our attention is completely necessary to ensure a good state of health for our pet.

Symptoms and changes in behavior are the main signs that can indicate pathological changes in the body of our cat and, therefore, we must know why they happen in order to act properly and preserve the health of our pet.

In this article we show you what are the causes of vomiting in the cat, a symptom that can occur frequently but sometimes also involves seriousness.

The physiology of vomit

The digestive system has a natural and physiological movement called peristalsis, this movement ensures that the food bolus, which later will be the fecal bolus, will go through the entire digestive tract.

When vomiting occurs, this movement is altered and becomes a movement that is medically called antiperistaltic movement (since it follows the reverse route), the alteration of this movement sometimes occurs through the central nervous system and at other times through the defense mechanisms present in the digestive tract.

The vomiting may correspond to an attempt to detoxify the organism or to pathologies that directly affect the digestive system. Let’s see more specifically what disorders can cause vomiting in cats.

Inadequate feeding

The feeding of the cat is one of the most important factors that relate to your health and model it, therefore, we will not tire of repeating that one of the most important decisions that the owner must take is to acquire a quality feed .

Many feeds contain ingredients such as beaks and feathers, animal skin, eyes, brains. etc. While we can not stop considering them proteins, they are proteins of very difficult digestion, which can not be completely absorbed and cause vomiting. Therefore, we recommend that you inform yourself about how you should choose the best feed for your cat.

Low quality candies

As responsible owners we must take care of and love our pet, for this reason we also want to recognize their good deeds and offer appropriate treats as a reward for their behavior or, sometimes, simply because we want to spoil them through food. However, sometimes this action is not as benign or accurate as it may seem at first. If we look at the nutritional composition of these candies we can see that in many occasions these contain a lot of chemical additives that the cat’s digestive system does not tolerate properly.

If we want to use positive reinforcement in cats and offer treats to our pet, we must first make sure that they contain a nutritional composition as natural as possible.

If the vomiting is caused by these treats, they will be less frequent than when they are caused by a low quality feed and we can identify them more easily because they occur when our cat sporadically ingests this type of product.

Food allergies

It is important that we periodically vary the feed that we give to our cat and that we alternate between wet and dry feed, in the same way, if we feed continuously or sporadically to our pet with homemade foods, such as fish, also It is important that we do not always choose the same type of food.

When a cat is continually exposed to a food can develop allergy to it, this often calls the attention to the owners, since the cat tolerates food or feed perfectly until one day begins to vomit. The explanation is that after repeated exposures, the allergy develops, that’s why the change in tolerance is so sudden. In these cases, we must suspect a food allergy and make changes in their diet to avoid exposing it to the allergen again.

gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is a term that indicates inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, that is, it affects both the stomach and the intestine. It can have diverse causes, from a bad digestion until an infection caused by a pathogenic agent. In this case, in addition to vomiting we can also occasionally observe diarrhea or stools of softer consistency, malaise, lethargy and even fever if this pathology is being caused by a virus or bacteria.

If our cat suffers gastroenteritis, it will be a priority maintain an optimum degree of hydration so that our pet does not suffer alterations in the level of electrolytes.

Poisoning

If you have not previously observed vomiting in your cat and it starts to vomit suddenly, you should suspect that has been able to ingest some toxic substance that your body is trying to eliminate through vomiting.

Poisoning can be caused by the ingestion of plants, household cleaning products, herbicides and pesticides. In this case, vomiting may be accompanied by other symptoms such as lethargy, lack of coordination or excessive salivation and it requires urgent veterinary attention.

Disorders in intestinal absorption

Some disorders such as intestinal malabsorption can cause vomiting and malnutrition in the cat. Similarly, metabolic disorders such as hyperthyroidism can also cause vomiting.

Other causes are the lack of digestive enzymes and diseases such as colitis or pancreatitis. The diagnosis of these pathologies can be established in a simple way by means of a veterinary physical examination and a blood test.

Hair balls

The cat has impeccable hygienic habits, but this, unfortunately, sometimes produces the formation of hairballs that are ingested and incorporated into the digestive system causing disorders. In this case the vomit will be observed as a cylindrical plug with an accumulation of liquid.

To avoid vomiting caused by hairballs it is important brush the cat periodically and add fiber to your diet, so that the ingested hair can transit the entire digestive tract without difficulty.

What to do if my cat vomits?

We have observed that causes of vomiting in the cat they are very diverse and can sometimes involve seriousness, as is the case of poisoning or disorders of absorption and metabolism. Therefore, if your cat vomits it is imperative that you go to the vet, since only he will be able to find out the underlying cause and prescribe an adequate treatment that, far from cutting the cat’s vomit, acts on the disorder that is causing them.

This article is merely informative, in .com we do not have the faculty to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Causes of vomiting in the cat, we recommend that you enter in our section of Other health problems.