Cat puke - NOT a hairball, but food?

My cat, Pal, has recently had some occasional pukes. This is the same cat I bitched about in the Hateful cat stories forum when he threw up on my bed, pillow, etc. about a week ago. He's about 8½ years old now.

All three cats have been on Science Diet - sensitive stomach for years.

Pal has a good appetite, drinks plenty of water, and is an agorophe who is afraid of going outside. All three cats are short haired and particularly right now, are NOT shedding. His weight is ideal.. not skinny, and not obese. The presents he leaves in the litterbox are also his normal.

I know hairball pukes are normal, but "food pukes"? (pic below)

This picture is GROSS, but this was this morning... (and the other 2 times this month looked like this)



This is about the 3rd time this month. That's not a turd, it's chewed up, puked up food. Is this something I should take him to the vet for? (He is so frightened of being caged up and going even for his annual shots that I try to avoid taking him out of the house unless necessary.) Any home remedies or ideas that might help?

He's playful, everything else, so this puke problem is more frustrating for me as the owner than I think it is to him. I wanna make sure my baby is healthy though. :)

Billy is my pukey cat. I've spoken to the Vet several times about him. Does your cat puke up straight after eating? If so then he's eaten too fast. Apparently it's normal for cats to puke, it's only abnormal if it's accompanied by other symptoms e.g. blood in puke, weight loss, lethargy, temperature, off food or drink or both. I was told that Billy puking once a week was fine.

Oh ugh. Nope, it's not right after eating... in fact, he'll just eat little bits here and there throughout the day/night, always has. Dangit, I don't like kitty pukes.... ick!! My next house is gonna have laminate hardwood flooring. No more carpet. Sick of cleaning puke off the rug

When puke is right after eating, the kibble comes right back up - I've had that happen with one cat 'cause I think he eats too fast.

My cats very rarely get hairballs but a at least once a week someone yaks. With four, it's bound to happen.

Are you sure it's always the same one puking? Maybe they're taking turns in showing how much they love you ;)

Anyway, to me, three times in a month doesn't sound like too much.

Spud was a puker, at least once a week. He also had sensitive stomach food in with the mix. Vet could never find any thing wrong with him. Recommended Pepcid but I didn't see much help with that. None of my other cats have been like that. You should discuss it with your vet and put your mind at ease if nothing else. May be he's just a puker.

Incidently Suki was a puker, hence her nickname Puky Suki. Maybe she thought I need another puker otherwise I would miss clearing it up :roll:

I'm thinking it could make total sense that perhaps he has eaten too much too quickly at times - he's the submissive cat. The other boy is the alpha male - when taking him for walks, he'll even try to chase other cats.

For now, going on the concept that perhaps he is eating too fast (seeing how the pukes are basically food with no hair in them), any suggestions on how I could slow him down? Perhaps feeding the other two a couple times per day, and Pal get small amounts 5-10 times throughout the day in a room alone?

My boys eat off the same plate, and I stroke Billy and tell him to eat slowly, otherwise just dish out a smaller amount for them.

This is what I found this morning....and every morning, having 8 cats. This particular glob came from Violet I'm sure because there is a little bit of her hair involved. She pukes anywhere from right away after eating, or probably an hour or so afterwards like this seems to be.




But I can reassure you that it is caused from eating too fast and the only solution would be to feed them separately in different rooms and sit and pet while they eat so they know it's okay to eat slow. No vet needed for this I promise :wink:

For hairballs, 1 tablespoon of Libby's Pumpkin in a can mixed with a little soft food will take care of that. Pumpkin is a pure natural vegetable fiber and will correct their digestive systems and get things moving again. Pumpkin has saved the lives of many kitties and I stand by it 100% :D

You do the same as me TMC :D

Wow Too Many Cats, such a high quality resolution picture! LOL

Wow Too Many Cats, such a high quality resolution picture! LOL

Macro Rocks :D

My oldest cat, Chase, he pukes somewhat often. We couldn't figure out why for weeks (we're already on a special gastro diet for one of our other kitties). Well after about 2 months, he was puking but shortly after he coughed up a hairball too (so I assume the puking is from a hairball that they just can't get up and out)... since then, when he pukes, I give him a malt hairball remedy (I used to use it with my rabbit, it breaks helps break down the hair so it can be easily digested rather than collecting) and he stops puking usual after one treatment, sometimes it takes 2 though. You can get it at any pet store

I always thought cats were reknowned pukers, and you were lucky if you got onew that didn't. If you're lucky one of the others will come along and eat iit up to save the cleaning - Binnie always did that :lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't think I'd worry too much unless they started losing weight or not eating.

Gin is a bit of a puker. But I've found that it sometimes seems to have to do with his teeth/gums (which I guess means when they hurt he just swallows the food without chewing poor mite). He gets a mix of wet and dry food now - not just dry. And he's had a few teeth out. puking is considerably less although not absent.

Also he doesn't hunt as much as he used to. I guess at his age he just wants the mouse to wander over and drop dead of a heart attack in front of him

The late Mandi used to puke up from eating too fast. A few things that helped were feeding her on a flat dish/plate, so that the kibble was in one layer and not heaped, and --no joke-- flat kibble. She had to work harder to get it into her mouth. That cat inhaled her food!

I see from this forum that many of us have the problem of the cat that is sick at regular intervals but otherwise shows no signs of ill health - at least that is what the vet said after we spent £100 on blood tests (in my next life I am coming back as a vet or a dentist, make more money that way)

She does produce bits of hairball now and then and I diligently give her Royal Canin hairball kibbles and Katalax, which she loves, but I guess I will just have to wait until her ladyship expels it all. Vet says as cats get older they find it harder to get rid of hairballs.

Useful tip on this thread about slowing down speed of eating, will try that also.

Meanwhile have roll of kitchen towel in every room for when she seeks gastric relief. Would love to have laminate flooring!

I agree with some of the other posts: if it happens infrequently, then puking of food is usually a symptom of eating too fast. OR it is possible that there is a hairball in there, it just didn't come up when kitty regurgitated. If our girls hork up a perfectly good breakfast, we usually make it a point to give the offender some hairball remedy soon after, just in case.

Now, that said, if puking food happens several times in a row--and the cat continues to throw up even after there is nothing left to expel--he/she might have an actual illness or a hairball stuck in the digestive tract. We usually apply hairball remedy to this situation, too. And, if it continues after that even once, straight to the v-e-t. Our Chloe almost died of dehydration caused by repeated vomiting from a stuck hairball, so we are pretty vigilant.

My guess is, though, there's nothing to worry about in the occasional pre-loved food deposit. And they're so lovely. Especially wet food. Mmmmm. :D

Lex has always done this. Sugar did it too on occasion. I'm with everything else - it's a "scarf and barf." If I remember correctly, all cats can do this at some point. With more than one cat, unless you're watching them 24/7, it's hard to pinpoint the culprit unless you're right there...