First, before introducing vomiting, we need to distinguish between vomiting and regurgitation.
Cat vomiting is an active process, often with prodromal symptoms such as abdominal contractions, tongue licking, drooling, and retching. Vomit is usually digested or semi-digested food with stomach acid and bile.
Reflux is a passive process without the aura of abdominal contractions. Vomit is usually undigested food in a cylindrical shape. Generally, cats are nauseous because they eat too much too quickly, or because a foreign body gets stuck in the esophagus, or because of esophagus disease. When reflux is found, you can observe the cat’s reflux frequency and mental state.
If it’s only occasional reflux, don’t worry too much. This cat just needs to adjust itself. If the cat has difficulty eating or has high frequency of regurgitation, a foreign body or disease in the esophagus should be considered and sent to the hospital for examination.
Second, if it is determined that the cat is vomiting, we infer the cause of the cat’s vomiting
The main reason for the vomiting The reasons can be divided into the following categories:
1. Gastrointestinal problems
Food intolerance: eating too fast, food allergies; viral infections: such as feline plague, feline coronavirus infection ; Bacterial infections: such as Salmonella, Helicobacter pylori; Parasitic infections: such as roundworms, coccidia, heartworms, etc.
Inflammation, such as gastroenteritis, gastric ulcers, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); tumors: mainly in older cats; foreign body obstruction, gastrointestinal dysfunction (so-called “gastric hypomotility”), gastrointestinal tract Intestinal problems such as non-peristalsis.
2. Poisoning and drug side effects
Common drugs that cause vomiting: such as chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, etc.; common poisoning substances: such as lily, ethylene glycol, etc.
3. Vomiting caused by central nervous system and vestibule
Such as encephalitis, tumor, otitis media, motion sickness, etc. Emotional/psychological factors such as tension and stress: Vomiting reaction is caused by the brain Dry central control of vomiting. When cats feel fear and stress, it will cause stimulation of the cortical center, resulting in vomiting;
4. Other diseases
peritonitis, pancreatitis, renal failure, liver disease, hyperthyroidism, ketone Acidosis.
Third, when we find that cats are vomiting at home, how should we make a preliminary differential diagnosis?
At home, we can make a preliminary judgment about the cat’s condition in terms of vomiting, environment, frequency and duration of vomiting, mental state and appetite.
1. Vomit
(1) Most of the vomit is undigested food: it may be related to eating too fast and food intolerance. At this time, the cat should be properly fasted for half a day to a day to allow the cat to recover and self-regulate, and then feed wet food to “raise the stomach”.
(2) There is a lot of cat hair: it may be flinging hair balls. It’s fine for cats to throw up hairballs occasionally, but once or twice a month is perfectly acceptable. But if the frequency of throwing hairballs is too high, you should consider feeding hair cream and cat grass
to help the cat get rid of the hair.
(3) The viscous white transparent liquid with white foam may also be accompanied by yellow bile: this may be due to prolonged fasting or gastrointestinal inflammation. If the cat’s appetite is normal and can eat, it can be improved by eating smaller meals and feeding wet food. If the cat cannot eat, consider the possibility of gastrointestinal inflammation or abdominal inflammation, and need to go to the hospital.
(4) Blood in the vomit: It may be that the gastric mucosa was cut by accidentally ingesting a foreign body, and it is necessary to go to the hospital for examination immediately and remove the foreign body.
2. Living environment inspection
(1) Check whether the cat eats indiscriminately. Problems with cat pica are not uncommon. Common blockages are wool, plastic, rubber, etc.
If the foreign body in the food is relatively small, the cat can often excrete the foreign body;
If the foreign body in the food is large, the foreign body cannot be found in the excrement, and the cat often vomits, A visit to the hospital for imaging tests may be required, and surgery may be required to remove the foreign body.
(2) Is the cat taking drugs or accidentally ingesting toxic substances?
If the cat is taking medicine, the side effects of some medicines can cause the cat to vomit, which can be relieved after stopping the medicine, so don’t be nervous.
Common substances that cause cat poisoning include lily, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), etc. If you find that your cat has ingested these toxic substances, you need to go to the hospital immediately.
3. Observe the duration of cat vomiting
(1) If it is within two weeks, it is generally classified as acute vomiting. You can fast for 12-24 hours to allow the cat’s stomach to rest and repair itself. Then give the cat a certain amount of wet food to refuel and hydrate the cat. If the vomiting does not improve, the cat has mental state and appetite problems and needs to be sent to the hospital for treatment.
(2) If it exceeds two weeks, it is generally classified as chronic vomiting. Chronic vomiting can be caused by food allergies. At this time, consider replacing foods with low sensitivity, such as single meat (duck, ostrich, etc.). is hypoallergenic) and grain free.
4. Observe the cat’s mental state, vitality level and appetite
Under normal circumstances, if the vitality, mental state and appetite are normal, you can observe it for a period of time, by fasting wet food/ Adjust your diet as described above to improve vomiting. 2. If the cat is observed to lose weight, it needs to be sent to the hospital for examination. Cats with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), tumors, hyperthyroidism, etc. may have normal mental status and appetite, but are losing weight.
All in all, when we observed cat vomiting, if it didn’t last long, the mental state and appetite were good, and there was no foreign body ingestion Or toxic substances, then we can prioritize dietary modification methods, including: fasting for 12-24 hours; giving wet food, eat less frequently; adjusting diet to reduce food allergies.
If the cat’s condition does not improve within 2-3 days, and there are abnormal conditions such as lethargy and loss of appetite, it is necessary to go to the hospital for physical examination, stool examination, imaging examination and other methods for diagnosis.
Before going to the hospital, the scraper should collect some household information as much as possible, including: whether it is possible to ingest foreign objects or toxic substances by mistake, taking pictures of complaints, the cat’s vaccination status, the cat’s deworming status, excretion and Photographs, frequency and duration of cat vomiting, weight changes, mental status, food intake. Giving your doctor enough information can help your doctor diagnose the cause of your vomiting and prescribe the right medicine.
