Cat question

[chicken]

So one of my cats has thrown up actual food, twice in the last week. Usually she just has one furball (fur, not food) once a week. Pretty normal for long-furred cats. But this week, TWICE, actual food.

Should I take her to the vet? Is she sick with a virus?

Or should I just change her food? Is the food too rich for her or something? What is wrong with her?

Also, there is a small possibility that the "twice in one week" was really "one throw-up pile from each of the two cats" -- because I didn't actually witness the heaving.

Comments

[the-automatik.livejournal.com]

I don't know about cats, but my dog throws up sometimes and is fine. Other times she throws up and is obviously unwell (lethargic, drooling, uninterested in food, etc.). I guess just keep an eye on them and see if they are acting weird.

You might want to just give them a little water for a few hours to see if they can keep that down. My vet suggests ice chips for my dog because if you give them water and they throw up, that actually strips electrolytes from their systems and makes them sicker.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

They don't seem lethargic or sick, they seem bouncy as always, and eager for food.

[tannymonster.livejournal.com]

Have you recently changed their food? Because if not, and they still seem okay I'd think it might've just been a one off. Maybe they ate a bug that didn't agree with them or something?

Still keep an eye on them, but they don't sound like they are hardcore sick.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

No, same food as always. Who knows, I'm probably just being too sensitive. Thanks!

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

My little doggie Zooey throws up 1 or 2 times a week. The vet told me she just has a delicate constitution.

I don't know about cats. But don't cats throw up a lot?

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

They do, but normally it's just a furball. They rarely throw up their food.

[superplin.livejournal.com]

My cat in Italy, Vicki, threw up food at least a couple of times a month. In her case it was usually because she was unusually hungry at mealtime, and sucked down her food too fast. She is quite the voracious eater.

Did you by any chance feed your cats a little later than usual, or a little less (so they'd be extra-hungry the next time)?

If they seem otherwise healthy, I don't think you need to worry unless it becomes a really frequent pattern.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Yes, I fed them late. That is to say, I try to keep their food bowls always full, and this time I actually let them sit empty for a few hours (bad mommy!).

[superplin.livejournal.com]

Aha! I bet that's the reason, then. Vicki was a street foundling, and has always had food anxiety--I'm guessing she went a few days without eating when she was first abandoned. So she threw up her food pretty regularly due to eating too fast (also because we were never particularly good at feeding her at exactly the same time every day: not just the once, for us!).

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Our cat Niobe throws up food all the time. She's pretty anxious about eating it before somebody else (Nestor) does, and she frequently bolts it down and barfs it right back up again. ...And sometimes eats it a second time.

If it keeps happening and it's never happened before, I suppose it's worth looking into. But I wouldn't worry about it happening once or twice.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Eats it a second time? I thought only dogs did that! Ew. I guess I'm lucky my cats disdain that sort of thing. EW!

Thank you very much for the reassurance.