occasional vomiting/regurgitation

[Susan and the girls]

I have a question and I'm hoping someone can reassure me that nothing's wrong.

Belle "throws up" about once every two weeks. Of course it has been more frequent at times (like when there's stress - like the night we moved into the new house), but generally it's not very common.

The "throwing up" I'm referring to is almost always regurgitation. I notice this happens when the food bowls have been empty for a couple of hours or more - like overnight, so that when I put food in them, the kitties attack the food like they're starved. (And we all know that my cats aren't starved, and have never gone long periods of time without food....)

I hear that awful tell-tale throwing up sound coming from another room, and I race to get to the sound before it hits the carpet. (And now that we're in the new house with new carpet, it's more important than ever to keep it OFF the carpet!!!) This morning it was at 5:30. It's usually first thing in the morning.

It's almost always Belle, and it's usually that yucky "tube" of food, or at least food pieces. However, there's sometimes a secondary "hit" of vomiting that's more liquid - with food mixed in.

Since it only happens every couple of weeks, should I worry? Soon after the episode, she's happily eating again, purring, headbutting, and happy as a lark. Oh - this morning, it happened just after she'd awakened me with the kitty crazies..... she was racing back and forth all through the house, round and round and round, meowing with that playful "trill" and taking off to zoom again - before she stopped in the living room to barf. I wondered if she didn't make herself motion sick with all that playing!

Let me know if I should take her to the vet just in case. Of course, she's not having any problems with anything related to eating. She eats fine, poops fine, pees fine, and drinks plenty of water.

[jason]

The "throwing up" I'm referring to is almost always regurgitation. I notice this happens when the food bowls have been empty for a couple of hours or more - like overnight, so that when I put food in them, the kitties attack the food like they're starved.

so basically they attack the food, and then vomit? sounds like just eating too fast. i had that problem with mine, had to play around with the amount of food i would leave out so that the bowls would never empty at times when i am not around.

have you tried the auto-feeders?

[MA]

Take your yellow pages and put the food bowl on it. Elevating the food bowl relaxes the throat, stops the gulping and sometimes stops the vomiting

[Mona]

Susan hi~

I have this with Honeybun (5 yrs old) and I like Ma said elevated her bowls. I bought a set that is raised up about 4-6 inches and it has made a difference. She occasionaly vomits her food, but I give her Laxatone at least once per week now which helps get the hair passed through her system and out!!

Try the elevation. Good luck. I think HOneybun gulps her food to fast at times as well.

Mona, HOneybun and Little Chloe (now 11 weeks old)

[Cleo]

My Molly does this around the same time frame as yours. I too have elevated their bowls and hope it makes the difference.

I have also found this solution called "Gonzo Stain Remover" that works really well with the carpets. It is inexpensive and better than the higher priced remedies out there. Someone mentioned a home remedy of shaving cream on the rugs to me but I don't fancy my carpets smelling like a barber shop!

Susan if you can't find the Gonzo in your area anywhere, I'd be more than happy to send you a bottle to try. Let me know.

Cleo

[Susan and the girls]

Wow - thanks to all of you for replying. I'm glad to know Belle's not the only one, and that my intuition that nothing is "physically" wrong with her is correct. I'm very tuned into the cats, and I can tell when one is not feeling her best - and since Belle always bounces right back after regurgitating/vomiting her food, I really didn't think there was a true problem with her health.

Jason - lately I've been watching the bowls carefully to make sure there are at least a few kibbles in them at all times. That's convenient for me now, since it's still "summer vacation" for those of us who teach, but I'm hoping that I can still manage to keep the bowls at least slightly full when school is back in. And Rob can help with that. I haven't tried an automatic feeder - do you have one? I think my first "automatic" purchase would have to be the water fountain....

Mona and MA - I'm going to try elevating her food bowl. The others don't do the regurgitation, so I'll try hers first. (If they start, I'll elevate theirs too!) Funny - I was just thinking about how she eats in the first place --- she actually puts her entire belly to the floor and eats that way, almost like she's reclining to eat. I guess the bowl's been too low all along, huh?

Cleo - thanks for the offer of the Gonzo. I have some stuff Rob brought (along with a cool DirtDevil handheld vacuum/scrubber thingy). Ironically, Rob owns a commercial pressure washing and carpet cleaning business..... He has access to some pretty powerful cleaners that are truly safe on carpet, so I've used that stuff each time I've had to spot-clean the carpet. For that reason, he never gets too worried about the carpet, even though it's berber, which is hard to clean. (Just the other day, his cousin who works for him cleaning carpets came in with red Georgia clay on his shoes and tracked it up my stairs.... After I had my hissy-fit and threatened to disown him from the family, he showed me how to use the little scrubber vacuum with the special cleaner they use, and I forgave him. It actually came up! Miracles do happen....)

So, at 5:30 this morning, I was in the living room with the DirtDevil scrubber, putting it to the test again. Fortunately, most of the vomit this time got on a washable rug. I hope the elevating the food bowl takes care of this completely! I find myself not sleeping well since we moved in here; I am constantly listening for either the vomiting, or the "sharpening" of the claws on the carpet. (They've been really good with using the NUMEROUS sisal scratching pads I bought, but part of Daisy's "kitty crazies" involves racing into the bedroom and digging in wherever she happens to stop and clawing away. At 3:30 am, I am waking up with a start, finding myself saying, "Akkkk! Stop that!") I've got to let go of some of these worries about the house..... Things won't stay perfectly new forever....!

Thanks again!!!

[jason]

I haven't tried an automatic feeder - do you have one? I think my first "automatic" purchase would have to be the water fountain....

i do, its an el-cheap-o one. all plastic, uses gravity to auto feed into a bowl at the bottom. will last my two cats for about a week and half or more. petsmart has them, mine has a clear top (where all the food is) and a blue base (where the bowl is).

[Susan and the girls]

ohhhhhhh.... I was thinking of the 'spensive ones from "Drs. Foster & Smith" where they have a timer that lets out a certain amount of food at certain times.....

I don't think having the kind you're talking about would be good for my two fat girls (Belle & Daisy) ..... They'd eat til they popped. I have to limit their food, spacing out their "3/4 to 1 cup" per day over the course of the day.... Free-feeding is what got them their current round bellies.... Kinda like the way their human mama gets her weight.... LOL

[jason]

Free-feeding is what got them their current round bellies.... Kinda like the way their human mama gets her weight.... LOL

free....free.....free indeed ......your not alone on that

good luck on a solution, be sure to let us all know.

[Susan and the girls]

I took some thin kitchen towels and put them under Belle's bowl so that it's about 4 inches off the floor. I noticed her eating earlier, and she was able to sit up tall while she ate. She didn't say for sure , but it looked like it was more comfortable to eat that way.