Why Is My Cat Throwing Up Undigested Food?

Several cat owners might put their feline under the "pukey" category. However, recurrent vomiting in a cat is not something that should happen or something that happens normally.

So, what should you do if your cat is throwing up undigested food?
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​Why Is My Cat Throwing Up Undigested Food?

Vomiting is regarded as a vaguely defined side effect. It can be linked to a variety of health issues. If your cat throws up undigested food, this could indicate a more serious disease.

Hairballs, internal blockage, pancreatitis, consuming food rapidly, bowel problems, digestive problems, pathogenic organisms’ infections, intoxications, aggravation, distress, or even anxiousness are examples of such symptoms.

​Before trying to seek a veterinarian's assistance, it's critical to understand the reason that your cat is throwing up its food and how you might be able to treat it.
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​What Should I Do If My Cat Is Vomiting Undigested Food?

Regular puking, which is anything that happens several times weekly, is certainly an issue. If your feline is puking its undigested food, try feeding it puzzle toys or smaller portions more often.

When you see that your cat is puking undigested food multiple times in a day or week, and when it is doing so in tandem with other side effects like decreased appetite, loss of weight, fatigue, or diarrhea, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Your veterinarian will begin with a medical examination, assessing your cat's heart rhythm and gently massaging its belly.

Once they have carefully examined your pet, they might also need to do a few tests, such as testing a fecal sample, doing some blood testing, and taking some X-rays.

Tiny indications of parasitic infections can be detected in a stool specimen. The blood tests that will be performed on your pet are to ensure that there is no evidence of hepatic or kidney damage, along with red blood cell and erythrocyte levels.
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An X-ray examination will look for any fluid retention that might be blood, as well as any enteric gas aspects that may indicate blockages.

​How To Treat Your Cat

Based on the conclusions of your veterinarian, your cat might require medical attention for fluid therapy and therapeutic interventions, or it might only need home therapies and oral meds.
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In case your veterinarian discovers that your cat has a GI tract blockage, then your little one might need an operation to remove the blockage.

​What Is The Distinction Between Vomit And Regurgitation?

Vomiting is not always vomiting; it can sometimes be regurgitation and making the distinction between the two can guide your veterinarian and assist them in making the right diagnosis.

Regurgitation is frequently confused with puking; however, in contrast to food that your cat has vomited, regurgitated food is that which has not sat in the stomach to be absorbed with the help of gastric acid.

So, when we say that a cat regurgitated its meal, we mean that it has only spit the food that was in its mouth or esophagus.

Meals, fluids, as well as other consumed objects, end up coming back up before even getting to the stomach, with no abdominal work occurring.

Regurgitation is a passive activity that does not involve sounds or puking: the cat simply brings down its head and water or its meal falls to the floor. It usually happens in 2 hours from the moment it has eaten or drunk something.
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​Likely Reasons Your Cat Is Vomiting or Regurgitating Its Food

It Is Eating Too Quickly

Several cats eat too fast, so they keep regurgitating undigested food. Try to feed your cat with a food puzzle toy to teach them how to eat more slowly.

Food puzzles are one valuable resource and there are many food puzzles available that arouse the cats' predatory and scavenging urges.

These puzzles are perfect for cats that frequently vomit their meals as they slow down the time they spend chewing their food, preventing them from eating too fast and becoming ill as a result of it.

Food Allergy

As previously noted, several cats could eat too quickly or even have a food allergy. If your cat is prone to throwing up or has a bowel sensitivity, it might throw up partly digested or undigested food.

If your veterinarian has ruled out every other health problem and believes that it is the meals it had that it is throwing up, they might recommend that you try a bowel-friendly cat food product.

If your cat is still throwing up this bowel-friendly food, you might need to introduce it to a rigorous dietary plan with hydrolyzed protein.

Hairballs

Cats are inherently fastidiously clean animals that spend a significant amount of time grooming themselves. While grooming, tiny hook-like formations on your cat's tongue catch hair, which will then be ingested.

A large percentage of this hair goes through the gastrointestinal tract without any mishaps, but occasionally hair remains in the stomach and creates hairballs.

Hairballs can lead to a cat vomiting up undigested food. Even though a cat throwing up a hairball occasionally is common and not a reason to worry, hairballs are not supposed to show up frequently or cause pain or difficulty for your cat to pass.

Get some food supplements to prevent future hairballs and get your cat used to you brushing them and collecting all the dead hair so that they can avoid ingesting hair when grooming themselves.

Nutritional And Dietary Modifications

If your cat's eating timetable changes, if it skips its breakfast or you feed it earlier than usual, it could regurgitate undigested food.

The same goes for any changes in its diet and nutritional intake. If you get them a new can of food with different nutritional properties, their digestive system could react, and your cat could regurgitate or even throw up.

Gastritis

If your cat has a habit of getting into stuff they don't need to, they will probably end up with an irritated stomach and start vomiting undigested food as well as blood.

Contact your veterinarian for advice in this case.
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​The Bottom LinE

There are many reasons why your cat is throwing up its undigested food, but you should never ignore any such incident.
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The best thing to do is contact your veterinarian and ask for some advice before acting on it. So, be wise and take good care of your little pet!
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