Why might my cat be vomiting? He is about 9 years old and on a prescription diet for feline urinary crystals, Hills c/d formula. My cat was diagnosed about 3 years ago and this hasn’t been an issue since he has been eating this cat food. Last January, my cat had a vomiting episode that put him in the hospital overnight with the veterinarian saying that he was severely dehydrated. My kitty had multiple tests done (blood work, a sonogram, etc.) and we still left the vet not having any answers as to why he might have been vomiting. My cat was given anti-nausea feline medications for a few days after he was brought home and then just went right back to normal.

Now starting Monday night, 5/9/11, my kitty has had the cat vomiting episodes again. We took my cat to the veterinarian and they said he wasn’t really too dehydrated. The vet thought that my kitty might just have an upset tummy. So, they gave fluids and anti-nausea meds again and sent him home. Now, it is day 5 and my cat has been vomiting on and off still, but actually has an appetite and it seems that he vomits several hours after eating. I have seen normal bowel movements also.

The veterinarian said that my cat has lost a pound since January and has told us to start feeding him more… which if my cat has an upset tummy I would think might be a bad idea. What should I do/try? The vet said the next step is blood work again which, if it comes back negative like it did 4 months ago, then they said a biopsy is the next step. I don’t think I can afford a biopsy and I want my little guy back to health so badly! Do you have any ideas or thoughts?


It is important to not get tunnel vision and assume that whatever caused your cat’s vomiting in January is the same cause for the current cat vomiting episode. Vomiting can be caused by a number of conditions, as you can read about on my page, Is Cat Vomiting Worrying You?. Bloodwork values can also change significantly over a four month period.

Considering your cat’s weight loss in addition to the vomiting, he may have feline hyperthyroidism, diabetes, kidney disease, or a number of other conditions. My recommendation would be to pursue bloodwork with your veterinarian, making sure they run a thyroid level test. If the values come back normal, and if you care to share the results, I invite you to write again before having your vet do a biopsy.

Best wishes,
Dr. Neely