If only cats could talk, and tell us when they don’t feel good, and what was wrong. It would be so much easier if your cat could come up to you and say “I feel sick to my stomach because I ate a lizard outside”. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy, and by the time your cat has eaten the lizard and gotten sick, your first clue is the cat vomit on your bed with the little lizard parts in it.

Cats can become ill for a variety of reasons, and many illnesses and diseases may result in similar behavior changes or other signs of illness in your cat. Paying close attention to the symptoms of a sick cat can help you to more quickly identify illness in your cat and diagnose and treat the problem before it can become more serious.

Vomiting is an extremely common occurrence in cats. What can be difficult is telling the difference between a perfectly healthy cat that vomits occasionally, perhaps due to hairballs or eating something outside, and a cat who has chronic vomiting, a serious disease of the intestinal and digestive tract.

Cats who routinely vomit more than 3-4 times a week, may in fact have inflammatory bowel disease, an inflammation of the intestinal tract that can lead to malabsorbtion of nutrients and even lymphoma if left untreated.

While occasional, or even chronic vomiting in cats may not be a cause for immediate concern, a cat that is experiencing an increased frequency of vomiting, especially sudden, acute vomiting in cats, should be treated as a medical emergency and veterinary attention must be sought.

Unfortunately, both acute and chronic vomiting are symptoms of many other illnesses, so it may be up to your veterinarian to help diagnose the underlying cause. In kittens, acute vomiting should be treated as a medical emergency as it can cause life-threatening dehydration.

Common causes for kittens include feline panleukopenia or parasite infection. In older cats common causes of vomiting may include organ failure, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, stomach or intestinal blockage or tumor or cancerous growth or development.