It's not uncommon to see your cat vomiting. It just so happens that our pets eat grass (any kind of grass, not “medicinal” grass) specifically for this purpose. In this way they get rid of the “junk” accumulated in the digestive organs.
But if a cat vomits bile, this is already a cause for alarm, because this phenomenon does not occur “just like that,” and in most cases it indicates some serious problems with the digestive organs.
General information
To begin with, we will describe the common reasons that can lead to yellowing of vomit. These include:
- Cat eating “non-food” objects. It occurs when a pet eats to its heart's content artificial casings from sausages or sausages. A similar phenomenon is observed in cases of eating chicken or fish bones, fragments of which remain in the stomach for a long time and irritate its mucous membrane, promoting the release of bile.
- This happens when a pet does not eat anything for a long time (illness, apathy), and then quickly makes up for lost time, gorging itself on a full bowl. There is a powerful release of bile, which irritates the gastric mucosa and causes profuse vomiting.
- When eating something poisonous, poisoning, infectious diseases, severe helminthic infestations. Worms not only release large amounts of toxins into the blood, but are also a strong irritant.
- Cancer should not be discounted . In particular, when a cat vomits bile and blood, this may well indicate the presence of a tumor in its digestive tract.
By the way, in cats, unlike dogs, slightly yellowed vomit is not a cause for serious concern . When these animals vomit, some amount of bile almost always gets into the contents of the stomach, and there is nothing wrong with that. Surely every experienced cat lover can confirm this. The yellowness is especially noticeable when the cat has eaten grass for “self-cleaning” and then vomited.
Diagnostic stages
- Consultation with a specialist - a gastroenterologist, and, if necessary, other specialists, since vomiting can be a symptom of various diseases.
- Laboratory examination, including tests of blood, stomach contents, gall bladder and stool. Biochemical studies, bacterial cultures and immunological tests, for example, to detect hepatitis, may be required.
- Study of the form, structure and function of the gastrointestinal tract. At the Yauza Clinical Hospital, endoscopic, ultrasound, X-ray diagnostic methods, CT and MRI, as well as their combinations, are used for this purpose. Research is carried out using modern expert-level equipment, the results are assessed by experienced specialists.
- In the diagnosis of diseases that are accompanied by vomiting of bile, the exclusion of oncological processes and formations is of great importance. For this purpose, at the Yauza Clinical Hospital, it is possible to conduct a specialized oncological search, MRI (MR - whole body diffusion), genetic studies that reveal the patient’s predisposition to tumors of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract, and blood tests for tumor markers.
Other predisposing factors
What are the reasons for this? There can be many of them. Firstly, it all depends on the animal. If your cat has a habit of greedily pouncing on food, gobbling up an entire bowl in a couple of seconds, then he can’t help but vomit. This often happens when a long-haired cat has a lot of hair accumulated in its stomach. It is possible that the pet simply ate something that smelled tempting but was inedible (the already mentioned sausage skins). Very often, a cat vomits bile with foam when he has some kind of liver or thyroid disease. Sometimes this is an indirect sign of the presence of heartworm.
Regurgitation may occur during the recovery period from surgery. In particular, after sterilization.
By the way, what is the danger of this pathology? The fact is that in most cases, bile enters an empty stomach. And this substance is a powerful chemical reagent, very aggressive towards unprotected tissues. Simply put, over time, bile literally eats away the gastric mucosa, which at best leads to gastritis, but much more often it ends in ulcerative lesions. This is very common in cats whose owners feed them once a day, but in large quantities. And dry food.
Why does my cat vomit yellow liquid?
Vomiting in a cat is a protective mechanism whose task is to cleanse the body of foreign substances. Pet owners cannot always determine the root cause of yellow vomit on their own. Therefore, in most cases it is advisable to contact a specialized specialist.
Malnutrition or, conversely, overeating can disrupt the digestive process of an animal. For example, if a cat falls asleep hungry, its stomach is empty all night - in this case, there is a high probability of morning vomiting. A full stomach can occur due to the consumption of large amounts of food. Then the food simply will not enter the intestines and will travel in the other direction. In addition, food poisoning is a common cause of vomiting.
In some cases, vomiting is accompanied by severe discomfort in the animal. This may be caused by ingestion of a foreign object. If it is small, it will come out in the feces. But with large dimensions of the object, active production of bile acids in the stomach will begin. Vomiting of yellow foam often occurs after excessively sudden changes in diet, with a sharp increase in caloric content of food. The cat's liver may not respond immediately to other feeding conditions. As a result, undigested food and yellow liquid will be observed in the vomit.
Vomiting with bile can also be caused by the presence of helminths. This is how the body tries to get rid of the presence of worms. Yellow vomiting is not uncommon in chronic diseases of the liver, gallbladder, and intestines. The negative impact of infectious pathological diseases and the penetration of foreign viruses or bacteria also affects. As a result, the animal’s liver will actively cleanse the body of toxic substances. The most common and dangerous cause of vomiting is considered to be feline distemper or panleukopenia.
Yellow foamy liquid signals the development of various ailments. However, it is important to take into account additional symptoms that accompany vomiting. With hepatitis, the cat's body temperature rises, appetite decreases, urine darkens, diarrhea and yellowness of the mucous membranes occur. If vomiting yellow liquid has a sharp, unpleasant odor, this may indicate liver failure. Moreover, this is how not only the acute, but also the chronic form of the disease manifests itself. An unpleasant odor from the mouth, frequent fainting, yellowing of the sclera, nausea are signs of the development of serious pathological processes in the liver.
Vomiting yellow foam is a symptom of lipidosis, which is also accompanied by rapid exhaustion of the animal, accumulation of toxic substances directly in the liver, and complete loss of appetite. With feline distemper, the temperature rises sharply to high levels, and the pet becomes apathetic. He is haunted by frequent vomiting, diarrhea accompanied by a pungent odor, and the disease is also indicated by a hunched posture, lack of thirst and appetite.
Of course, it is unacceptable to ignore such manifestations. Only timely medical intervention will help avoid many unpleasant complications.
When do you need to urgently seek veterinary help?
If you notice that your cat is vomiting bile (concentrated bile mixed with mucus), or there are large blood clots in the mixture, consult your veterinarian immediately. The fact is that such symptoms often indicate volvulus, perforation of a gastric ulcer or a malignant tumor somewhere in the intestines.
First aid, treatment
The range of measures to provide first aid to a cat in acute conditions accompanied by vomiting is relatively small. In case of poisoning, first of all, it is necessary to stop further entry of the toxic substance into the animal’s body. An apparent improvement in the pet’s condition does not negate the need for urgent professional intervention, since the process of intoxication can develop rapidly, with a fatal outcome in the prognosis.
Important! An attempt to stop attacks of vomiting of any etiology with the help of self-selected drugs will only aggravate the situation: an incorrectly calculated dosage of the active substance, possible adverse reactions, and individual intolerance to the drug can lead to the death of the animal.
In addition, only a specialist can, having established the true cause of poisoning, choose the appropriate antidote and further tactics for managing a four-legged patient. You should show your pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible even if there are frequent bouts of vomiting or painful urges with rejection of masses, including blood, bile, and copious foam.
Basic methods of treating vomiting in cats
If the cat simply has an upset stomach, caused, among other things, by ordinary gluttony, you can forcefully pour 10-20 ml of strong mint tea into it. Such a simple remedy helps very well, and is safe for the animal. Smecta and activated carbon will also not harm. They will absorb toxins and bile, easing the animal’s condition.
Oddly enough, but animals prone to vomiting due to a sick stomach (gastritis) are helped by regular baby food enriched with dietary fiber. During exacerbations, the ideal food would be baby chicken puree. Under no circumstances should you feed your animal food containing table salt at this time.
In other cases associated with severe pathologies, treatment is prescribed by a veterinarian!
First aid
The main thing is to prevent your pet from becoming dehydrated. You should regularly give your cat clean water and add a glucose solution to prevent exhaustion. On the first day, food intake is completely excluded. When the cause of vomiting is stale food, then to completely cleanse the animal’s body it is worth giving it salted water. This will cause him to vomit again and clear his stomach.
But when the reason is taking chemicals with irritating properties, this should not be done. You need to give your pet Enterogel and take him to the veterinarian. It is also impossible to provoke vomiting in the presence of foreign objects in the stomach; give antiemetic drugs. The veterinarian will do this if necessary.
The owner should carefully monitor the pet after vomiting in order to provide the doctor with complete information:
- Frequency and duration of attacks;
- What is the connection between vomiting and food, what, how much, when;
- Parameter of vomit, color, thickness, presence of undigested food, hair or blood in it.
At the clinic, tell everything about the cat’s behavior and condition, the presence of anxiety, salivation and behavioral characteristics.
Vomiting foam and bile - possible diseases
The cat vomited yellow liquid! Repeated yellow vomiting with impurities of food and foam indicates the presence of an inflammatory process in some part of the animal’s digestive system. The stomach cannot cope with the volume of food entering it, spasms begin with the release of vomit. To make a correct diagnosis, it is better to contact a veterinary clinic, because there are a lot of diseases associated with the digestive system - gastritis, pancreatitis, ulcers, duodenitis, colitis and so on.
Attention! The cat is vomiting white foam, the provoking factor in this case is hunger. After all, white foam is the result of a chemical interaction between protective mucus from the walls of a hungry stomach and oxygen from the surrounding air.
Yellow vomit with foam and blood may occur due to internal bleeding in the animal's intestines, stomach, or esophagus. If there is a tumor or ulcerative formation, bloody streaks will be present in the vomit along with foam. If the shade is scarlet and uniform, this means that blood is secreted in the upper gastrointestinal tract - the pet’s mouth, larynx or esophagus. Bleeding is dangerous and does not go away on its own - you definitely need emergency help from a specialist veterinarian!
