What will soothe a cat's stomach?

February 24, 2008 1:15 AM

My cat has been randomly throwing up for the past hour. It's the middle of the night, is there anything that I can give her to soothe her stomach?

I went out for a few hours, and when I came home I found that she puked up a lot of dry food and what must be a leaf from one of the plants. I cleaned it up, but now a few hours later, she's throwing up liquid. I caught her almost throwing up in my bed. It's the middle of the night, and she's now trying to eat the plants (we don't have any cat grass at the moment). I cleaned out the water and food bowls, and gave her fresh water. I put the plants out of reach. Is there anything that I can safely give her that will settle her stomach? I know cats puke a lot, but this is not hairball cat puke.

posted by hooray to pets & animals (10 comments total)

I think you need to just wait it out. Generally don't feed a cat within a couple hours of puking, but it sounds like you're already doing that. If it continues for a day or two, call your vet.
posted by aubilenon at 2:39 AM on February 24, 2008

My vet has "prescribed" human Pepcid AC, 1/2 tablet once a day a half hour before feeding, when my cats had nausea and vomiting. It will at least prevent stomach acid from building up while she's not eating. I hope that she's already feeling better, but if she's not, it's really not too soon to call your vet (I wouldn't wait a couple of days, with all due respect).
posted by vers at 3:51 AM on February 24, 2008

"she puked up .... what must be a leaf from one of the plants."

Some houseplants are toxic to cats. You should check that none of the plants in your house are on this list: http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/plants.htm Google "houseplants toxic cats" for more information.

If you think your cat did eat one of the plants on the list they may need emergency veterinary care, depending on the plant.

One of my mom's cats died suddenly and unexpectedly a few years ago... later we figured out that it might have been the lilies that my mom had recently planted. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 3:58 AM on February 24, 2008

ginger helps nausea in humans - but I have no idea if it will be good for cats.

A lot of places have 24 hour emergency centers for Vets, why not call one of those and check. If the cat is still ill, it's better to be safe than sorry.
posted by jonathanstrange at 4:45 AM on February 24, 2008

It may be that throwing up is good for your cat, helping to get poison out of his system. If you can get more grass (that you know for sure hasn't been subject to pesticides or weed killers), you might want to go pick a few of the more tender blades. My cat will eat grass from my hand -- hold the blades from the thick end, horizontally out in front of the cat's face, and give him a minute to figure out how to grab it.

It may make him puke more, it may just be comforting, but if it's what the cat wants it may be a good thing.
posted by amtho at 6:04 AM on February 24, 2008

Note - I am not a vet, and I do not advise any _other_ method of inducing vomiting in your cat. It sounds like you should try to get to an emergency vet if you can.
posted by amtho at 6:08 AM on February 24, 2008

Please don't give your cat anything medicine-wise until she has been to the vet, cats cannot take the same medications as humans as a general rule, and even when they can, figuring out dosages is difficult because of the way cats' digestive tracts are. And as amtho points out, vomiting is necessary sometimes. Please just keep an eye on the cat and contact a vet asap if you cannot take her to one now.
posted by biscotti at 6:09 AM on February 24, 2008

Nthing the vet suggestion. It's been my experience that when cats throw up liquid, they're not eating or drinking, and are in danger of dehydration.
posted by chez shoes at 6:42 AM on February 24, 2008

Hope she's okay, I just got here. If it happens again, you could try a few drops of mineral oil. Our vet used to have us do this to loosen stubborn fur balls, but this sounds more like something she injested. Let us know if she's okay.
posted by nax at 7:27 AM on February 24, 2008

I brought my cat to the vet the first thing in the morning. I did call an emergency vet clinic, but the vet didn't seem too alarmed, so I waited 5 hours until her regular vet clinic was open. It was a very long 5 hours. She'd heave up some bile for a few minutes, and then be fine for two hours, and then heave again.

Anyways, I ended up not giving her anything, just offering her water but no food. The vet did advise me to give her a small dose of Pepcid AC. It's a different dosage than what vers listed above, which is why I hesitate to mark it as best answer (as this dosage probably varies from cat to cat). I also have a prescription for some other medicine, and I have to bring her in tomorrow for a follow-up. She is much less pukey right now, but still pukey.

The vet said that she could either have gastritis or she ate a foreign object and can't pass it or puke it, in which case they'll have to operate. The x-rays looking for a foreign object are inconclusive. I really really hope it's gastritis. She's napping next to me right now, and minus the puking thing, she's still acting like the same lazy fat purring cat that I love and adore.

Also, I don't think it's the plant as (a) she's tried to eat it before and was fine and (b) the vet office has almost the same plant in their lobby. I spent half the morning looking up pictures of the plants. I didn't get through the whole list, but I didn't see it in there yet. Still, I could be wrong and part of me hopes it's just upset stomach from the plant and not that she ate penny or something horrible like that.
posted by hooray at 3:36 PM on February 24, 2008