cat vomiting feces???

[kahrpr]

Hi all,

I have a 6 year old neutered DSH that I've had since she was a kitten, along with a 4 year old neutered DSH. Well, first the younger one was having a lot of problems with vomiting undigested food. I upgraded to a better brand and it seemed to take care of the problem.
Now what seems to be happening is the older cat is vomiting about 1-2 nights a week, and it's usually undigested food, sometimes it's a thinner browner liquid, but lately, there's been at least one, sometimes two, pieces of poo in it!! What's going on?
I have never seen her nosing around the litter box looking for a snack. If she were eating turds from the box, wouldn't she then have litter particles in her vomit?? (There are none.) I'm thinking she has this freaky digestive thing going on, where maybe her colon is reversing and sending the feces back up through her system???

If anyone has any input or advice, I'd love to hear from you. My vet is currently out of town and won't be back until tonight, but I'm curious as heck to see what it could possibly be.

Thanks,
Kim

[moosmom]

Your cat vomiting up whole pieces of food is a sign that he's eating too much too fast. I don't think what you're seeing is poo. It COULD be a hairball.

My cat Shortie has hairball problems. I couldn't figure out why one of my cats was pooping in the middle of my bedroom floor. I happened upon it one night while getting up to go to the bathroom :eek: A cold, wet hairball between your toes in the middle of the night is NOT fun!!

It turned out to be a hairball which looks EXATLY like a piece of poo. Next time it happens, and I know this is gross sounding, try to take a closer look (pick it up with a piece of paper towel). A hairball will not be solid like a piece of poo.

I hope this helps.

[catlover4ever]

I have to agree with Moosmom....what you are most likely seeing is a hairball. They look exactly like poo. Tucker, my 18 year old vomits at lest 1 hairball a day and it really does resemble poo.

[leonsmom]

Dear Kim, I totally agree with "Moosmom." When my cat first vomited up a hairball, I thought it was pooh, too. (And was similarly grossed out by the thought!) But upon closer inspection, it was a hairball. Now I feed my kitty a hairball control cat food (I like the Science Diet Hairball Light, since Leon also has a bit of a weight problem) and give him Laxaire (a lubricant that he licks off my finger, and that helps him pass hairballs more easily) twice a week. And hairballs haven't been a problem since.

I hope that this is just a hairball problem, since it's really easy to fix. If it really is pooh he's vomiting, take him to the vet and let us all know what he/she says!

Best of luck,
Leonsmom :)

[kahrpr]

Thanks for all the info. I will inspect the pile closer next time (*ugh*) to see if it is indeed a hairball. Is it unusual for such an "old" cat to suddenly develop probs with hairballs? She has never done this sort of thing before. I will look into the hairball control food, I swear these cats will be eating better than I do soon.
Hopefully the vet will call me back tonite and we'll discuss the situation over the phone. As far as the medicine/lubricant, I've hear that a tsp of olive oil or something like that will do the same thing. Any home remedies anyone swears by?

Thanks again,
Kim

[jazzcat]

It does sound like hairballs.

I have both problems with Ripley. He eats too much to fast and throws up and then sometimes he throws up hairballs. The first time I saw one I thought it was poo too but my husband who grew up with cats had to explain. I think they should be called hair logs or something more descriptive. Never are they in a ball form.

Anyway, to help control the hairballs try brushing your cats regularly. We've been brushing Ripley nightly for years now and he rarely has hairballs any more.

Also, could your older cat be grooming and licking on your other cat? That could account for the all the hairballs all of the sudden.

Good luck.

[Craftlady]

I agree with everyone else it's a hair ball and they are gross.
Regular brushing is a good routine to get into which we try at our house with pretty good success. I also use Cat Lax that I get from the vet. If I'm not sure "who did it" they all get a little strip of lax. Normally it's Thumper who is my barfer and I usually hear her gaging. Eleanor sounds like a seal screaming when she has hairball. First time I heard it I jumped a mile. Such a loud noise coming out of a little girl. :eek:

[kahrpr]

The younger cat is much more amenable to being combed. She loves it. The older cat however refuses to let me come near her with any kind of grooming implement, whether it's been used on the other cat or not (she is very jealous and possessive, starts growling if I pay any attention at all to the littler one), so brushing her is out of the question. I did catch her digging a hairball from the comb out of the garbage a few days ago, so that may have triggered the sudden hairball-retching. They don't groom themselves that often, but if you pull off the hair for them, they're more than happy to eat it up... gross.

Kim

[catmandu]

I dont think that Cats vomit Poo,its either a Hairball,or Stomach lining!Either way,you should see your Vet!

[AmberLee]

If it's any comfort, I found what I thought was decreped 'poo' and thought Livvy had some bizarre tummy tumor... :eek: Drug her into the vets that very day and had to have it explained to me that it was merely a hair ball. :rolleyes: Oh well, at least I added to the some total of humor in the vet's day... ;)

[kahrpr]

Thanks to everyone who posted. Just wanted to report back to let everyone know that with hairball-control food and a few doses of KittyMalt (which she hates), Boo is doing much better. Haven't found a single pile yet (knocking on wood).
It's nice to know there's a community of nice pet-owners like this to help out and dispense advice to silly people like me, who mistake hairballs for poo!

Kim

[RedHedd]

It's funny; some cats love the PetroMalt type stuff and some hate it. Mishi laps it up, Mitzi won't touch it and my RB Goldie wouldn't touch it. Mitzi is having horrible hairballs right now and I'm having quite a time getting her to take her medicine. Poor furry girl!

[kahrpr]

RedHedd,
What I had to do to make my Boo eat it was hold her in my arms and rub about a tsp of the malt stuff on her front paw. Don't just put a gob on there because when she tries to run away, she'll flick it off. I found if I kinda rubbed it in the fur, she had to lick it off before she would walk/move around. I also thought about giving her a little wet food with the stuff hidden in the middle or mixed in. Maybe that would be less "traumatic." Anyways, she hasn't had any hairballs all week! Yay!

Kim

[Jods]

If you find that it is not a hairball... I don't know this for sure about animals but I know ppl can vomit feces it means there is a blockage in the digestive system and usually results in having the pice of the intestine removed that is blocked... Is your cat going to the bathrom okay.. I mean Number 2?? If he/she is then it is probably just a hairball...

edit: nevermind I didn't read the last few that said she was fine now...sorry
glad to hear though

[felinefanatic]

Yes,I agree with everyone it is probably just a hair ball. My cat Cecil gets them too, I just give him some Petromalt twice a week,he loves it.

I would like to say though, that while hair ball pet foods do work I would make sure and get a top quality one if you must use it, because many of them also delete the cat of essetial vitamins and minerals along with the hair balls!! Also to much of the petromalt types of hair ball medication causes diarrea!! So I prefer to skip the special foods and just use a product like Petromalt sparingly.;) ;) ;)

[felinefanatic]

Yes,I agree with everyone it is probably just a hair ball. My cat Cecil gets them too, I just give him some Petromalt twice a week,he loves it.

I would like to say though, that while hair ball pet foods do work I would make sure and get a top quality one if you must use it, because many of them also delete the cat of essetial vitamins and minerals along with the hair balls!! Also to much of the petromalt types of hair ball medication causes diarrea!! So I prefer to skip the special foods and just use a product like Petromalt sparingly.;) ;) ;)

[Julietzki]

My cat also vomited brownish thing at first watery then next somehow like her feces. Let me see if it's just plain hairball, but she eats fast and a lot.

[Deadea]

Phew!

I just found vomit that looked exaclty like feces and smelled a little like it.
I was so freaked out, but a vet on justanswer told me it is only a hairball, and then I read all the comments here.

I was sure it was a hairball anyway, since I took a closer look *ughhh* and it was moslty only hair. But I read in many places that whenever a cats vomit looks like poop, it is most likely a hairball obstruction.

I dont think that is the case since I found stool in the litter box, too. And he is acting just fine. I just hope that will not happen again. Scared me to death!

[Freedom]

What food do you feed?

A few years back, I switched my cats to a high quality food and 2 years later I went to a grain free one. I've used Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (2 years) and Taste of the Wild (3 years) and NONE of my cats has hairballs any longer.

Hairballs are not "normal" for cats. In the wild, their diet takes care of this. So finding a good food is the best way to solve the problem.

And yes, 15 years ago w/ my first cat ever, I was sure I was looking at poo as well. :eek:

Here is a good site to start learning about cat foods, what to look for when reading labels, etc.
http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

Just click on a brand and see what the review says == what's good about this food, etc.