Cats rarely suffer constipation, but vomiting is another story. While you may want to visit your veterinarian to ensure the problem is not serious, it is helpful to know the causes, symptoms and home remedies for these conditions.
-
Causes of Constipation
-
Many cats do not get enough fluids, especially if they eat dry cat food. This, as well as hairballs, medication reactions or pelvis trauma can lead to constipation.
Symptoms of Constipation
-
Along with vomiting hairballs, the following are symptoms of constipation: the absence of stool in the litter box, hard rock-like balls of stool, black or bloody stool, straining to have bowel movements, crying out while defecating and squatting in the litter box for prolonged periods.
Constipation Remedies
-
A cat owner can try several treatment options at home. Add one tablespoon of canned pumpkin or Grape-Nuts Flakes to your pet's dry food. Feed your cat 1/8 cup of milk twice daily until the condition clears. Leave bowls of water around the house. Mix in two teaspoons of Metamucil with canned cat food twice a day. Switch entirely to wet cat food.
Causes of Vomiting
-
Cats can experience vomiting for any number of reasons. It is a natural reflex for a cat. Vomiting may be caused by anything from minor tummy troubles to coughing up hairballs. Additional causes are eating too quickly or eating grass.
Home Care for Vomiting
-
If vomiting is not serious, you can make your cat comfortable in several ways. Allow for a short period of fasting while your cat's stomach calms down. After a 24-hour fast, start a bland diet. Let her lick ice. Keep the toilet lid down, so she will not use it as a drinking bowl.
Vomiting and Vet Visits
-
Persistent vomiting needs a veterinarian's attention. Look for these conditions in your cat's vomit: blood, a foreign object, worms and feces. Also be aware of projectile vomiting, vomiting more than once a week and increasingly frequent vomiting.
-