My cat ate a toothpick, vomited it, and acts normal. Is it okay?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I suspect Pumpkin's appetite was decreased because the toothpick was passing through the intestines and was causing abdominal discomfort. You should continue to monitor Pumpkin at home for the next 24-48hrs. If he starts to vomit, becomes lethargic, anorexic or if he starts to struggle to pass stools, you should take him to your local vets right away as these symptoms would suggest gastrointestinal obstruction.

I would worry about the blood in Spot's vomit. Toothpicks are sharp and you worry about one of them punching a hole in the stomach. I would recommend to take her into the veterinarian asap. They will prescribe medications to coat her stomach. I would also advise to feed her bread for the next 2 days as the bulk may help to cover any tooth picks and hopefully prevent further damage. If she continues to vomit blood, she may need a surgery or endoscopic exam to exam her stomach. I hope Spot is ok!

Yes, this would not be uncommon but I would continue to monitor for any additional vomiting and for normal bowel motions for the next few days as a precaution in case not all was vomited up. Objects can stay in the stomach for months and do not always cause clinical signs (these are mostly related to actual obstruction of the GI tract so many small objects do not cause significant pain or vomiting if food can move around them)

Oh no it's not good that Kitty ate that vomit! At most, I would expect that eating this vomit could cause some GI upset, causing her to vomit and/or have diarrhea. It's good that it doesn't look like she has eaten the plastic bag, and if she ate the bag, I would be concerned that the bag could cause a foreign body obstruction. Keep an eye on her for now, and if you see any vomiting or diarrhea, I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps her. I recommend withholding food for 12-24 hours, then feeding a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, she vomits the bland diet, the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, she stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I'm glad to hear that she vomited the towel up! My concern is that there is other towel material or other foreign material that she ingested in the trash can. I'm glad that she seems to be eating normally now, but if she vomits or refuses her food at any point, take her to the vet. They will be able to perform an exam and abdominal x-rays to try to rule out the presence of more foreign material causing an obstruction in her stomach and/or intestines.

Time will tell with this one. Since she's eating, drinking, and not lethargic, you certainly don't need to seek emergency care tonight. If tomorrow she still seems out of sorts, or continues to vomit, I would recommend scheduling a vet appointment for exam and x-rays of her abdomen. Good luck and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Yes, Bits should be ok if she vomited everything up. I would just keep a close eye on her today to be safe. If she keeps vomiting, stops eating, vomits her food, stops drinking water, vomits water, or becomes very lethargic, she is not ok and she will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!