My cat dry heaves often, but only vomits food occasionally. Why?

While a hairball could cause vomiting I wouldn't expect diarrhea or coughing. A true cough can be a sign of asthma or a respiratory infection. If he can't rest at night and his appetite is affected I'd recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian. They may recommend an x-ray of his chest and abdomen.

Hello. If Pepper has been doing this for a while, it is time to let your veterinarian evaluate her. I wonder if she is actually coughing ( which can sound like gagging in cats ), & if she may have some degree of asthma or bronchitis. There really is not much you can do at home that is safe. I hope you can have her seen soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Pumpkin. She may be nauseous. Feed her 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 dry heaving continues on the bland diet, she starts vomiting, has a loss of appetite, or becomes lethargic, have her seen by a vet.

Hi, thanks for your question. It's unusual to see vomiting and coughing at the same time, although it's possible. Typically, though, the cat is just retching and nothing is coming up. It's likely, especially if your cat is bringing up stomach contents from time to time, that this is solely a GI problem. Vomiting can have a number of causes. Depending on how old your cat is, whether it goes outside, etc, one possibility might be more likely than another. Here are some possibilities: parasites, food intolerance/dietary indiscretion (eating something that made her sick), exposure to a toxin, a blockage either in the stomach or intestines, kidney disease, liver disease, diseases of the pancreas, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer. As you can see these are all very different diseases. Your vet can help you figure you what's going on with a good physical exam and some tests, probably blood work and x-rays to start with. Get your cat seen as soon as you can.

When nothing seems to be coming out, it's usually asthma, which is quite common in cat. you will have to bring him to your vet to have it confirmed, treatment will probably be needed in the form of steroids tablets.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Mittens has been vomiting and is now coughing. Cats can vomit for a number of reasons, including trying to vomit a hairball, eating something they shouldn't have, gastrointestinal obstruction, infection, inflammation, or even cancer. From the information you provided, my concern is that Mittens may have aspirated (taken fluid into the lungs) during one of these vomiting episodes, and is now coughing as a result. Aspiration pneumonia can be a scary thing in cats, and especially if Mittens is not acting himself or wanting to eat, I would recommend bringing him to your veterinarian to be examined. If your veterinarian determines that he has abnormal lung sounds, he/she may recommend blood work and chest x-rays to look for evidence of pneumonia. If present, they will likely start Mittens on some antibiotics. There are other possibilities for Mitten's cough including bronchitis or an upper airway infection, which should also be managed by a veterinarian. I hope this is helpful!

He could have a number of different things going on, one being either inflammatory bowel disease or a kidney problem. These are common causes of nausea and decreased appetite in an adult cats. Other possible causes are hairball, liver disease and pancreatitis. I would suggest getting him eeen by your vet and some bloodwork analysis done to help find out the underlying problem so that we know how best to treat Marco and get him well. Best wishes at the vet. Take care.