Why is my cat dry wretching without vomiting? Is it a hairball?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Dry heaving / vomiting could indicate a hairball obstruction, dietary indiscretion, systemic disease / infection, etc. I would recommend withholding food for at least 6-8 hours and then initiate a bland diet as outlined below. If the symptoms does not resolve or it worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Tiddles so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

GENERAL INFORMATION
A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment.

PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET
Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death.

BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE
CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice
LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones
BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed.
BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through.

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding.

PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS
Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt.

PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS
Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice.

PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS
Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE.

FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS
Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm.


TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET
Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.