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Why is my cat smacking lips and repeatedly vomiting after eating?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 2 years and 6 months old | 12 lbs

I recently came home from being gone all day and one of my cats kept smacking his lips together. I couldn’t see anything in his mouth. I fed him shortly after that. About 10 minuets later he got sick. He threw up all of the food he had just ate. He went and laid down for a bit, then went back for more food. 5 minuets later he got sick again. Now he’s laying down again. What could be wrong?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 3rd, 2017

It's not possible to say exactly what is causing this, but what you are describing is typical for a cat that is nauseous. One possibility is that he ate something he was not supposed to like medication, a chemical (i.e. antifreeze), or a plant (i.e. lilies). Vomiting is often the first signs of an exposure to a toxin, so I recommend checking if it's possible for him to have eaten anything other than his normal diet.

Vomiting and nausea can also be due to an infectious disease, organ failure, or imbalance in the blood. In order to narrow down the possibilities, you would have to take Tobias to the vet for an evaluation.

This doesn't appear to be an emergency, but if Tobias is acting very depressed and is vomiting continuously, then it would be best to take him to the vet sooner rather than later. If he is otherwise acting normal, then it's important to not give him any food for the next eight hours, but make sure he has plenty of clean water available. If he's not vomiting in eight hours, then only feed him a small amount of food (about 1Tbsp.). If he keeps that down, then you can feed a little more in two hours. If the vomiting is continuing tomorrow, then it's best to take him to the vet for an evaluation.

I hope that helps and Tobias gets better soon.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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