My cat vomited brown hairballs twice in 48 hours. What's wrong?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is possible that this is a hairball issue, so placing Beans on a hairball supplement or changing the diet to a hairball formulation may help. If this continues to happen, then I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound to see if there is any indication of what may be causing the nausea / vomiting.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Alonzo. It could be irritating from the hair ball or it could be due to a stomach illness. I can give you a home remedy for him see if that helps. I recommend withholding food for tonight, then feed 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 his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he refuses to eat the bland diet, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the images. It doesn't appear to be blood. Blood in vomitus is usually much darker. That appears to be a mix of chewed or partially digested food, bile and hair. Monitor for continued vomiting, lethargy or loss of appetite. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian. Consider a short fast, maybe 12 hours, then offer a bland diet in small, frequent amounts for a day or two. Transition slowly to the regular diet afterwards. If Luna will allow, increase brushing or grooming to decrease the amount of hair ingested. You can also use Laxatone or PetroMalt paste to help her pass hairballs.Find either in the local Petco.

Brushing Meezer daily to remove excess hair will help reduce the hair balls and therefore the vomiting. You can also give cat laxative twice weekly to reduce the hair balls. Feeding several small meals will help too as cats who eat large amounts quickly tend to vomit more frequently. In general healthy cats tend to vomit off an on regardless. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Meezer.

I can't tell from the photos but hair balls will have a lot of hair in them. If these are hairballs, you may try changing Mochi's diet to a food formulated to control hairballs. I think Royal Canin makes a very good product. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Vomiting in cats can be caused by hair balls, intestinal parasites, toxin ingestion, or even foreign body obstructions of the intestines. These signs can be unrelated to the hair loss, which may be caused by certain infections and hormonal or behavioral abnormalities. I recommend having Zimba seen by a vet if he continues to vomit or develops diarrhea or has a loss of appetite/energy. His area of hair loss should also be evaluated, as it may be caused by a fungal infection that can even be transmitted to humans. I hope this helps and that all is well with Zimba!

Many cats routinely vomit from eating too fast, hairballs, or for no specific reason. Since Mikie is long haired he may have hairballs causing him to vomit. Often the hairballs are forming in the stomach and are not always vomited up, even though they are present. I recommend daily brushing to remove the dead fur, and giving cat laxative, about an inch once a week for prevention. There is also specific food for hairball prevention. If he’s healthy this is annoying and messy but usually nothing to be overly concerned about. If he should start to lose weight or appear sick then please bring him in right away for and exam and treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Mikie.