Why Your Cats Regurgitating, and 5 Ways to Help

Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon occurrence. Cats regurgitate for plenty of reasons, and usually, there’s nothing to worry about.

Follow a few easy steps to help your cat with its regurgitation, but if symptoms persist, you might need to book a visit with your vet.

How to tell if your cat is regurgitating and not vomiting

Cats might regurgitate when they haven’t managed to get their food all the way down and it’s clogging their oesophagus.

Your cat will regurgitate to clear the airway. It’s an uncontrollable action and leaves many cat owners reaching for paper towel and their spray and wipe.

To determine if your cat is regurgitating instead of vomiting, look for these symptoms:

• It will happen either just after or soon after eating

• The regurgitated scraps won’t look digested

• There will be small amounts of saliva and water with the scraps

• Your cat will lower their head to dispel the food from their airway

Regurgitating won’t show other signs of sickness that will accompany vomiting like:

• Lethargy

• Dizzyness 

• Abdominal contractions

• Yellow bile present in regurgitated scraps

If your cat is showing these symptoms, it could be the cause of a more serious issue. Make a booking online.

5 Reasons your cat might be regurgitating, and how to help:

1) Your cat might be eating too much:

Try smaller portions of food and smaller pieces in their bowl.

2) Your cat could be eating too fast:

Likely the most common cause for cats regurgitating, cats that eat too fast often choke on their food and regurgitate. 

To stop your cat from eating too fast, you can try serving their food in a bowl or plate with a larger surface area. Then, space their food across the surface so that it takes them longer to work their way across.

3) Their food could be too cold

If you feed your pet cold or refrigerated food like pet mince, it can cause regurgitation because it’s too cold.

To help, you can bring the portion to more suitable temperatures easily by putting it into a sealed container or bag and submerging it in room temperature water for a minute or two before serving.

4) Your cat’s stress might be causing regurgitation

Your cat’s habit of regurgitating could be caused by its emotions, specifically, its nerves.

This could be caused by its bowl being in a high foot traffic area because it's worried about being walked into or stepped on.

Feeding your cat with other pets can also cause it to feel vulnerable or nervous, encouraging it to eat too quickly. To help your cat, try moving its bowl to a more private area, away from other pets.

5) They can’t chew their food properly

Dry foods and kibble can get stuck in the throats of pets that don’t chew their food properly. 

Senior pets, in particular, can struggle to chew their food due to dental issues that come with age. If you think your pet isn’t chewing its food properly you should book an appointment online to check your pet’s teeth.

How often should cats regurgitate?

It’s not uncommon for cats to regurgitate, and it’s usually no cause for concern. 

But, if you’ve tried the above methods and your cat is still regurgitating after its meals more than once or twice a month, you should contact your veterinarian expert.

Your veterinarian will determine if your pet's regurgitation is being caused by other underlying issues, and provide ways to help.

Book an appointment online or by calling (07) 4630 8399.