Any time your cat throws up can’t be a good thing. But what if it is throwing up yellow liquid?
Well, as it turns out when your cat is throwing up yellow liquid, it isn’t cause for alarm.
What Can Cause This To Happen?
There are three main reasons why your cat may be throwing up. They include:
- An empty stomach
- Something it ate is not being processed properly in its system
- There is a disease present
What Is The Yellow Liquid My Cat Keeps Throwing Up?
That’s actually an easy one to answer. The yellow liquid is bile and stomach acid.
If your cat has an empty stomach, it can react to the hunger by throwing up the contents of its stomach, even if the contents are not food. In the case of an empty stomach, the contents will be bile and acids.
If the cat happens to be vomiting repeatedly and cannot keep water down, this could mean something more serious.
It may be the result of eating or drinking something poisonous. The best thing to do is monitor your cat. If the vomiting does not stop in a day, then see your vet.
Your cat can digest a meal within an eight-hour time frame.
Typically if your cat vomits after a meal there will be some undigested food and mucus in the vomit.
If the vomit is comprised of yellow liquid, this tells you that your cat has an empty stomach.
Why Do Cats Throw Up?
Well, this is not so easy to answer as there are several reasons why a cat may vomit.
Some of them include:
- The cat ate its meal too fast
- A hairball is forming in the stomach or esophagus
- Something the cat ate does not agree with its system
- There could be a disease present
The diseases that your cat could have that may contribute to it throwing up include liver disease, cancer, heartworm, and thyroid conditions.
If you suspect any of these, have your vet run tests to properly diagnose the situation.
As for empty stomachs, the acids in stomach bile will irritate the stomach lining which leads to your cat vomiting yellow liquid.
Learn More:
How To Stop Your Cat From Having An Empty Stomach
This is not as easy as it sounds.
The yellow liquid/empty stomach vomiting problem usually happens in cats that have regular feeding times.
Here’s why that is:
A cat that eats regular meals at a set interval during the day will get conditioned to know when the next meal is.
Leading up to it, the cat’s stomach will be empty and it may throw up bile.
You can’t just feed your cat anytime to prevent this.
However, if you are feeding three main meals a day, you can change this up by feeding your cat smaller meals four or five times a day.
Free feeding is another option to explore if multiple feedings are not convenient for you.
Not all cats will respond to free feeding as some will empty their dish as long as there is food sitting in it.
Other cats will just eat what they need and keep coming back to the free-feeding food dish when hungry.
You’ll have to ‘test’ this method first to see if your cat responds well to it.
Home Remedies For Your Cat’s Upset Stomach
Another possible reason why your cat is vomiting is that it happens to have a sensitive stomach.
One remedy that comes with the recommendation of veterinarians is a strong peppermint tea.
Once cooled, administer an eyedropper full to your cat.
Mint is known to soothe stomachs – in humans as well – and as a result, reduce the likelihood of nausea developing.
Baby foods that have a meat base can also ease nausea that some cats experience with food sensitivities or allergies.
When You Should Seek The Assistance Of A Vet
There may be a point in the treatment of your cat when you may have to seek the professional care of a vet.
Before you do this, there are symptoms that you should watch for that will tip you off that the situation with your cat may be more serious.
They include:
- Your cat is lethargic
- Projectile vomiting from your cat
- If your cat has not been drinking any water
- If the vomit smells or looks like fecal matter
- Vomiting does not subside after two days
- If your cat is having problems breathing
- Your cat has diarrhea
- Your cat has a fever
- Signs of blood mixed with the yellow bile
- Your cat has stomach bloat
- Your cat has had weight loss
Final thoughts
A cat that is throwing up yellow liquid is not always serious, although you have to treat the situation as if it is before determining what is going on.
A cat can vomit yellow liquid just from having an empty stomach.
An empty stomach can get irritated by the bile and acids in it causing the vomiting reaction.
The stomach issue can be remedied in one of several ways but the first one is usually to change the feeding schedule of your cat.
Instead of providing three regular meals per day, a schedule of four or five smaller meals daily can often solve the problem and eliminate the vomiting.
However, if your cat has a sensitive stomach, you may require a different approach.
Home remedies including cooled peppermint tea can help soothe the stomach and reduce irritation.
Sometimes a change in the diet can also work.
If these options do not show signs of success, there could be a more serious problem taking place.
The bottom line is that with a proper diagnosis and treatment, your cat will stop vomiting yellow liquid and continue to enjoy a happy life.
More serious issues that can come from a vomiting cat require the assistance of a vet to remedy.
The upside is that in many cases, an empty stomach is the main cause for a cat to vomit.
Remember to have your feline friend on a regular check-up schedule with your vet to ensure all other health concerns are being treated.
No one wants to see their pet sick and since they can’t tell us what is wrong, we often end up having to guess.
At least if your cat is vomiting yellow liquid you will now have a better understanding of what could possibly be wrong and now know ways in which you can treat the situation.
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