Page 638 - Problem-Based Feline Medicine

30. The cat with signs of acute vomiting

Debra L Zoran

KEY SIGNS
● Active elimination of stomach contents through the mouth.
● ± Preceded by nausea, pacing, and salivation.
● Usually digested food or liquid with acidic or neutral pH.
● ± 1 week’s duration.

MECHANISM?
● Vomiting is an active process that must be distinguished from regurgitation.
● Vomiting in cats is associated with abdominal muscle contraction, and signs of considerable
muscular effort and anxiety prior to the event.
● Vomitus may consist of undigested food material (if swallowed whole), partly digested or even
liquid, and may be clear, yellow (bile stained) or brown (food colored).

WHERE?
● Vomiting may result from gastrointestinal disease or extra-intestinal tract diseases.
● Vomiting is rarely associated with colonic disease, except when toxins associated with fecal
retention affect the vomiting center and chemoreceptor trigger zone.
WHAT?
● The most common causes of acute vomiting are:
● Mechanical obstructions (including foreign bodies).
● Extra-intestinal tract diseases such as hepatitis.
● Renal failure or pancreatitis, dietary (indiscretion).
● Inflammatory diseases (e.g. IBD).

QUICK REFERENCE SUMMARY
Diseases causing signs of acute vomiting
DEGENERATIVE

● Dysautonomia (p 661)
Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system resulting in dilated pupils, dry mucous membranes,
regurgitation, vomiting, constipation, bradycardia and dysuria.

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