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My old cat keeps throwing up. Does she need to see a vet now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 7 lbs

Our 15-year old cat has been vomiting a lot. Sometimes she'll go several days without vomiting and then vomit once a day a few days in a row. She is on gluten free cat food and we recently switched her to soft food as she seemed to have trouble chewing the hard food and would vomit up whole pieces. How can we know if she needs medical attention or be sure she is eating enough?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 11th, 2017

Monet definitely needs to see a vet as soon as possible. It's not normal for a cat to vomit, and in a 15 year old cat, this can be caused by kidney failure, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or cancer among other causes. I recommend having a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis to diagnose what is causing her vomiting. Once a cause is found, the vet can discuss treatment options with you.

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    Answered By Laura Johnson VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 11th, 2018

    Hi, thanks for using PetCoahch! Poor Precious! She is so cute! Since she is an older cat with increased vomiting I do worry more about old age or metabolic changes. She could be in kidney failure, have an over active thyroid (hyperthyroidism), or intestinal cancer. That can only be diagnosed on blood work. Since you can't take her tot he vet I would try a different food in case she has a food allergy or inflammatory bowel disease. I would try a limited ingredient non-chicken diet. The diet should be exclusive and tried for at least 2 months. Sometimes changing from dry to canned or vice versa can decrease the amount of vomiting. I wish you and Precious the very best!

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 10th, 2019

    I recommend to call your veterinarian and ask about a diet recommendation. Also make sure that the thyroid levels have been checked. Cats can have inflammatory bowel disease. They can also have dietary intolerance which is different than IBS. Your veterinarian may feel that one is more likely than the other and so may recommend a specific diet to try. If the thyroid has not been checked, get that done as well. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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    Answered By Eryn Taormina, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 17th, 2019

    Hi there! I'm sorry to hear about Princess' troubles. Chronic vomiting in cats can mean a lot of things. They can have an overactive thyroid, issues with the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and/or kidneys. Cats can even develop inflammatory bowel disease, or even cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, that can cause these signs (not to concern you, just to inform). If a cat comes in to see me for what you are describing, I will evaluate senior lab work, which evaluates both blood and urine samples, to check all of the organs I mentioned above, as well as some other aspects of your cat's health. I will also start by taking some Xrays of the patient, to check for any abnormalities. Sometimes Xrays can show abnormal shapes or sizes of the organs, or parts of them, that may indicate a problem. In some cases, I will even recommend an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, to get a more in depth look at the organs within. I think since you have already tried changing the diet, that I would most likely recommend bringing Princess in to see her veterinarian. They can go ahead and run some tests, and try to see what is going on with Princess. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!

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