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Why is my 8-year-old cat still vomiting after eating dry food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 7 years and 4 months old | 8 lbs

My 8 year old cat started vomitting after eating 6 months ago. I only feed her dry food. She had been eating the Hills Science Diet since she was a kitten. I put food in the bowl in the morning and it would last her 2 days. So she just grazed with the food and ate whenever. She’s not overweight-has always been small at 7-8 pounds. Things ive tried: decreasing amt of food, feed smaller amts 3 times a day, changing the food, using a time feeder, moistening the food and its still happening.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Kristin DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 5th, 2018

There are many potential reasons for decreased appetite and vomiting including kidney disease, diabetes, IBD, pancreatitis, and others. The first step is a visit to your veterinarian to check bloodwork to rule out some of these conditions. To encourage her to eat you can try canned food, or adding warmed baby food to her kibble. Just make sure to avoid baby food with onions or garlic in the ingredients. This doesn't solve the underlying problem, but it may encourage her to take in more calories.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 21st, 2018

    Unfortunately dry food is not the healthiest of food you can feed, especially when a cat is a fast or voracious eater. try taking two or three pieces of kibble and add water and see how they expand. This is what happens in the stomach. If the cat eats just a few more kibbles than the stomach can handle when they expand, the pressure receptors will make the cat regurgitate her food in order to prevent the stomach from getting hurt. This is likely the reason why Mittens is vomiting it back up after eating. I suggest you transition him to wet food or feed him small amounts of dry food several times a day rather than a larger amount all at once or ad lib.

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    Answered By Sarah Derksen, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 30th, 2019

    Hi. Well, this definitely isn't normal. It could be some sort of food sensitivity, a metabolic or endocrine issue, a foreign object, and many other possible GI diseases. I would recommend an exam, x-rays, basic labs, a prescription bland food from your veterinarian long term, and if all is normal and signs continue, an abdominal ultrasound would be the next step. Good luck

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    Answered By Summer Walker, DVM, MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 20th, 2017

    If your cat is otherwise acting normal, the vomiting could be due to a food sensitivity. In these cases I will recommend either a sensitive stomach diet or a novel protein diet (i.e. a food protein that she has not been previously exposed to). Vomiting in otherwise normal cats can also be due to eating too fast, and this can be remedied by purchasing a food bowl designed to make them consume their dry food slower. If your cat is not acting normal (lethargic, diarrhea, losing weight), then the potential causes become more extensive. To begin treating these, diagnostics would need to be performed by your veterinarian. I typically begin with blood work (complete blood count, serum chemistry, +/- thyroid panel, +/- gastrointestinal panel), fecal float (to check for internal parasites), and radiographs (to check for foreign bodies, obstructions) of both the chest and abdomen. In some of these patients more advanced diagnostics such as endoscopy, ultrasound, and biopsies must be performed to determine a definitive cause and best address treatment options.

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