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Senior cat throwing up all night after new food. Is it serious?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 12 years and 2 months old | 8 lbs

My 12 year old senior cat has been throwing up all night. First at around 12 am she threw up this (picture included) and then a few hours after she woke me up crying and throwing up just clear foamy white stuff. Which from what quick research I’ve done, it seems like stomach bile. I say she’s thrown up 10 times tonight (small piles) she has never done this before and was fine this evening. I had fed her 2 new wet foods yesterday, could this be it? it’s now 7 am and she just did it again.

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 22nd, 2020

It could be from the change in diet. Sudden changes in diet cause stomach upset. I'm concerned with how much Misty has been throwing up. I think it's best you take her into a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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I was just wondering since Miss Kitty will turn 12 yrs old on 24th of this month, what would make her throw up her dry Meow Mix I've had her on since she was a kitten ? Hoping it's her just over eatting.
It can be due to an illness. In cats that are Miss Kittys's age, vomiting could be due to something like kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or even cancer. I would have her seen by a vet in the morning. Best of luck.
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For 3-4 weeks my cat has been throwing up twice a day. At first I thought it was switching her food back to the old food. But her stomach should have acclimated by now I would think. Then I got new curtains and I know sometimes cats don't like change
I'm so sorry Lilly was sick, and you did the absolutely right thing by taking her into the vet. It could have been the change in food, cats can be pretty sensitive to changes in food, and it may have taken her a while to get used to the new food. I don't think it was the change in curtains. Keep an eye on her, and if she starts vomiting again, I'd have her seen by the vet. I hope this helps!
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Concerned about my older cat (9) who eats and then vomits and then goes back to eating this happens in a pattern pretty frequently should I be worried?
Yes, I would be worried about Lily because vomiting isn't normal. In a senior cat, this vomiting could be caused by kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, a GI illness, or eating something rotten. She should see a vet tomorrow for this problem, and I recommend getting a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done on her. Based on the results of these tests, the vet can discuss treatment options. Best of luck, I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I have a cat around 12 years old, she started to vomit very often in the recent time. Usually the vomiting happens after eating food. I did try buying different kinds of food, the food for eldery cats but nothing seems to help. The cat stopped exitin
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I have a 2 year old cat and she has been throwing up her food and has been making sounds like she is going to throw up but nothing come out. I noticed she been doing this since she got spayed last march. I wasn't too worried at the beginning because
Hi there! Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Vomiting is sometimes seen with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, dietary indiscretion, pancreatitis and chronic kidney disease, among many other conditions. Given Mew's young age and the fact that she is otherwise doing fine, dietary indiscretion appears more likely. It may be something as easy as just changing her diet to something that she can tolerate better. However, an examination by a veterinarian as well as minimal diagnostic data would be needed to rule out more concerning things. You can start by changing her diet to a sensitive stomach type diet. If no improvement, have her examined by a veterinarian to start therapy if needed based on findings. Good luck!
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Older cat throwing up kibble after eating. They come out whole, she is eating vension natural balance lid and I give her small portions?
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Wondering if I should be worried about my cat vomiting? She’s done it five times in the past hour and at this point there’s no food left in it. She’s ten years old and has been eating well up until a day or two ago where she would eat maybe half of w
I would be worried about Princess as vomiting five time in under an hour is a lot of vomiting. It's also concerning that her appetite has gone down in the past couple of days as well. In a senior cat, this could be caused by a GI illness, a foreign body, pancreatitis, or something more serious such as kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes, or even cancer. Given the amount of times she has vomited in such a short period of time, I would have her seen by a vet now. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Best of luck!
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Our cat is vomiting and having diarrhea every few hours and sleeping in between. It started early this morning after she got a can of food she doesn't normally eat. Could it be related to that? It always upsets her stomach a little bit never this bad
Changing food can cause gastritis/enteritis so it could be from the can of food. You could withhold food for 12 hours and if the vomiting and diarrhea stops then try a bland diet. You could buy a commercial gastrointestinal diet or try a little bit of boiled chicken and see how she does. If the vomiting and diarrhea continues or she becomes lethargic then she should be examined by a vet for treatment. She may need fluids, anti-vomiting, antibiotic, and a gastrointestinal protectant. Hope she feels better soon!
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Hi, I have a cat that pukes about 20 to 30 minutes after eating food. She also gets sick after she wakes up and after walk, jumping around. I was wondering if she is going to be ok and what might be causing it
This is not normal, however it is not possible to diagnose a particular problem with just this sign Vomiting generally is caused by either over-filling the stomach with dry food ( cat fills the stomach too quickly with too much dry food, it then expands and presses on pressure receptors which protect the stomach from bursting by making the cat regurgitate, I think this could be what happened when she regurgitates her food 20 minutes after eating). It also may be a reaction where possibly too much gastric acid was produced. Gastrointestinal problems are also possible. This could be a hairball lodged somewhere in the intestine or stomach, or a food indiscretion. Older kitties also often suffer from an overactive thyroid which can cause vomiting like this (voracious hunger, then eating too much too fast), and/or kidney disease, which causes vomiting due to nausea and the kidneys not filtering toxins effectively. Both of these disease complexes can be ruled out with blood tests.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Hi, i have two cats abour 10 and 11 years old. Spayed neutered. No change in diet. One of them has been throwing up what looks like bile and food. See attached picture. Not sure which since we are at work when it happens. They are indoor cats. Any i
Poor kitties! It could be one of them has a GI illness or this vomiting could be related to a medical disease such as kidney failure, diabetes, or hyperthyroidism. I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps. I recommend withholding food for 12 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in their normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, they vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, they will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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