Identifying Cat Nausea Symptoms and Causes

Many times, before a cat vomits, it's unclear whether there's an underlying issue. The most common symptoms of nausea in cats include a lack of appetite, excessive licking, overgrooming, excessive vocalization (such as meowing), restlessness, and drooling. Nausea can make a cat feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Some cats may pace around while meowing, while others might lie in the same spot, drooling.

Cat Nausea: A Comprehensive Review

Nausea is a nonspecific symptom, meaning it can have many different causes. These can include stomach discomfort, dietary changes, indigestion, eating too quickly or too much, consuming spoiled food, tasting unpleasant substances while grooming (such as cleaning chemicals or local flea preventatives), motion sickness, and certain medications.

Many diseases or conditions can also cause nausea in cats, particularly those affecting the gastrointestinal system (stomach and/or intestines). Nausea can also be secondary to diseases from various systems, such as cancer, kidney failure, diabetes, or various infectious diseases. This makes diagnosing the cause of nausea a challenge.

Occasionally, your cat may vomit after a period of nausea. Vomiting can be a sign of a minor issue, or it may indicate something more serious.

Isolated episodes of nausea, with or without vomiting, are usually normal and not a major concern. The severity or combination of other symptoms will determine the specific diagnostic tests recommended by your veterinarian. Important considerations include the duration and frequency of nausea. If your cat vomits once, then resumes a normal diet without further vomiting, has regular bowel movements, and is playful, the issue may resolve on its own. However, if your cat experiences nausea and vomiting after eating, appears drowsy, or loses interest in food, medical attention is needed.

What to Watch for with Cat Nausea:

The symptoms of cat nausea typically include:

Drooling

Excessive licking

Overgrooming

Loss of appetite

Nausea may also be associated with:

Vomiting

Abdominal bloating

Dehydration from persistent vomiting

Abnormal behavior or physical changes related to prolonged vomiting, including lethargy (unwillingness to move), abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, blood in vomit, or other unexpected physical changes

Diagnosis of Cat Nausea

The best treatment for any serious or ongoing medical condition depends on establishing the correct diagnosis. There are many potential causes of nausea and vomiting, and it's crucial to identify the underlying cause before recommending any treatment to address it.

Diagnostic measures and tests may include:

A review of your cat's complete medical history and physical examination, including abdominal palpation. The medical history assessment may include information about vaccination history, diet, appetite, overall health, the presence and characteristics of vomiting (frequency, progression, presence of blood, duration), weight loss, past medical issues, medication history, and other gastrointestinal symptoms (such as vomiting and diarrhea).

Your veterinarian may recommend various laboratory tests, including a complete blood count (CBC), serum biochemical tests, and urinalysis.

Fecal examination (to determine the presence of parasites or blood).

Plain Xrays or contrast Xrays (performed after feeding the cat barium or iodine contrast solutions), which can help determine the cause of vomiting.

Ultrasound imaging is an imaging technique that uses the reflection of inaudible sound waves (echoes) to determine the size and shape of abdominal organs, making abdominal structures visible. It can also detect changes in organ consistency or texture.

Endoscopy is useful for diagnosing or removing foreign objects from the stomach and can also be used to examine the stomach and part of the intestines, possibly obtaining biopsies of areas of concern noted during the examination.

Treatment for Cat Nausea

Common treatments for cat nausea can include one or more of the following:

The primary strategy is to eliminate the triggering factors (such as changing the diet), avoiding overeating, eating too quickly, and ingesting chemicals like flea preventatives. Patients who eat too quickly or too much can be treated by feeding small portions at a time, and sometimes using feeders designed to slow down eating.

In the case of acute nausea episodes, with or without vomiting, in playful cats without other physical abnormalities, symptomatic treatment can be performed on an outpatient basis without hospitalization. This treatment may include subcutaneous fluids and injectable medications (antiemetics) to control nausea and vomiting.

Cats with symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, or any other unusual symptoms or behaviors may require hospitalization. This treatment can include intravenous fluids, 24hour monitoring, and medication. It is often combined with diagnostic tests to determine the cause of vomiting.

Ill cats may need to be referred to an emergency or 24hour hospital for roundtheclock care.