Why Is My Cat Throwing Up Clear Liquid and What Can I Do About It?

When your cat vomits clear liquid, it can be a sign of a serious illness. The clear liquid your cat is vomiting up comes from the digestive tract. Vomiting is associated with an array of health concerns including things like hairballs, internal obstructions, pancreatitis, eating too quickly, constipation, indigestion, parasitic infections, poisoning, stress, depression, or even anxiety. Consider other symptoms your cat is exhibiting to determine the cause of the vomiting. A veterinarian should see any cat who is repeatedly vomiting clear liquid and showing other symptoms of distress or illness.

Possible Causes for Your Cat Throwing Up Clear Liquid

Hairballs

Cats are naturally meticulously clean animals and groom themselves for a large part of their days. As your cat grooms themselves, tiny hook-like structures on their tongue catch loose and dead hair, which is then swallowed. The majority of the hair passes all the way through the digestive tract with no problems, but sometimes the hair stays in the stomach and forms a hairball.

Commonly, cats will vomit up clear liquid prior to a hairball. Although, a cat vomiting up clear liquid with a hairball occasionally can be normal and not a concern, it is important to note that hairballs should not be frequent, painful, or difficult for your cat to pass. Some commercial cat diets and treats are formulated to help prevent the formation of hairballs. Adopting a regular brushing schedule and getting your cat comfortable with brushing can also help get rid of any loose fur in your cat's coat that they may otherwise ingest when grooming themselves.

Food and Dietary Changes

When there is a change in your cat's feeding schedule, if your cat misses a meal or eats later than normal, your cat may vomit up clear liquid.

In addition, you may have switched your cat’s food too quickly. When changing your cat to a new diet, do it gradually over a one- to two-week period, decreasing the amount of current cat food while increasing the amount of new cat food.

Your cat may eat too quickly, and this can cause clear vomit or clear vomit with food present. If your cat is a habitual "scarf and barf" cat or if they have intestinal sensitivities, that may be causing them to vomit up partially digested or undigested food. If your vet has ruled out other medical issues and thinks your cat is vomiting up food, they may want your cat to try a commercial, sensitive-systems food. If your cat is still struggling with vomiting food on this special diet, they may then want to put your cat on a strict, hydrolyzed protein diet.

Your vet may also suggest food puzzles for your cat. Food puzzles are a great source of both play and enrichment. There are more and more manufactured food puzzles available on the market that stimulate cats' predatory and foraging instincts. The added benefit of food puzzles for a cat that chronically vomits its food, though, is that it slows down chow time so a cat cannot eat too quickly and then get sick.

Indigestion 

Just like in people, a cat's stomach produces various gastric juices as well as hydrochloric acid to digest their food. If, however, cats skip a meal or aren't fed on time, that buildup of juice and acid can irritate the stomach and cause your cat to vomit. Because of indigestion, cats may be throwing up clear liquid with white foam or yellow foam. If your vet suspect your cat's vomiting is from indigestion and has ruled out other more serious causes, they may suggest feeding small, frequent meals at the same time throughout the day so as to alleviate any buildup of stomach acid.

Gastritis 

If your cats get into things they shouldn't, it is possible they have irritated their stomach with something that they have eaten. When this happens, you may see clear vomit in addition to cats throwing up clear, red liquid (blood) and/or bile, which may show as a cat throwing up clear, green liquid. Your cat may also be exhibiting a decrease in appetite, a depressed attitude, lethargy, or dehydration. Your vet will know just what to do if your cat is vomiting because of gastritis.

Other Possible Causes

• Parasites
• Constipation
• An obstruction of foreign material in the intestinal tract
• Ingesting a toxin
• Metabolic disorders such as diabetes, kidney disease, and hyperthyroidism 
• Cancer

What Should I Do If My Cat Is Throwing Up Clear Liquid?

Some cat owners may describe their cat as "puke-y," but frequent vomiting is never normal for a cat. Vomiting more than once a week is definitely a sign of a problem. If your cat is vomiting clear liquid several times and in conjunction with other symptoms such as lack of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, or diarrhea, you should make an appointment with your vet right away.

Your vet will start with a physical exam, checking your cat's vital signs and palpating your cat's abdomen. After a thorough examination, your vet may also run some tests, including blood work and X-rays. Blood work will check your cat's organ function, making sure there are no signs of liver or kidney disease, as well as your cat's red blood cell and platelet levels. An X-ray study will check for any fluid in the abdomen that could potentially be blood. It may also show intestinal gas patterns that could be indicative of a blockage.

Depending on what your veterinarian finds, your cat may require hospitalization for fluid therapy and supportive care, or they may just need outpatient treatments and oral medications to take home. If your vet suspects an intestinal blockage your cat may require surgery to remove it.