Does Your Cat Regurgitate?

Does your cat regurgitate? In order to answer this question, you would have to know what regurgitation is. It is not vomiting, as some might believe. Regurgitation is what happens when undigested food, mucus or fluid moves from the cat's esophagus effortlessly or flows backward from the cat's esophagus. Regurgitation is not accompanied nor caused by nausea and there is no abdominal contractions forcing the undigested food, mucus or fluid to move from the cat's esophagus. So, if you can now answer yes, your cat regurgitates, then your cat has a more serious medical condition because regurgitation is a symptom of a more serious medical condition.

What causes a cat to regurgitate? Esophageal disease will cause a cat to regurgitate. There are two categories of Esophageal disease that can cause regurgitation in cats. These are esophageal structural disorders and esophageal motility disorders. Esophageal structural disorders are those that include vascular ring anomaly, stricture and foreign bodies, while esophageal motility disorders are those that include the mega esophagus.

When the cat regurgitates can often be a clue as to what is causing the symptom to appear. If the cat regurgitates right after it has eaten, then it may have an esophageal obstruction or an esophageal structural disorder. If the cat is regurgitating and it has not just finished eating, then the regurgitation is being caused by the esophagus being dilated and creating a reservoir for fluid and for food. If the cat regurgitates fluid and no solid then it has a partial obstruction.

As mentioned earlier, regurgitation is not the same a vomiting. If the cat vomits, it will have abdominal contractions that the cat owner should be able to see. There are no abdominal contractions when a cat regurgitates. This is another reason it is a good idea to get to know your cat and what is normal for it. If not, then the cat may be too wild for you to notice if its abdomen is contraction or not. If you believe your cat is regurgitating instead of vomiting, then it is best to bring it to the vet clinic and let the vet diagnose it. After diagnosing it, the vet can then begin treating it so that it won't regurgitate again. Never be ashamed or afraid to take a cat to the vet or to at least call a vet and see if the situation warrants a trip to the vet. It is not a good idea to play with your cat's health, just like you wouldn't play with your own health.