Is it Normal for a Cat to Regurgitate Their Food?

Anyone who owns a cat or knows someone who does, has likely seen or heard of the infamous regurgitation. This is the rather disgusting habit of cats, and sometimes dogs, of eating their food and then promptly vomiting it back up. Technically, it's not vomit, though, but regurgitation. Regurgitation is when the food doesn't actually make it into the stomach and is brought back up right away.

Sometimes cats will regurgitate their food because they gulp it down too quickly. And perhaps even more disgusting, they'll usually start eating it again. This isn't as bad as it sounds because the food hasn't gone into the stomach where the digestive acids are. But, it's still pretty nasty to watch. This type of regurgitation is normal. Almost all cats will regurgitate, but if it's more than a couple times a month, there might be a problem.

If the cat has been regurgitating their food frequently, losing weight and their coat is dull, then it likely signifies that they're not getting sufficient nutrition due to the vomiting or regurgitating. There's a condition called megaesophagus that has these symptoms. It's when the esophagus, the hose-like tube that goes from the mouth to the stomach, has nerve damage and doesn't force the food down to the stomach. The food basically just gathers in the esophagus and doesn't move any further. This causes the regurgitation response to push the food from the system.

Because megaesophagus doesn't allow the food to get to the stomach and therefore get digested, it can be dangerous for the animal. If megaesophagus is suspected, the cat should be taken to the vet right away for tests. If the diagnosis if made, then the vet might prescribe various medications to help the esophagus pass the food into the stomach. A vet might also suggest that the owner feed the pet by placing the food on a platform that forces the cat, or dog, to stand up on its hind legs to reach the food bowl. This helps the food to slide down into the stomach. Another somewhat extreme procedure is to feed the pet a high nutrition liquid diet since dry food is the main culprit that causes the regurgitation.

Unfortunately, if you have a pet that regurgitates frequently, but doesn't have megaesophagus, like I do, you will just have to feed the pet small portions more often. I have to make sure not to give my cat a big meal or he will certainly regurgitate it right back up. So, I give him a spoonful of wet food, wait a while and then give him some dry kibble. It's been working so far, although not perfectly. It's also strange that if he regurgitates and I don't get there fast enough, he'll eat the regurgitated food and for some reason, it stays down the second time. I'm not sure why, but perhaps his esophagus relaxes after he regurgitates the first time. Luckily, he's pretty healthy at this point, but I still have to monitor his weight and health.