Although more and more cat owners had started to switch their pet cats over to dry food, there seems to have been a switch in the last two to three years of cat owners offering their cats wet food instead of dry food.
This has resulted in a number of different questions being asked about wet food by cat owners to try and help their cats make the transition from dry food to wet as smoothly as possible.
One of the main questions that we have noticed being asked by cat owners who feed their pet cats wet food is based around their cat throwing up wet food even if their cat is fine eating dry food.
Although it can be a little worrying to see that your pet cat threw up wet food, there is usually nothing to worry about and more often than not, it can be just down to scarf n barf with your cat eating too much too quickly.
That said, we still wanted to publish this article going over the various reasons that some cats throw up wet food to try and help our readers better understand how they are able to stop their cat from throwing up.
Not only does this help to keep your cat healthy by ensuring that it is able to retain the nutrients in its food but it also helps to keep your house clean from cat vomit as well as put your mind at rest.
Cat Throwing Up From Wet Food But Not Dry?
Some cats will eat their wet cat food much quicker than they will eat dry cat food. This is due to wet cat food being much easier to chew and swallow so the cat runs into issues with eating so quickly it fills its stomach before realizing and continues to eat.
This results in your cat throwing up, often uncontrollably as it is the easiest way for your cat’s stomach to empty itself.
Although much rarer than your cat simply eating too much of its wet food too quickly, some cats can also throw up their wet food due to allergies.
The most common allergy that can cause your cat to throw up both wet and dry cat food is actually grains in low-quality, cheap cat foods. Due to cats being obligate carnivores, they really don’t do well with grain in their diet and it will often cause vomiting.
You can try to switch your cat over to a grain-free wet cat food that also contains high-quality protein sources with this sometimes being able to stop your cat from vomiting after eating it.
Even rarer than vomiting due to grains in their food, some cats can have allergies to fish, chicken, and beef too so you can try a number of different foods with your cat or book a quick, cheap video call with a professional veterinarian to have them offer specific advice.
Why Does My Cat Throw Up After Eating Wet Food?
Your cat can throw up after eating wet food due to eating too much food too quickly (scarf and barf) or due to allergies to items in their food.
The most common allergy is to grain in cheaper cat foods but some cats can also have allergies to chicken, fish, and beef making it difficult to find a normal cat food that they are able to eat without vomiting.
You can try to take the hydrolyzed protein food path but this can skyrocket the costs of your cat food with the food being specialist and difficult to find in local stores.
Some veterinarian surgeries will carry these specialist food types but the hydrolyzing process of the protein will always spike the costs of to as much as treble what regular wet cat food costs.
On top of that, some cats who do vomit after their wet food due to having allergies to chicken, beef or fish may still have issues with hydrolyzed protein food.
Please keep in mind that if your cat i vomiting after eating its wet food due to scarf and barf then hydrolyzed protein food will offer no benefit at all but we will cover this in our next section.
Why Do Some Cats Scarf And Barf?
Some cats scarf and bard their wet cat food due to it being soft, easy to chew, and easy to swallow. This lets some cats eat their wet food much quicker than they will eat their dry good with them often filling their stomachs quickly but continuing to at.
This then causes the cat to vomit due to their stomach being way too full for the amount of food that is in it.
The easiest way to prevent a cat from suffering from scarf and barf is to limit the amount of wet food that you offer the cat at any given time. Instead of their usual portion of food, offer them a third of the food and see if they still vomit.
If they do, reduce the food per serving even more, if they don’t vomit increase it slightly. Just remember that smaller food portions will need more meals per day to ensure that your cat is getting all of the nutrients it needs.
Some people do try to cut their cat’s wet food up into smaller chunks and offer their cat the same size wet food portions but this can actually make scarf and barf worse.
The smaller the food chunks in the meal, the quicker your cat can eat it causing its stomach to fill up even quicker.
The best course of action to prevent scarf and barf in cats when eating wet food is to limit the amount of food you offer them per meal.
Will Other Brands Of Wet Cat Food Still Make My Cat Throw Up?
If your cat vomits after eating wet cat food due to scarf and barf, most cat food brands will have the same effect as it is due to the eating speed of the wet food.
If your cat vomits after eating wet food due to allergies then other cat food brands with different protein sources may be able to help prevent your cat from throwing up.
In rare cases, you may have no other option but to switch your cat over to hydrolyzed protein food or to switch them back to a dry cat food to prevent the vomiting.
We do usually recommend that you book a short video call with a professional vet if you are looking to switch your cat over to hydrolyzed protein food though.
They will be able to offer you specialist advice and potentially offer alternative treatments for your cat vomiting that can work out to be considerably cheaper than hydrolyzed protein food.
If your cat vomits after eating cheaper cat food brands then check the ingredients list for any listed grains.
As we touched on earlier in the article, some cheap cat food products can contain grains to help keep the costs down even though they have a moderate chance of making your cat vomit.
Switching from a wet cat food that contains grains to one that doesn’t can be enough to prevent your cat from vomiting after eating wet cat food altogether.
Can I Switch My Cat To Dry Food?
If your cat vomits after eating wet cat food due to scarf and barf then switching them over to a dry cat food can work.
It is difficult for cats to eat a dry food as quickly as they will eat a wet cat food giving their stomach more of a chance to register as full and stop your cat from eating earlier and in turn, preventing it from vomiting.
Keep in mind though, if your cat is vomiting due to allergies then the same may occur once the cat has been switched over to dry food too.
This is why switching a cat who vomits after eating over to a dry food is not a guaranteed fix and some cats will continue to vomit even on their new food.
Some cat owners go as far as to purchase meat from their local store that is suitable for cats and feed them that instead of a commercial cat food.
This can be a better option in some situations, especially if your cat vomits due to allergies but it can often work out to be very expensive.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over why your cat is throwing up after eating wet food to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand the reasons behind why your cat may be vomiting as well as the various steps that you are able to take to try and prevent the issues too. As we mentioned a few times above, some people will prefer to see professional advice from a veterinarian too and this is also fine and can be worth doing if you think that your cat is vomiting due to an allergy or other health issue.
