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When it's an emergency
Short answerA mild digestive upset in an otherwise well cat may be watched and logged, and if you are unsure, call your vet promptly. Seek urgent veterinary advice for: unproductive retching with a hard, painful or bloated belly; repeated vomiting in a single day; blood in vomit or stool; vomiting plus complete refusal to eat; known or suspected swallowed string, ribbon or toy; sudden extreme lethargy or collapse; and, in any cat, flatly refusing to eat. Any one of these means call a vet now - a daytime clinic or an emergency hospital - and say exactly which sign you saw. When in doubt, call: receptionists and vet nurses triage these questions all day.
The red-flag list, one by one
Retching, nothing comes upEspecially with a tense or swelling belly: possible obstruction or bloat-type crisis. This is the true drop-everything sign.
String, ribbon, tinselA linear foreign body can saw through the intestine. Never pull on anything protruding from either end - vet, now.
BloodIn vomit or stool, red or black - a same-day call even if the cat seems otherwise okay.
The combinationVomiting or diarrhea plus lethargy, hiding, or a cat who won't eat at all. One symptom is a question; a stack of them is an answer.
Refusing food entirelyCornell's guidance is plain: a cat that refuses to eat can develop serious medical problems, and a cat that stops eating and is losing weight should be examined. Don't wait days hoping it passes - call.
Kittens, seniors, sick catsThe margin is thinner: the same symptoms that earn an adult cat a watchful day earn these cats a same-day call.
What to do in the minutes before the appointment
- Call first. Describe the exact sign - "retching with no vomit and a tight belly" gets a different answer than "threw up twice but seems okay" - and follow their instructions.
- Withhold food if they say so; ask them about water too. Do not give human medications - several common ones are toxic to cats.
- Collect evidence: a photo of the vomit or stool, a note of what and when the cat last ate, anything it might have swallowed. This saves diagnostic time at the clinic.
- Transport calmly: carrier, covered, secured - a sick cat still travels safer in a carrier than in arms.
The quiet emergency: slow decline
Not every emergency arrives with drama. A cat losing weight week by week, vomiting on a schedule, drinking noticeably more, or fading in appetite is describing a disease in slow motion - kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes and their colleagues present exactly like this. "Gradual" is not "safe": book the appointment this week, and bring the log that shows the trend.
After the crisis
Emergencies end; patterns continue. Whatever the diagnosis, the recovery instructions from the clinic beat any website - including this one - and the log helps you notice early if the pattern is coming back. For everything below the red line, start with reading the clues.
Worried about a pattern?PawLine gives research-based answers about cat digestion - vomiting, hairballs, diarrhea and diet changes - in the context of your cat's age, history and what's actually happening.Ask PawLine