Dog And Cat Vomit

Dog and cat vomiting medical terms: Aspiration pneumonia, Bloat = GDV, gastric dilatation volvulus, Electrolytes, Esophagoscopy, Fluoroscopy, IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), Megaesophagus, Myasthenia gravis, Polymyositis, Regurgitation, Retching.

What is Dog and Cat Vomiting?

Dog and cat vomiting is ejecting food that has been in the stomach. This can be a natural defense that protects your pet when it has eaten garbage, or vomiting can be a sign of illness. Vomiting can be acute, that is, short-lived and over within hours, or it can be severe and last for days. With some pets, vomiting is chronic and lasts for months.

Pets can vomit immediately after eating, or hours after eating if the food sits in the esophagus or stomach for hours. Pets tend to eject poisons quickly, but to wait several hours before vomiting if the problem is an obstruction that prevents food from moving further down the intestinal tract.

The stomach’s capacity is 2-5 ounces per pound, so a 50-lb Labrador Retriever may have almost a half gallon (8 cups) of stomach capacity. Thus, a dog can vomit an enormous amount, which often happens if they eat garbage. Dogs and cats can also vomit small amounts, especially if they have infections, liver or kidney disease.

Vomiting in cats and dogs is dangerous for many reasons. For example, pets lose fluids and lose electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. Without electrolytes, the brain, heart, and muscles stop working. Without fluids, pets become dehydrated and blood pressure falls. Without good blood pressure, the kidneys cannot produce urine and harmful wastes collect in the body. Without fluids, the intestines don’t function, so that the pet becomes constipated and strains to produce stool. In addition to these problems, pets that vomit may have material get sucked from the back of the throat into the lungs causing a fatal aspiration pneumonia.

There are 3 stages to vomiting: nausea, retching, and vomiting.

1. Nausea

2. Retching

3. Vomiting

Pink, frothy “vomit”

If the vomited material is pink, frothy fluid, it may actually have been coughed up from the lungs rather than vomited from the stomach. Frothy lung material can be white, pink (tinged with fresh blood) or brown (tinged with old blood). It will not be acidic. Pets with congestive heart failure, lung cancer, and some lung infections may cough up frothy material.

Regurgitation

Regurgitation is the release of food that was resting in the esophagus. When a pet regurgitates it doesn’t gag, retch, or feel nauseated. Female dogs regurgitate food for their pups. This is normal. If your pet regurgitates and it is not feeding puppies, this is abnormal.

Some pets wait for hours after eating to regurgitate because the lower esophagus is dilated and holds a large amount of food. You can tell the difference between regurgitated and vomited food because regurgitated food is not acidic and it is never mixed with green or brown bile acids.

Why is it important to distinguish whether food is vomited or regurgitated?

Problems that cause vomiting are different from problems that cause regurgitation. Regurgitation is caused by problems within the esophagus or by problems with the muscles that contract to move food down the esophagus. Among the causes of regurgitation are hernias, esophagitis, esophageal foreign body, esophageal stricture, megaesophagus, thyroid disease, polymyositis, immune-mediated disease, and myasthenia gravis.

Some breeds are predisposed to regurgitation, often because they have an abnormal esophagus that balloons out (megaesophagus): Miniature Schnauzer, Wirehaired Fox Terrier, Shar Pei, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Labrador Retriever, and Newfoundland. Siamese cats are also more prone to regurgitate than other cat breeds.

Nausea

If your pet is nauseated, it may drool, swallow frequently, yawn, or smack its lips. Nauseated pets are often listless, and many prefer to hide.

Who Vomits or Regurgitates?

Pets most likely to vomit include those that scavenge garbage, find poisons, have food allergies, worms, infections, or cancer.

Breeds predisposed to regurgitate due to esophageal problems are the Miniature Schnauzer, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Jack Russell, Fox Terrier, Newfoundland, Irish Setter, and Shar Pei.

Several breeds are predisposed to vomit because they have deep chests with large space for the stomach to swing within. A stomach full of food, fluid or gas can swing and twist, creating a condition called bloat. With bloat, which is also called GDV or gastric dilatation volvulus, nothing can get beyond the twisted portion, and the dog vomits, but gas and food trapped below the twist are stuck. Bloat is often fatal, and even with emergency veterinary care, about 1/3 of pets with bloat die. The incidence of bloat is decreased if pets are fed 2 moist meals a day rather than one large meal of dry dog food. The incidence of bloat is also decreased if pets are not allowed to exercise for two hours after eating. Breeds prone to bloat include the Alaskan Malamute, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Gordon Setter, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Irish Wolfhound, Rottweiler, Standard Poodle, and Saint Bernard.

Breeds predisposed to vomit because they have cancer: Boxer, Boston Terrier, Beagle, Bulldog, Basset Hound, Saint Bernard, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog, Poodle, Rottweiler, Airedale, Scottish Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, Doberman Pinscher, Miniature Schnauzer, and Shih Tzu. Siamese cats are also prone to cancer.

Breeds prone to vomit because they have a Myasthenia Gravis, a paralyzing disease of nerves and muscles: Jack Russell, Springer Spaniel, Fox Terrier, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Dachshund, and Scottish Terrier.

Breeds prone to vomit because they have polymyositis (Poly meaning many and myositis meaning inflamed muscles.), which causes pets to vomit because esophageal muscles don’t work are Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs.

Do all animals vomit?

No. Horses, rabbits, and rats are types of animals that don’t vomit. Usually animals don’t vomit because the sphincter muscles that close off the opening to the stomach are extraordinarily strong.

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians   Date Category Topic 05/15/06  Cough  VOMIT/COUGH 05/08/06  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  DIABETIC CAT 05/05/06  Wormer  TYPE OF WORM/WORM TREATMENT 05/04/06  Cough  THICK MUCUS, HEAVY BREATHING 05/02/06  Other  CONSTANT VOMITING 05/01/06  Digestive Care  WHY DOES MY CAT VOMIT OFF AND ON 05/01/06  Digestive Care  VOMITING DIAHAREA 04/30/06  First Aid  YELLOW VOMET 04/29/06  Digestive Care  DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS 04/28/06  Digestive Care  CONTINUOUS VOMITING 04/27/06  Digestive Care  DOG GETTING SICK 04/26/06  Other  COUGHING 04/25/06  Other  DIAHRHEA 04/25/06  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  CUSHINGS DESEASE. 04/23/06  Digestive Care  VOMITTING AND DIARHEA 1 2 3 4 5 »»

 

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