Cat keeps dry heaving without vomiting

A cat that keeps dry heaving without vomiting may have hairballs in its stomach, which stimulate the gastric mucosa, causing dry heaving. Owners can feed their cats hairball gel or catnip to help them expel the hairballs. Additionally, it could be due to foreign objects lodged in the cat's throat, or diseases such as gastroenteritis, gastric ulcers, or pancreatitis. These usually accompany symptoms like lethargy and loss of appetite. If this occurs, it is recommended to seek timely medical attention to avoid delays in treatment.

Hairball Syndrome

Cats are very clean-conscious, so they often lick their fur to clean themselves. If the owner does not feed the cat hairball gel, the fur may become lodged in the cat's throat or accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, causing dry heaving and coughing. If there is a large amount of hair in the gastrointestinal tract, the cat may vomit to expel it, and the vomit will usually contain mucus and a lot of fur. To address this, owners can feed their cats hairball gel or catnip to help them expel the hairballs.

Foreign Objects in Throat

If a cat accidentally swallows objects like ribbons, bones, or plastic bags, these foreign objects will stimulate the mucous membrane of the throat, causing dry heaving and other symptoms. To check for foreign objects, the owner can open the cat's mouth and examine the throat and neck areas to see if anything is lodged. If so, it is necessary to take the cat to the pet hospital for X-rays to determine the size and location of the object, and to see if surgery is required to remove it.

Disease Cause

If a cat suffers from gastroenteritis, gastric ulcers, or pancreatitis, it may also exhibit constant dry heaving without vomiting, usually accompanied by symptoms like lethargy and loss of appetite. If the cat appears to be weakened, it is advised to take it to the pet hospital promptly for examination and treat it accordingly based on the examination results.