What's the matter with a kitten vomiting blood?

A kitten vomiting blood may be infected with the feline distemper virus, especially young kittens aged 3-5 months who have not been vaccinated. It could also be due to swallowing foreign objects, hairballs, gastroenteritis, or other causes. Regardless of the reason for the kitten's vomiting, owners should take their kittens to the pet hospital for inspection and treatment in a timely manner. If not treated promptly, it could lead to anaemia, dehydration, and even threaten the kitten's life.

Feline Distemper Virus Infection

If the kitten is young and has not been vaccinated, it is necessary to consider whether the vomiting is caused by a feline distemper virus infection, especially in kittens aged 3-5 months. If the vomiting is frequent, it can damage the esophagus or gastric mucosa, causing bleeding. At the same time, symptoms such as depression, loss of appetite, abnormal body temperature, sleepiness, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration will occur. Owners can perform a feline distemper virus antigen test to confirm the diagnosis, and then treat the kitten with intravenous fluids, injections, and thoroughly disinfect the surrounding environment.

Usually, when raising kittens, owners need to follow the vaccination schedule and inject preventive vaccines against feline distemper to allow the body to produce protective antibodies against virus invasion.

Swallowing Foreign Objects

If a kitten swallows foreign objects such as chicken bones, fish bones, or needles, it can scratch the stomach or intestines, causing vomiting of blood. Owners can recall whether they have fed the cat hard foods and take the kitten to the pet hospital for X-ray examination to determine the location of the foreign object and the degree of damage to the digestive tract. Then, the foreign object should be removed, and surgical treatment may be necessary if necessary.

When raising cats, do not feed them items such as chicken bones, fish bones, and duck bones that can cause scratches or block the digestive tract.

Hairballs

When cats lick their hair, they may swallow a large amount of hair, which forms a hairball in the stomach, stimulating the gastrointestinal tract and causing gastritis or obstruction. This can lead to the cat vomiting blood or hairballs. Owners can feed the cat hairball removal gel or catnip to help the hairball pass smoothly. To this end, owners can observe whether the cat is vomiting hairballs. If so, they can feed the cat hairball removal gel or catnip after the vomiting stops to help the hairball pass smoothly.

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis caused by improper diet, cold exposure, parasites, viruses, or other factors can also cause vomiting of blood in severe cases, along with symptoms such as depression, loss of appetite. Owners can first feed the cat a suitable amount of probiotics to regulate the balance of gut bacteria, then take the cat to the pet hospital for inspection to determine the specific cause and take corresponding treatment measures.