My cat vomited a big piece of plastic

Question

I am very anxious about my cats health especially because one of them died last week and there was not much I could do to save him, he wouldn't eat or drink, he'd threw up when we gave him food through a syringe and he'd go to the litter box several times and couldn't do anything. The vet told us that it might be something to do with their stomach which is why I'm worried about my other cat.

Right now I have a six year old female cat and 5 year old male cat. We're currently going through a heat wave so they've been really lazy laying on the floor the whole day but what really worried me was getting home and seeing that one of them not sure which, had vomited a big piece of plastic I got really scared and started paying a closer eye on them. I noticed they haven't been eating and today my female cat threw up again but no plastic pieces found.

I decided to give them some wet food and they ate it really well, they seem to be acting normal but I can't help but worry because what if they have the same disease my other cat had?

Answer 1

Immediate Advice:

As @Cris says, you'll want to take your cat to the Vet right away.

Right now, you don't know the scope of the problem and although a single piece of plastic has been vomited, there could be more. You must get a professional opinion to rule out any hidden internal damage.

Follow up:

Once your cat has been seen and the vet is confident that there is no additional problem there's a few other things you can look at. It isn't uncommon for cats to eat plastic (although often softer bags and packaging rather than rigid plastic). For example, cathealth.com lists a few reasons for cats eating plastic including nutrient deficiency, stress or an underlying medical condition. You might hear people throw around the term 'Pica' which concerns eating things which, normally, aren't considered to be nutritious.

You noted in your question that they were not eating correctly and it has been very hot. These are things which could stress your cat. Generally, I'd suggest taking your cat to the Vet if they stop eating for periods of time and vomit if there is no visible cause. There's a really great answer here which discusses why a cat might vomit and when to take them to the vet.

One other thing to note is that if the cat has been spending more time doing very little (because of the heat) you might find that they are generally less interested in food because of this. Check out this question about helping cats during heatwaves.

Finally

It probably goes without saying (and the vet will offer better advice than I can) but you'll want to keep a close eye on your cat for the next few weeks and ensure that there aren't any other problems.

Answer 2

This isn't good. You need to see a veterinarian ASAP or his health could worsen.

Answer 3

Oh dear...wishing you the best. I'd recommend an x-ray if the problem doesn't improve soon. My 2 year old kitty would eat any plastic wrappers or sheets she could find. One ended up getting stuck in her small intestine and she needed surgery to remove it. It went fine and she's totally back to normal but we've had to adjust by keeping all plastic away from her.

Hope this doesn't worry you! I did wish they had screened her sooner as the IV treatments they did were expensive and wouldn't have fixed the problem.