Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 4/30/2011

Question
Hi,  I have had my kitten for a few weeks now, she is approx 6mths old.  For the past 3 nights I have found that she has vomitted through the night.  She is fine through the day and eats very well with no problems.  This morning however when she urinated I found that her urine was a very bright yellowy/gold colour which seemed very odd.  I also filled her water bowl up last night and this morning when I checked it she had drank three quarters of it so she must be very thirsty.  She is on kitten complete dry food and has always seemed fine with it, we have 2 other kittens and they have not had any of these issues.  I hope that you may have some advice.  Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Milly,
Remember, kittens, like people, are all different, and one thing that might not bother the other kittens might bother this one.

I am going to 'assume' that she has been to the vets and has been wormed more than once. If that is not the case, however, you need to get her into the vets right away and get it done. A heavy worm burden in a little kitten can make them vomit.

The food she is eating might make her vomit as well. Vomiting is not normal in kittens but a food that is irritating her stomach or as I said, a lot of worms, will make her vomit. She might have more than roundworms as well. She might also have a tapeworm.

I must tell you that even 6 month old kittens can have congenital problems with their kidneys etc. So if the vomiting isn't resolved with worming, etc, then you should have her kidneys checked. Vomiting is the most common sign of kidney issues. Yellow urine is can be a good thing, as it means that she is concentrating her urine. Cats with kidney problems will drink a lot BUT they urinate a lot of very clear urine, which means that they are not detoxing and cleaning out their urine. She is probably drinking a lot of water because of the vomiting. This can dehydrate a small body very quickly so she will drink a lot of water.

I would get her on some higher quality food, such as Science Diet Kitten Growth. She might do much better on this food (it is called Science Plan in the UK)because it is made to be gentle on the system but it is formulated with the optimal nutrition that she needs to be very healthy.

She may be the only one that needs this food, but all of the kittens will do better on it.

I would start with the vet visit unless she has been wormed three times already. If not, get her in and get a bag of this food while you are there.

Give the food three weeks. If she still vomits all of the time then a good work-up with a barium xray is in order for her.

Start with the obvious first! Then the food and then tests if needed.

Please let me know how she does.