This morning my Bengal Kitten threw up his food. It almost seemed though as he regurgitated. It was long like a tube after he threw up. I feed him Blue Ridge Kitty Grind. He ate the first 2lbs with no issues. But now, he won't even touch it. He scratches around the food.

He hasn't eaten this morning. He ate a little bit of dry food, drank water and ate a bit of chicken treats i gave him.

He's active and playful and then goes to sleep for a bit. Not sure what to do now if he doesn't eat his raw diet. I did some research and there were posts on how he could be sick. The only person that was sick recently in the household was my daughter. It doesn't seem like he has fever or runny nose and running eyes.

He's voicing a lot but I think he could be just hungry?

The scratching around the plate is confusing. Some forums say that he's saving the food for later. Others are saying that he is burying the food and doesn't want it.

Could this be a bad batch of kitty grind? Should I try a separate batch? This one doesn't smell though? I know he has gas, I can hear it when I pick him up. Could it be over feeding? I feed him a small plate, about 3 table spoons of the kitty grind in the morning and then at night.

I have an appointment with the vet on November 5th.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Frank

Cats urp up their food sometimes. *shrug* it happens. Having it happen one time, or 2 or 3 times over a span of weeks or months doesn't cause me any concern, unless there are other symptoms like no appetite, sluggishness, sneezing, coughing etc. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

And I've seen that same pattern in terms of my cats eating raw food mixes. The first time you serve a portion you took out of the freezer they love it. The next time they love it less, and so forth until they eventually refuse it completely. They may even refuse it the 2nd or 3rd meal! It can definitely be a question of freshness, so if it is, you need to finesse the situation by buying, or storing appropriately sized portions in the freezer. You need to learn what his tolerance is for freshness, and plan accordingly.

When your cat refuses his food, that's it, he's not going to eat it. If he has no other options, he'll just not eat, so you have to make sure he's getting food he will eat, all the time (especially at that age). So always make sure you have a plan b, c, and d, not just a.

Re: scratching around the plate. I always playfully say that he is just being a critic, and telling you that his feeble-minded pet parent accidentally fed him something that more resembles what is in his litterbox rather than something edible. I don't think that is necessarily quite accurate, but they do that routine with stuff they reject, not stuff they want to eat so...

Re: "bad batch", yes, absolutely it could be a bad batch, or just that it has become too "stale" for him, as I said above. As far as it "not smelling"... you have NO idea whether it smells, is the truth. Cats have soooo much better sense of smell that you or I do, that it's impossible to make that conclusion by using your own nose. It's what he smells that matters. The other thing is that the temperature of the food can matter greatly to cats. Too cold or too hot can be a deal-breaker to them.

Re: "over feeding", nah, I don't think so. Might even be underfeeding! But it's possible that this particular mix might not be agreeing with his tummy. Some cats are sensitive to certain type of protein for example. Trial and error will tell you that.

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The little monsters 3

Thanks for the reply. He is sneezing once in a while. But he is active. Not taking any chances; made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow. I will try a fresh batch. And I will come up with a plan B and C. Perhaps a science diet or something to see if he likes that.

I also feed raw. Quasar does woof it up occasionally but keeping the food fresh definitely helps.

My boy scratches around his food dish almost every time when he is finished eating, or if the food is too cold to eat right now, or for whatever reason. It is not always because he does not like what he is fed.

Quasar also goes through the motions of covering up anything that smells like something that he thinks needs hiding. It might be absolutely edible people food, which he does not eat, or a dog toy, or a spot on the floor that he can smell but I cannot find any reason for which it should smell.

Mostly, I find the scratching amusing, and it doesn't always mean the kit is offended (although it might)

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~ Kyenta

It is not unusual for a cat to vomit after eating -- occasionally! Mine loves to paw at his food after he's eaten or if he goes to his bowl and decides he doesn't want to eat what is in there. Cats are finicky and they seem to enjoy a change in their diet at times. I've given Raiden food that he devoured. The next time, he wasn't interested. So I change it up daily for him as well as the type of dry food I give him. We as humans would not want to eat the same meal three times a day for the rest of our lives.

It is good you are taking him to the vet, but I'm sure the vet will find that he is fine. This just happens.

You do need to make sure that he eats as he is a young kitten and needs frequent meals. Never let a cat go more than 48 hours without chowing down something -- as fatty liver disease can develop which can be fatal if not treated in time. Know that your kitty will usually let you know when something serious is up. They become less vocal, lethargic, they don't want to eat, and they will usually have diarrhea. THAT's the time you rush them to the vet.