Many cats and dogs and ferrets are brought to my animal hospital by frowning

owners because they have found a mess on the floor. Sometimes it is a rather
straightforward project deciding why the pet vomited but it can be quite
difficult. Vomiting, like fever, has a myriad of causes. In this article I touch
on some that come to mind.
I am always jubilant when owners actually bring me a sample of the material. Many
folks can’t bear to do this but the material vomited is often the clearest
indication of the cause. Material that is high in mucus tells me that the stomach
or high intestine is inflamed. Undigested food can indicate food poisoning,
anxiety, or simply over eating. Bile is often present when vomiting is caused by
inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatitis. Flecks of bright blood tell me that
the stomach is lacerated. If the blood is brown and caramelized I know that the
problem is farther down the intestine. Strong digestive odors suggests intestinal
obstruction. Bits of aluminum foil, Christmas tree tinsel, Big Mac wrappers, etc.
tell me that this is a dietary indiscretion that will be easy to manage. Another
important clue is the relationship of vomiting to the pet’s last meal.
When I examine these pets I am careful to look in their mouth for foreign bodies
like bones wedged in the throat or enlarged tonsils. I check the color of their
gums to be sure they are not shocky and look for the dry gums of dehydration. I
take the pet’s temperature (normal dog & cat=101.5-102.5F,normal ferret=103-103.5)
and carefully palpate the abdomen to detect an inflamed intestine or abdominal
pain. If I develop the opinion that this is probably no more than a passing
incident I limit the pets intake to clear fluids for forty eight hours and have
the owners bring me collected stool samples from over this period. Many objects
that initially cause vomiting are eventually passed in the stool. Vomiting can be
curative in itself in that it purges spoiled food and toxins from the stomach and
intestine. If I do not think the vomiting is helpful, I send these pets home with
trimethobenzamide or Reglan pediatric suppositories to stop the vomission. The
following list are some common and not so common causes of vomiting in dogs and
cats. Within their groups, they are listed in the order that I encounter them; the
most common ones first.
Causes Associated With Things Eaten:
Dietary Indiscretions The most common cause of vomiting in dogs and ferrets (not
so in cats) is dietary indiscretions – the eating of garbage, grass, plant leaves,
etc. It is amazing the things pets will eat. Many of these are actually separation
anxiety cases where a panicky pet eats everything in sight (see article on
separation anxiety). Placing these pets on a large dose of petrolatum-based cat
laxative helps slide this material out with the stool. These pets need to be
monitored carefully for seventy-two hours to be sure the intestine does not block.
At the first sign of abdominal distress, depression, general weakness, fever or
blood in vomitus or stool, they should be taken to a veterinarian for further
testing.
Diet Change For reasons that have never been clear to me, changing a dog or cats
and ferret’s diet from one brand to another often causes a few days of vomission.
This problem is worse when the diet is changed to a bargain-priced generic chow
high in indigestible protein, rendering plant meal and roughage but it occurs even
when the change is from one name brand to another. This problem can be avoided by
making the change gradually.
Eating Too Rapidly Dogs, cats and ferrets that are not fed frequently enough or
feel competition from other pet members may vomit undigested food soon after
eating. Feed these pets smaller, more frequent meals and feed them in separate
rooms of the house.
Intolerance to Specific Food Items Pets love to beg at the dinner table. The fact
that you seem to relish a food item makes it fair game to your pets. Hot dogs,
pastrami, pizza, deviled ham and the like get wolfed down fast – but often come
back up just as fast. No harm is done. These pets are not actually allergic to
these foods. Dogs and cats have a very easy vomit reflex and the slightest
irritation of the stomach brings these items back up. If you cannot bear to stop
feeding table scraps, feed them in smaller portions. Pleasure is in the eating –
not in the portion size.
Food AllergyVeterinary textbooks speak of vomission due to food allergies but I do
not recall a true case that I have encountered. Food allergies in cats and dogs
generally manifest themselves as itchy skin disease. If the gastrointestinal tract
is affected it is much more likely to cause diarrhea.
Disorders Of the Stomach and Small Intestine:
Obstructing objects
Anything that blocks the exit from the stomach will eventually cause vomiting. I
never cease to be amazed at what pets will eat. During my thirty-seven years of
practice I have removed tennis balls, Christmas ornaments, coins, fishing gear,
socks, acorns, rocks, rubber duckys, stage props, jewelry, and bones of all sizes
from the stomachs of dogs and cats. Ingestion of foreign objects the most common
cause of vomiting in ferrets. Most bones dissolve rapidly in gastric aids without
surgery if we can manage the patients long enough. I suppose the most interesting
thing I ever removed from an animal was the urethane foam “last will and
testament” of Uncle Shmedley, a one thousand pound walrus used in the Sea World
Kooky Castle production. Most of these objects I remove with an endoscope, a fiber
optical instrument that is passed through the mouth to the stomach. If the object
will not easily budge or is too far down the intestine, I remove it surgically.
Acute Gastroenteritis of Ferrets Several bacteria cause infections of the
gastrointestinal tract of ferrets that appear as bloody diarrhea, vomiting and
dehydration. Stress is often the precipitating factor in these conditions. Ferrets
that vomit and pass fluid stools rapidly dehydrate. Dehydration can be fatal in
these pets. The first thing I do is give the ferrets large doses of intravenous
and subcutaneous fluid. (5% dextrose). I place them on injectable antibiotics,
keep them warm and withhold all food and oral liquids. Bacteria most often
associated with this problem are salmonella, helicobacter and campylobacter.
Because diarrhea and vomission remove these bacteria and their toxins from the
body I rarely attempt to lessen them. Instead, I replace the fluids and nutrients
as they are lost.

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