It’s kind of a running joke in the cat owner community that cats gag a lot, often in the middle of the night and while sitting on their owner’s bed or an expensive rug. Although most of the time they are just dealing with a pesky hairball, gagging in cats can be an indicator of a more serious problem, so it’s important to pay close attention to your cat’s gagging and get them to a vet if things seem concerning. There are a lot of reasons that cats may gag though, and thankfully, some of them are not serious and are easy to fix.
The 11 Reasons Why Cats Gag
1. Hairballs
The most common cause of gagging in cats is the presence of hairballs. Hairballs consist of hair that collects in your cat’s stomach, esophagus, or intestines, when grooming themselves. Hair doesn’t digest like food does, and much of the time it passes through the digestive tract and is eliminated in the feces. However, it’s not uncommon for the hair to accumulate over time. This can lead to constipation if it is in the large intestine, vomiting if it is in the small intestine, and gagging or retching if in the esophagus or entrance to the stomach.
Hairballs are not uncommon in cats, but they can cause serious problems, including intestinal obstructions, so you should always pay attention to hairballs and talk to your vet about hairball remedies if your cat is gagging or throwing up hairballs regularly.
2. Nausea and Vomiting
Gagging is a common indicator of nausea in cats, and your cat may also gag multiple times before successfully vomiting. There are many reasons that cats may become nauseated and gag, ranging from mild to severe, so it’s very important that you note how often your cat is gagging and if they’re vomiting.
Cats may vomit on occasion, but routine vomiting is not normal and can indicate that your cat is having chronic digestive problems that should be addressed by your vet.
It is also important to be able to tell the difference between vomiting and regurgitation.
- Vomiting: usually occurs several hours after eating, and involves abdominal effort. Food looks partially digested.
- Regurgitation: Occurs soon/immediately after eating or drinking, and is a more passive ejection of food/water from the esophagus. Food comes out tubular in shape and similar to how it looked when it was eaten.
3. Respiratory Illnesses
There are lots of viruses and bacterial infections that cats can pick up, and infections of the respiratory tract can cause your cat to gag, cough, or gulp. Inflammation in the airway from a respiratory infection can be irritating for your cat and may even cause nausea.
Rhinotracheitis, sinusitis and other upper respiratory infections are relatively common in cats, particularly in those that are not vaccinated. Any gagging that is accompanied by watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, or mucoid discharge needs veterinary attention.
4. Kidney, Heart, or Liver Disease
Kidney disease is highly prevalent in senior cats, but cats are also prone to developing heart and liver disease. These diseases will lead to failure of the affected organ over time, which can lead to gagging for multiple reasons. Nausea from toxins building up in the bloodstream, extreme thirst, and fluid accumulation in the lungs due to heart disease can lead to gagging.
These diseases are usually accompanied by other signs of illness including vomiting, abdominal swelling, inappetence, and increased urination/drinking, plus changes in energy levels or behavior. All of these diseases are potentially life-threatening and need to be immediately addressed by your veterinarian.
5. Ingestion of Toxins
The ingestion of toxic substances isn’t as common in cats as it is in dogs, but it does still occur. There are lots of toxins that cats can be unintentionally exposed to, including houseplants, cleaning chemicals, automobile chemicals, pesticides, and rodenticides. Some toxins will cause nausea and vomiting, leading to gagging.
Many people don’t realize that some toxins can also be caustic, which means they will cause burns. If your cat consumes a caustic chemical, then their mouth and throat will become burned and painful, which can lead to gagging. If this is the case, then your cat will almost certainly have visible chemical burns on their tongue and gums.
6. Ingestion of Foreign Bodies
Like the ingestion of toxins, the ingestion of foreign bodies is less common in cats than in dogs, and cats tend to get into trouble with linear items. Common foreign bodies in cats include ponytail holders, floss, string, rubber bands, ribbons, and tinsel. Foreign bodies can lead to intestinal obstructions that can cause a backup in your cat’s digestive tract, leading to pain and nausea.
Because of the linear nature of these objects, it is not uncommon for them to become tangled around the base of the tongue, causing irritation in the mouth. Sewing needles and fishing hooks are also among the more common items found lodged in a cat’s mouth or esophagus.
7. Tumors
Unfortunately, there are many types of cancer that cats can develop, including cancers of the mouth and throat. Chondrosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and lymphosarcoma are all cancers that can affect your cat’s respiratory or digestive tract, leading to gagging. If your cat develops a tumor in their throat, it can lead to a constant feeling of irritation and a need to gag in an attempt to clear the sensation from the throat. Luckily, throat cancers are fairly rare in the cat, but oral SCC is quite common.
8. Eating Too Quickly
Some cats can become far too exuberant about their food, consuming it so quickly that it tries to come right back up. Eating too quickly often results in the cat vomiting some of its food back up, but it may also lead to nausea and gagging without vomiting.
This behavior can be a frustrating problem to deal with, but there are a few ways you can slow your cat’s rate of eating. Hiding small piles of food around the room or scatter feeding to encourage your cat to “hunt” can prevent this, as well as a slow-feeder bowl or puzzle toy. You may also need to split your cat’s food into multiple small meals throughout the day instead of one or two meals daily.
9. Overwhelming Smells
We’ve all smelled something so yucky that it made us want to gag. Cats have a much stronger sense of smell than humans, which means that smells that are unpleasant to them are even more unpleasant than they might be to us.
Some of the smells that cats are disgusted by are smells that humans enjoy, like citrus, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, mint, pine, and thyme. Other smells are unpleasant to everyone, like a dirty litter box or a sniff of pepper. Some smells that are unpleasant to cats can also be dangerous for them, so make sure to thoroughly research any scents before bringing them into your home.
10. Ear Polyps
Also called nasopharyngeal polyps, are benign growths that originate from the middle ear. They are more common in young cats, but they can also affect older felines.
It is believed that they are a congenital problem, but some studies have linked them to upper respiratory or ear infections. If the polyps grow in the nasopharyngeal region, they can cause coughing and gagging.
11. Dental Disease
It is quite common for our pet cats to develop dental disease, as their domestic diet lacks the tooth flossing qualities of sinew, cartilage, and bones found in wild caught prey. Without us realizing, our cats can accumulate large amounts of calculus on their teeth, and even end up with nasty tooth infections. When this happens, your cat may gag due to the pain or discomfort in their mouth and gums, or from tartar and plaque irritating the back of the throat.
Regular dental checks are vital to your cat’s health, as is frequent cleaning or providing them with products that can help keep their teeth clean and healthy.
What to Do if Your Cat Is Gagging
How to handle gagging in cats depends on the frequency and severity of the gagging. If your cat is gagging frequently, is vomiting, or showing any other signs of being unwell or uncomfortable, contact your vet immediately. If your cat gags very occasionally, and is otherwise bright, happy, and healthy, then it is worth using the suggestions below to see if you can address the problem.
Hairballs can usually be managed easily, with more frequent grooming using a deshedding brush, a change of diet, or by including supplements to help your cat to pass the hairballs more easily. Supplements containing essential fatty acids such as Omega-3 can also help improve skin and coat quality and reduce shedding.
As we mentioned earlier, there are several ways to reduce or prevent regurgitation and gagging from eating too quickly, like food puzzles, scatter feeding, or feeding smaller, more frequent meals. Avoiding unpleasant odors and taking care with potentially toxic substances is also hugely important.
Conclusion
In the majority of cases, gagging in cats is a fairly common and harmless issue, however, that doesn’t mean that we should just ignore it. The occasional episode of gagging is likely nothing to worry about, but it could also be a sign of something more serious.
Understanding why your cat is gagging is the best way for you to help address the problem, and your vet will be able to examine your feline friend to determine if you are dealing with something as straightforward as a hairball, or if your cat’s gagging is a sign of underlying disease.
Featured Image Credit: sophiecat, Shutterstock
