Question:
My cat will throw up a runny hair ball or whatever hes recently eaten after we have pet him and he starts to purr. He has just gotten over a cold....and is eating, drinking, pooping and running around as usual. He seems very happy except for that purr/puke thing??? I will be taking him to the vet but i thought id see if anyone knew anything about this.........thx
Hes a 10 yr old male short hair. In good health and is both an indoor and outdoor cat with 2 other cats living indoors.

Answer:
This is certainly interesting. He may have a sore throat or an inflammation of his stomach or oesophagus that causes him to regurgitate or vomit when excited or stimulated etc. Sometimes fur causes mechanical irritation and resulting inflammation that is responsible for this condition. Other conditions that your vet will need to rule is a foreign object lodged in his throat or in his oesophagus or stomach. He may also have to check for some viral diseases that may have been contracted from being outdoors.

Make sure you have him protected and on good parasite control. I guess a starting point to try and rule out what is going on is a fecal test to check for intestinal parasites and an x-ray to check for obstructions from foreign bodies incl. fur balls.

Last thought is that there may be a food intolerance causing an IBD (Inflammatory bowel disease) and this will be something that your vet may need to address also.

Good luck

Martin Slome DVM

Centre Street Animal Hospital
7700 Bathurst Street Units 40-42
Thornhill, Ont.
L4J 7Y3
Tel. (905) 771-9855

Answer:
Hi,

I'm interested in this thread because I've been unable to find a solution for a similar problem I'm having with my male cat. When he purrs, he creates so much congestion that he coughs and gags. This only happens when he purrs, and he is otherwise fine - never has runny eyes or nose, or coughs or gags for any other reason. The congestion appears to be nasal rather than his lungs, and my vet said his lungs were clear. But it's quite bad. It's as if purring creates so much nasal phelgm [he acutally gurgles], that he gets some kind of post nasal drip and then hacks and gags. He doesn't regurgitate anything from his stomach [as in the previous post with vomiting]. He may occasionally expel phlegm with this though.

It's really sad because it prevents us from petting him for very long, and this problem has been persistent for about 2 years [he's 10 years old and in otherwise excellent health].....he starts as soon as he starts purring, which he does as soon as any of us get close to him. He's a real cuddler, but he usually has to get up and leave because this makes him so uncomfortable.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer: