Senior cat vomiting after food switch

Switching foods and getting vomiting twice in a row is really disheartening — and with an 11-year-old Birman, it's worth taking seriously rather than just trying a third bag and hoping for the best. Cats age more gracefully than dogs in some ways, but Birmans at that age are genuinely prone to kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, dental disease, and arthritis, and frequent vomiting can be connected to any of those rather than just food sensitivity. Before I point you toward something specific: has your vet ruled out an underlying health issue, or has this been purely a food experiment so far? And what were the two foods you already tried?

That's really useful — two dry foods, both with fairly dense protein and carbohydrate profiles, and a cat who's already predisposed to a delicate stomach. The pattern makes sense. Dry senior foods often have higher cereal content than people realise, and they also require more water for digestion, which older cats don't compensate for well. A few quick questions: is she eating enthusiastically and then vomiting shortly after, or is it more random throughout the day? And is what comes up mostly undigested food, or foamy liquid? That helps me separate gulping-and-gorging from genuine digestive sensitivity.

Right — that changes things significantly in a good way. Fast eating plus dry kibble is a very common vomiting trigger in cats, and the fact that she's bright, stable weight, and drinking normally makes a straightforward digestive sensitivity much more likely than something systemic. My recommendation would be to move her off dry entirely and switch to Royal Canin Ageing 12+ in gravy pouches. It's specifically formulated for cats from 12 downward, so an 11-year-old is squarely in range. The wet format slows her down naturally, the pieces are small enough that she can't bolt them, and Royal Canin's digestibility on their wet range is genuinely high — less undigested material reaching the stomach at speed. It also has a phosphorus level that's kind to kidneys, which matters at her age even with a clean bill of health. Transition over seven to ten days mixing it with whatever she's currently on, even if she's not keen on the current food, just to avoid a sudden switch adding to the problem.

Just the food first — give it a clean four weeks before adding anything else, otherwise you won't know what's working. One practical addition worth doing immediately regardless: if you're using a bowl, swap it for a flat plate or a wide shallow dish. Deep bowls make cats curl their tongue awkwardly and almost always speed up eating. That single change sometimes halves the vomiting frequency on its own. If after a month on the wet food she's still vomiting more than once a week, go back to your vet and ask specifically about a B12 check and an updated kidney panel — four months is long enough for things to shift at her age.

Good plan. Birmans are usually quite food-motivated so she'll probably take to it well. If the transition gets bumpy — she refuses the new food or the vomiting spikes mid-switch — slow it down to a two-week transition instead of one. Hope she settles quickly.