Introduced kitten to my older cat....Cat is sick?

[cheer583]

My cat Tabitha is 14 years old and female. I recently adopted a 2 month old kitten. She was hissing at him at first and keeping her distance, but it seemed she was getting used to him more and more each day. It's been two weeks with the new kitten and, as of yesterday morning, she has started throwing up. She doesn't have anything in her stomach, so she is vomiting stomach acid. She slept in my bed with us last night, and wasn't walking all over our heads while we sleep like she normally does. This morning I tried giving her something to eat, since she hadn't eaten yesterday, and she threw up almost immediately.

it's not unusual for my cat to throw up. A lot of the time she vomits when she is nervous, sometimes during a thunderstorm or, like in this case, when there are other cats around. I know I need to take her to a vet to see if she is sick with something, but I am absolutely so upset...I feel like I've inflicted this upon her.

I also want to add that I keep them separated while I am at work all day during the work week. Any advice from any cat lovers who have had a similar problem?

Thanks in advance.
I have brought the kitten to the vet. Kitten had a cold last week, but is on meds and the cold is gone. Other than that, the kitten is fine. No FIV, has been treated for ear mites, taking Drontal for worms.

 

[♥Pretty♥ ♥Kitty♥]

I would have both cats checked by the vet just as a precaution. If the vomiting persists she will become dehydrated which will make her very sick so don't put off going to the vet. You can give her a bit of Rescue Remedy when it's stormy or she she seems stressed. It's good for calming anxiety in cats. A Feliway diffuser might be a good idea as well.
http://www.rescueremedy.com/pets/
http://www.feliway.com/gb/Stress-and-Cats

 

[Jennifer]

I ran into a smiliar problem. I had a 1 year old cat, and my boyfriend moved in with his 3 year old cat, then we just adopted a 10 year old cat. There was a lot of hissing and spitting and growling, and my younger cat threw up and had diarrhea, but they eventually all got used to each other. It takes awhile. I would get them checked out by a vet to make sure they're not sick, but otherwise, I would not keep them separated - just let nature do its thing unless the cats have been physically violent toward each other. I would also suggest not altering the older cat's routine at all, so he doesn't associate your new cat with change. Feliway spray might help too - it's a calming spray that actually works.

 

[Messykatt]

Don't feel you caused this, because the chances are almost nil that you did! I go through this same worry myself when I bring in a new kitten, and honest it's just unproductive.

The good news is that, even though you'll want to vet to take a look (I'd aim to do this by Saturday - I hate weekends with sick pets) this doesn't sound serious. In fact, dogs can do this first thing in the morning and it's empty tummy syndrome. It happens because they've gone too long without food, which is why it's bile. I honestly don't know if cats can have the same condition, but if the stress is/was causing her to eat less that's one possibility. Another, of course, is a bacterial tummy infection that could be cleared up with a round of antibiotics.

But you've done everything right, so don't be hard on yourself. For a healthy indoor cat, 14 isn't that old and there's no reason she might not want a companion. I did this same thing to a 12 year old, who lived happily with the kitten for another 9 years!