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Urgent care is for pets who are unwell, in discomfort, are in urgent situation or are not acting like themselves and should be assessed within 24 hours.
Wellness, routine, or general care is for pets needing vaccines, preventive care, or ongoing monitoring who can safely wait at least 24 hours.
This page focuses on urgent assessment. Routine wellness exams, preventive care, and monitoring of stable conditions are provided through scheduled general wellness appointments.
Cat Vomiting Blood – Is This an Emergency?
Vomiting blood in cats (also called hematemesis) can range from mild stomach irritation to life-threatening internal bleeding, depending on the cause, volume, and speed of blood loss.
Definition
Vomiting blood means blood is present in material expelled from the stomach or upper intestinal tract. This is a clinical sign, not a diagnosis.
Blood may appear bright red, dark red, brown, or coffee-ground-like, or be mixed with foam or food, depending on where bleeding is occurring and how long blood has been present.
Bleeding may originate from the stomach lining, esophagus, or upper small intestine, or represent swallowed blood from another source, such as the mouth or airway.
Across both primary and referral settings, vomiting blood in cats is treated as potentially serious and requires veterinary assessment to determine severity and cause.
Who This Page Is For
• Cats vomiting red blood, dark clots, or coffee-ground material
• Cats vomiting repeatedly with any blood present
• Cats vomiting with lethargy, weakness, pale gums, or collapse
• Cats vomiting blood after toxin exposure, medications, or trauma
• Cats that seem normal but have vomited blood even once
Who This Page Is Not For
• Cats that vomited once with no blood and returned fully to normal
If you are unsure whether blood is present, that uncertainty itself warrants veterinary assessment.
Related Urgent Symptoms
• Cat Vomiting
• Cat Lethargic and Weak
• Bloody or Tarry Stool in Dogs & Cats
• Gastrointestinal Ulceration or Bleeding
• Internal Bleeding in Dogs and Cats
• Anemia in Dogs and Cats
• Toxin Exposure In Dogs And Cats
What This Can Look Like at Home
At home, cats may vomit bright red blood, dark clots, brown or coffee-ground material, or foam streaked with blood.
• Blood mixed with food or hairballs
• Dark, sticky vomit with a metallic odor
• Repeated gagging or retching before blood appears
• Vomiting followed by hiding, weakness, or reluctance to move
Why This Can Be Hard to Judge
Cats often hide illness, and vomiting blood may occur before obvious weakness or collapse develops.
Small amounts of bleeding can still signal serious disease, while larger bleeds may temporarily stop and falsely reassure owners.
Blood swallowed from ulcers, tumors, or internal bleeding may not cause pain initially.
Apparent normal behavior does not reliably indicate safety when blood is involved.
The Improvement Trap
Temporary improvement does not equal resolution.
A cat may vomit blood once and then appear normal while bleeding continues internally.
Medications, stress changes, or fasting can temporarily reduce vomiting without addressing the underlying cause.
Delays based on short-term improvement can allow anemia, shock, or perforation to develop.
What Is Easy to Miss at Home
• Gradual gum paleness
• Subtle weakness or decreased jumping
• Dark or tarry stools hours to days later
• Increased sleeping or hiding
• Reduced appetite despite fewer vomiting episodes
• Cool ears or paws
These subtle signs often reflect internal blood loss rather than simple stomach upset.
When This Can Be an Emergency
Vomiting blood is considered urgent, and emergency-level risk increases if any of the following occur:
• Repeated vomiting of blood
• Large volumes or clots of blood
• Black or tarry stool present
• Pale gums or tongue
• Collapse, weakness, or difficulty standing
• Known toxin exposure or medication ingestion
• Recent trauma or possible foreign body ingestion
• Vomiting blood in kittens or senior cats
How Veterinarians Assess This
Clinical signs alone cannot reliably determine severity.
Symptoms can look similar while representing very different internal disease processes. Diagnostic testing is how veterinarians determine whether a condition is mild and self-limiting or serious and potentially life-threatening, and how they guide appropriate care.
Diagnostic testing may include:
• Complete blood count (CBC) to assess anemia and inflammation
• Serum chemistry panel to evaluate organ function and protein levels
• Electrolyte testing to assess dehydration and metabolic effects
• Coagulation testing to evaluate clotting ability
• Abdominal imaging (X-rays or ultrasound) to assess stomach and intestinal integrity
• Fecal testing to detect digested blood
• Blood pressure measurement to assess circulatory stability
Additional disease-specific testing (such as infectious disease screening, pancreatic testing, endoscopy, or advanced imaging) may be considered based on the overall clinical picture.
Diagnostic testing is what determines severity and guides appropriate care.
Veterinary Differentials - Serious / Must-Rule-Out First
• Gastrointestinal ulceration – Breakdown of the stomach or upper intestinal lining that allows bleeding into the digestive tract and can worsen rapidly.
Tests may include bloodwork, abdominal ultrasound, coagulation testing.
• Internal gastrointestinal bleeding – Active blood loss into the stomach or intestines from trauma, tumors, or clotting disorders that may not be externally visible.
Tests may include bloodwork, abdominal imaging, blood pressure assessment.
• Gastrointestinal foreign body – An ingested object that damages tissue or causes obstruction and bleeding as it moves or becomes lodged.
Tests may include abdominal X-rays, abdominal ultrasound, contrast imaging.
• Gastrointestinal neoplasia (tumors) – Abnormal tissue growth that erodes blood vessels and causes intermittent or progressive bleeding.
Tests may include abdominal ultrasound, bloodwork, biopsy or cytology.
• Coagulation disorder – A problem with normal blood clotting that allows spontaneous or excessive bleeding into the digestive tract.
Tests may include coagulation testing, bloodwork, platelet evaluation.
• Toxin exposure – Ingestion of substances that damage the stomach lining or interfere with clotting, leading to internal bleeding.
Tests may include bloodwork, coagulation testing, toxin screening.
• Severe systemic illness or shock – Widespread disease affecting circulation and tissue oxygen delivery that can cause secondary gastrointestinal bleeding.
Tests may include bloodwork, blood pressure measurement, imaging.
Veterinary Differentials - Common / More Typical
• Severe gastritis – Significant inflammation of the stomach lining that can cause irritation, nausea, and bleeding.
Tests may include bloodwork, abdominal imaging, fecal testing.
• Medication-associated gastric irritation – Stomach injury related to certain medications or supplements that disrupt the protective stomach lining.
Tests may include bloodwork, abdominal imaging.
• Stress-related gastric irritation – Stomach inflammation triggered by illness, pain, or physiologic stress that can progress to bleeding.
Tests may include bloodwork, imaging.
• Swallowed blood – Blood originating from the mouth, teeth, nose, or airway that is later vomited and appears to come from the stomach.
Tests may include oral examination, imaging, bloodwork.
• Dietary irritation or indiscretion – Ingestion of irritating foods or materials that inflame the stomach and cause minor bleeding.
Tests may include bloodwork, abdominal imaging.
• Infectious gastritis or enteritis – Infection-related inflammation of the stomach or upper intestine that may cause vomiting with blood.
Tests may include bloodwork, fecal testing, imaging.
• Hairball-associated gastric irritation – Repeated retching and stomach irritation related to hairballs that can occasionally result in blood streaking.
Tests may include imaging, bloodwork.
Safety, Psychology, & Peace of Mind
Blood in vomit is understandably alarming, but veterinary assessment focuses on identifying the cause and severity, not assuming the worst.
Waiting can allow silent blood loss, worsening anemia, or gastrointestinal perforation.
Prompt evaluation replaces uncertainty with clarity and reduces the risk of progression.
Same-day urgent care allows earlier intervention, when outcomes are best.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is vomiting blood in cats an emergency?
Vomiting blood in cats can range from stomach irritation to dangerous internal bleeding. Because the amount or appearance of blood does not reliably indicate severity, this sign is treated as urgent. Same-day urgent care is recommended, especially if blood is repeated, dark, or accompanied by weakness or lethargy.
My cat seems normal now—can this still be serious?
Yes. Cats often hide illness, and vomiting blood may stop temporarily even while internal bleeding or ulceration continues. Apparent normal behavior does not reliably reflect internal stability, which is why veterinary assessment is appropriate even after a single episode.
What if it only happened once?
Even a single episode of vomiting blood in cats can be clinically significant. Temporary improvement does not equal resolution, and waiting to see if it happens again can delay diagnosis of bleeding, ulceration, or obstruction. Early assessment helps determine whether the issue is mild or progressing.
Why are tests necessary if we already see blood?
Seeing blood alone does not show where bleeding is coming from, how much blood has been lost, or whether bleeding is ongoing. Diagnostic testing is how veterinarians determine severity and distinguish minor irritation from potentially life-threatening disease. Testing replaces guesswork with clarity.
What should I do right now?
Do not wait to see if it happens again. Vomiting blood in cats warrants same-day urgent veterinary assessment, particularly if there is any lethargy, weakness, pale gums, or repeat vomiting. Prompt evaluation reduces the risk of complications and guides appropriate care.