Cats usually vomit when a hairball is lodged in the stomach and often the vomit contains undigested food and/or water.  This will usually dislodge the hairball which can then get pushed through the digestive tract, so it may not come up with the vomit, but sometimes it does.  Usually, the cat can then go without vomiting for a couple of weeks.

Since there are many reasons why cats vomit, it's best if the cat is seen by a vet if you have a concern.  Sometimes they swallow something dangerous like a rubber band, allergies or worms can also be the causes of vomiting, etc.

Last edited by MsPablo (Thu 27 Oct 11 6:40pm)

A cat's scalp is very, very sensitive.  Only use a cat comb or brush, never go against the way the fur grows, never tug at all.  The recommended method is so mild, you pick up a thin layer of fur and gently draw the comb through it, which really doesn't pull out shedding fur, unless you are hurting the animal (this is from the top cat breeders and experts).  The cat scalp is very sensitive and combing across it or brushing in a way that even slightly tugs the fur or goes against the way the fur grows hurts the animal.

If her fur is healthy and lustrous and she is bright-eyed and active, I think you have no worries.  It is a hassle, but pretty normal for kitties to vomit regularly.  It is more noticeable with cats that live indoors.

Often, when your kitty is ill, they will make you notice, by doing something where they know it matters, like on your bed or feet.

Hope this helps.  I am such a cat lover, sorry, but I just am and can't help giving some advice based on a lifetime of owning cats.

Thanks MsPablo, I am a long term cat owner myself. It is just that I have never had a cat with this particular problem before. Lucky I guess. It is my daughter's cat, but she is a responsible cat owner too and the cat has best quality food and fresh water available always.

That's good Joy.

Oh, it was no reflection on you that I wrote too much cat advice! I truly hadn't heard of cats not vomiting fairly regularly, but I supposed some don't have as much trouble passing hairballs as others.  That was fortunate.  What's been on my mind are some of the stupid and cruel things my neighbor has done regarding her own cats and others.   She had a cat euthanized because the cat was outdoors.  There's no law here against letting your cat outside. 
She found the owner of the cat she had killed.  The woman lived just one street away.  She had just moved here and her cat got out and was confused and lost.

She ignored cystitis signs for 8 months.  I told her about the problem when I cared for her cats and said it was time to take them to the vet.  She waited a couple of months.  Then, she got a couple of  treatments, one being special food.  I cat-sat again, fortunately, because she instructed me to mix the food by half with their old food.  I told her that was not a good idea.  I kept insisting.  The cats got worse because she kept giving them the old food and not just the prescription food.  She thought it was a behavior problem, even after a vet diagnosed them with cystitis.  I insisted.  Now things are more on track, I think.  I really want to move away.  I hope she's one of a kind.  That's all I can say.

Last edited by MsPablo (Fri 28 Oct 11 2:42pm)

After all the talk of mice (and rats ) Miso the cat must have been listening and she brought a mouse inside last night. Fully alive.
My heart sank, I imagined it finding a hiding place, and being pregnant, and all the worse scenarios....
(But remember my post the other day, I could at least be thankful it wasn't a rat).

Miso was in super huntress mode stalking it around the furniture.

Eventually I realised it was a sweet little native mouse and I was able to get the cat out of the room and corner the terrified little mouse and pick it up in a cloth (it protested loudly!). I set it down under the trees and hope it got safely back to its family.

Miso was SO disappointed it had gone!