My 6-year-old cat throws up often. Is something wrong? How to help?

Brushing Meezer daily to remove excess hair will help reduce the hair balls and therefore the vomiting. You can also give cat laxative twice weekly to reduce the hair balls. Feeding several small meals will help too as cats who eat large amounts quickly tend to vomit more frequently. In general healthy cats tend to vomit off an on regardless. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Meezer.

Cats vomit more often than other animals. Often it can be from eating too fast or they throw up balls of hair that accumulate in the stomach. The picture looks like a hair ball. As long as Socks is acting normally it is an annoyance but nothing to be concerned about. You can give cat laxative weekly as this will help prevent hair balls. The product you buy in the pet store is flavored so they usually like it. Also there is cat food formulated for hair ball prevention. As far as the odor I'd try to find where it's coming from. Dental problems, ear infections and other things can cause an odor. Ask your veterinarian to check if there is an abnormal odor next time you take him in for an exam. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Socks.

Cats commonly regurgitate food. Often this seems to be for no reason. It can occur from eating too quickly, or if your cat has hair balls. Brushing daily to remove lose hair and using cat laxative will decrease hair balls and some of the regurgitation and vomiting. This is an annoying problem but is normal and nothing to be overly concerned about. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Momma Black.

While vomiting hair occasionally is normal for some cats the increased frequency you have described is concerning. It is possible at Midnight is grooming more due to a seasonal coat shedding or she may have some underlying intestinal irritation contributing to the vomiting. Cats that hunt are at higher risk for parasites and this can also contribute to vomiting. If the increased frequency of vomiting continues or if you notice any other signs such as decreased appetite, lethargy or weight loss, I would recommend that you have her seen by your veterinarian. They may recommend checking a stool sample for parasites and possibly blood work to rule out other potential causes for vomiting such as kidney disease or thyroid problems.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lilly. A longhaired cat should only produce 3-4 hairballs per year. Any more than that is considered abnormal. If her initial blood panel came back normal, I typically recommend a secondary panel that checks for pancreatitis, a disease known as pancreatic exocrine insufficiency as well as cobalamin and folate levels. This can reveal the cause of the vomiting or give some treatment options for her. Inflammatory bowel disease is common cause of chronic vomiting. This will typically result in a low cobalamin levels. It can not be diagnosed without intestinal biopsies, but those are very invasive. An abdominal ultrasound can give a lot of information and rule out other causes of vomiting. If I suspect this to be the case, I will treat the patient with a prescription hydrolyzed diet to help decrease inflammation and sometimes medication as well. I hope this information helps!

Vomiting cats are a frequent problem and could indicate a problem that is rather mild or can have more severe causes. I've given a link to a short article below that explains common causes and gives advice about what to do. I hope this helps. https://www.petcoach.co/article/most-common-causes-of-vomiting-in-cats/

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Mushu and for providing pictures, they are helpful. It may be he is grooming himself a lot causing the hairballs and leading to the vomiting. I would start brushing him daily to see if that helps with the vomiting. If it does not, then I would have him seen by a vet. I hope this helps!