Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I haven't had cats since I was really little so I don't know - I remember the cats I lived with used to throw up everywhere, and my dad's cat throws up everywhere (and sometimes on his clothes when she's mad at him). Tell me, wise PPK, lovers of cats.

My cat has thrown up maybe 4 or 5 times in her life.

Yes? One of my four cats throws up maybe once or twice a month. The other three never do.

my cat used to spew on the regular, but now she never throws up at all. i think it's because she doesn't groom with as much vigor now that she's an old lady, so there's no hairball buildup. other cats i've known have puked up fur logs semi-regularly, but not so often that i was bothered/concerned by it. if they threw up something other than hair, something was wrong.

My last cat didn't groom himself very often. He threw up ALL THE TIME.

My cat now has super long fur and grooms herself a lot. The only time she's thrown up is when she had a reaction to a certain kind of cat food.

My elderly cat pukes a lot, my young cat pukes seldom. I would go so far to say my elderly cat has binging and throwing up type tendencies. When I got him, I kind of thought he was bulimic. He tends to gorge from his bowl and then throws it up. I only had one cat who rarely puked (I think once or twice in the eighteen months I had her and she was terminally ill throughout--and no puke!) In my experience, general sort of puking is pretty common.

Seldom. I have to clean for this reason maybe once a month? for 5 (-6) cats in my house. Sometimes it is for hairball, sometimes they eat something they shouldn't..

Don't know. One of my cats throws up because she eats too fast so I have to feed her multiple times per day to avoid puking.

The other one gets hairballs once in a great while but she has never just straight up puked.

Only one of my cats throws up occasionally, but I know that's because of hairballs that she has trouble with. So I give her malt paste, which is supposed to help with that, and as a result (or so I hope) she throws up less often.

On the other hand, an aquaintance of mine (who has always had lots of cats) once said that she believes the word "Katze" (cat) is directly derived from "Kotze" (throwup). So, yeah, some cats apparently do that a lot.

The cat I grew up with was a purebred Abyssinian and she puked allllll the time. The cat I currently have is not purebred anything and almost never throws up. I have, therefore, a theory that the genetics of purebred animals make them more prone to sickness. But I could be wrong.

Mine throw up maybe once a month? When Desmond eats too fast or when either of them eats too many leaves.

Yes, it's my purebred (elderly) cat that throws up a lot. He's a Red Burmese, will be 19 this month. I feel that in general, his health isn't as good as other DSH kitties I've had, but then again, I got him when he was 13 and they tend to need more vet attention as they get older, but this cat definitely more than most! That said, the vet says he's incredibly healthy and seems much younger than his age. But he sneezes a lot, pukes easily and regularly, his poop's got be kept in the proper balance, he's prone to bladder infections, sometimes his eyes run. Argh! But he's soooooooo loving. Worth every bit of worry he gives me.

I forgive my puker (once a month or more if I forget to feed her for a few hours and she binges) because she doesn't scratch on any carpet but her scratcher, poop anywhere but her box (or pee) and she doesn't get into shiitake around the house. All things I had expected based on my other cats. She pukes... but she never pees on stuff which is like a miracle compared to every other cat I've had.

My current cat is a purebred Bengal, and she NEVER pukes. And that cat can suck down some food! But her fur is super short... and she doesn't have an undercoat so she never gets hairballs. And Bengals are a relatively new breed, so they may not have some of the more deep-seated genetic problems that older breeds have.

On the other hand, our last cat was medium-pukey... he was a generic brown tabby, and puked on the average of 1-2 times a month. I also remember childhood cats that puked all over the place, all the time, but were super healthy otherwise.

I think in general outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats have a bigger likelihood of more frequent puking because they get into things, but other than that it just depends on the individual cat.

I think it depends alot on the cat, their fur length, grooming habits, breed, and also on what they eat and if they have the tendency to gorge themselves. I live with a half Persian who pukes quite often. She has very long hair. The Siamese girls I used to live with were also very puke prone despite having short hair so that doesn't help much, but with Siamese I think it's a breed thing. I also live with a fluffy orange fellow and a black short haired half-Siamese who don't throw up nearly as much as the aforementioned part Persian Mathilde. Orange fellow eats a lot of field mice :( . Perhaps this is a more natural diet and better for his digestion? I am totally guessing. I've lived with tons of cats my whole life and they do tend to be a puke-prone species. I do wonder a lot about their optimal diets. I fed Mathilde fancy imported vegan food for awhile but I just can't afford it right now. She did seem less puke prone during that time if I recall. I'd love to hear from vets or other knowledgeable people on the subject.

I feel like we lucked out with a nearly perfect cat. Frisbee has puked once and that was because of an allergic reaction to a shot. Even then it was just bile. He's also never had an accident outside of his litter box. He does like to break things though, but that just means our house is excessively cat-proofed.

thanks everyone! the kiddo really likes cats but we live in an apartment with a shorter shag rug (it's actually really nice). i can figure out a workable litter box if i ever decide to let her have one, but the puking concerns me.

other cat concerns include walking on the counters in the kitchen and across the top of kitchen cabinets. have i only lived with weird cats?



this is interesting. my "sister" (my dad's cat) is a purebred abyssinian and the pukey cat i remember from childhood was a purebred (stud cat) scottish fold. (don't blame me - my favorite adorable cats are all mixed breeds)

eta: here are 2 reasons i wonder.

The worst are the ones that eat their own puke piles. When I used to hear the ralphing noise from the bedroom at night, part of me would be totally grossed out by the thought, but part of me just hoped she'd take care of the mess herself so I wouldn't step in it when I got up.

(Also, I predict that the two kittens above will be perfect angels and never throw up at all.)

In my experience that's just something you accept. Don't leave things out that they can get into and clean frequently. I mean, I've heard stories of training cats to keep off counters, but my cats laugh at that.

You should be holding those two kittens right now. Cats get on counters and stuff but some are more into it than others. Kittens will get everywhere but cats live a long time and calm down a lot. You'll be satisfied to get an older cat, if that's an option, because somebody at the shelter/foster can tell you how they are already.

Also, I had already invested in a litter box but if I were starting over I'd get one with the opening at the top of the closed box so that they don't track. I have a wee vacuum that takes care of most the messes. This is my apartment set-up: The litter box is in between the toilet and the cabinet in the bathroom (only one bathroom) and turned around towards the wall so that the opening has just enough room for the cat to get in. When she tracks, the idea is that she will get most of it out of the walking path and then have to climb over the litter box to get the rest out of her paws. This has worked well so far and her poop isn't just sitting out in the open.

Do keep in mind that kittens are basically evil, by the way. I have one and I adore her but she constantly bites me, destroys everything, just refused to poop in the litter box for a whole week...

One of my cats throws up hair balls every 2-3 days, but I've never seen a cat shed so much. He also used to throw up 2-3 times daily, but that turned out to be a food allergy.

This is the only advice you need to listen to. GO RETRIEVE THE KITTENS.

Yay, cats! Yeah, some cats puke. It's not really something you can predict, but it's just a part of being a cat owner. Also, cats walk on every available surface...even if you tell them not to repeatedly. Pretty typical cat behaviours, though. And nevermind full grown cats, kittens are truly evil! They are so naughty/curious/full of explosive energy! But so, so, so cute and so worth every frustration and sigh. I'm all for cats, obviously, but yeah, they are definitely not a no-maintenance pet or anything.

Oh my goodness, so cute! The one on the left has such a great smile, and looks absolutely filled to the brim with mischief.