Expert: Becky - 2/6/2007

Question
My indoor cat is about 6 and I've had her the whole time.  For the past year! my cat eats and then about 5 mins later throws up somewhere in the house and then goes back to eating.  If I miss it, she'll just eat it an hour or two later.  It's always partially digested so I had to stop giving her canned catfood b/c when she threw it up it stained the carpet too bad.  I feed her twice a day.  I've given her many different kinds of food to see if that was it: it didn't help.  The only reason I haven't taken her to the vet is because other than that she's totally fine.  She hasn't lost any weight, she does everything she's always done, just won't hold down part of her dinner.  (and my mom says we don't have the money to take her to the vet).

Answer
Hi Jenn!
This is actually a common problem, and my cats will sometimes do the same thing. As long as she does not lose weight or act sick, then she is probably ok.  One reason may be that she has hairballs. You can help her with elimination of excess hair by giving her some butter or margerine about once a week.  You can rub it on her feet, and she will lick it off.  Most cats like the taste of it, and just a little dab is all you need.  She may also be overeating. Is she fat?  If she is eating too much, she may be vomiting in order to make room for more food. If this is the case, you may want to feed her several smaller meals per day instead of piling it all out at once.
I hope this helps!  God bless!
Becky