That sound at 3 a.m. is hard to sleep through. Most cats throw up now and then, but frequent vomiting is not normal, even when it is "just hairballs". A cat that vomits more than about once a week, or that vomits and also seems tired, stops eating, or brings up blood, should see a veterinarian promptly (Cornell Feline Health Center).
Call your vet now if your cat:
- vomits again and again in one day, or can't keep anything down
- has blood or dark "coffee ground" material in the vomit
- may have swallowed string, a hair tie, a lily or a medicine
- is weak or lethargic, or is a kitten that is also lethargic, not eating or has diarrhea
The full call list is under "When to Call Your Vet" below.
Is It Normal for Cats to Throw Up?
Occasionally, yes. Frequently, no. A single episode in an otherwise healthy, hungry, playful cat may not mean anything. But "my cat always does this" is not a diagnosis, and vets don't all draw the line in the same place:
Source | Where they draw the line |
|---|---|
Cornell Feline Health Center | Vomiting more than once a week, or any vomiting with lethargy, weakness, poor appetite, blood, more thirst, urination changes or diarrhea: see a vet promptly. |
Merck Veterinary Manual | Long-term vomiting, vomiting more than once or twice a day, or vomiting with blood, belly pain, weakness, fever or weight loss: needs a full exam. |
VCA Animal Hospitals | Hairballs more than once a month: contact your vet. Vomiting more than once or twice a month is not normal, even if it is only hairballs. |
Our take: if your cat vomits or brings up hairballs more than about once a month, call your vet and talk it through. Weekly or more, book a visit. If other signs come with it, call the same day.
"But it's just hairballs"
Most swallowed fur passes in the stool. A hairball forms when hair clumps in the stomach and comes back up as a damp, cigar-shaped wad, more sausage than ball (Cornell). Longhaired cats get them more often (Merck).
Frequent hairballs can be a clue, not a quirk. A 2013 review in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery argues that in most shorthaired cats they point to an underlying problem, such as gut disease or itchy skin that makes a cat groom more. A hairball can also grow big enough to block the gut (Merck). Repeated unproductive retching, lethargy, or not eating for more than a day or two needs a vet without delay (Cornell).
Vomiting, Regurgitation, Hairball or Cough?
"Throwing up" can mean four different things, and each points your vet in a different direction. You don't have to get it right. Describing what you saw, or filming it, is enough.
What you see | What it probably is | Where it comes from | Best clue |
|---|---|---|---|
Drooling, lip licking, swallowing, then belly heaves and food or liquid comes up | Vomiting | Stomach and upper small intestine | Visible effort from the belly; yellow bile means vomiting |
Head drops and food or water just slides out, no heaving | Regurgitation | Esophagus (the food tube) | No warning and no effort; food may come out tube-shaped |
Retching that ends with a wet, cigar-shaped wad of hair | Hairball | Stomach | Hair you can see |
Crouched low, neck stretched out, hacking; maybe a little foam that gets swallowed | Coughing | Airways | Often nothing comes out; points to the airways, not the stomach |
Sources: Merck Veterinary Manual, VCA, Clinician's Brief.
Undigested food doesn't settle it. Cats can vomit undigested food and regurgitate food that looks digested, and timing after a meal is not a reliable clue either (Clinician's Brief). Regurgitation is uncommon in cats, so most "throwing up" really is vomiting; when it isn't, the problem is usually in the esophagus.
Coughing is the sneaky one. A cat that seems to be "trying to bring up a hairball" but never does may be coughing (see why cats cough). A short phone video is gold here: VCA and Clinician's Brief both suggest filming an episode for your vet.
What's in the Vomit? What It Can Mean
Take a photo before you clean it up. Here is what common findings can mean and how soon to act:
What you see | What it can mean | What to do |
|---|---|---|
A tube-shaped wad of hair | Hairball | Now and then: mention at your next visit. More than about once a month: see your vet soon |
Food, chewed or whole | Vomiting or regurgitation; eating fast, diet trouble, illness, or a blockage | See your vet soon if it keeps happening |
Grass or plant bits | Your cat ate a plant | Call now if it could be a lily or another toxic plant |
Yellow liquid or foam | Bile and froth from the stomach and upper intestine | See your vet soon if it repeats |
Fresh red blood or pink streaks | Bleeding somewhere in the digestive tract | Call now |
Dark brown granules that look like coffee grounds | Digested blood | Call now |
Worms | Intestinal worms such as roundworms | See your vet soon; bring the worm |
String, thread, hair ties, plastic | A swallowed object; more may still be inside | Call now; never pull string |
Sources: Merck Veterinary Manual, Cornell Feline Health Center.
Color alone can't diagnose anything. A cat with a serious problem can bring up plain-looking vomit, and cats with stomach ulcers rarely show blood in their vomit (Merck). How often it happens and how your cat acts matter more than the shade.
Why Cats Throw Up: Common Causes
Vomiting is a symptom with a long list of possible causes, so it helps to group them.
Everyday causes
- Eating too fast or too much. Some cats gulp their food, and the meal comes straight back up.
- Food changes and intolerance. A sudden switch, spoiled food, table scraps, or an ingredient your cat doesn't tolerate can upset the stomach (VCA).
- Hairballs. Occasional ones are common; frequent ones deserve a look.
- Intestinal parasites. Roundworms can be vomited or passed in the stool, and stomach worms can cause vomiting (Merck).
Swallowed objects
Cats love string, yarn, ribbon, dental floss and hair ties. A long, thin one is called a linear foreign body: one end often snags under the tongue or in the stomach while the intestines bunch up along the rest. If you see string in your cat's mouth or hanging from the other end, never pull it. It may be anchored, and pulling can tear the intestines (Merck). Young cats are more likely to get into this kind of trouble.
Toxins
Common culprits include lilies, human medications, antifreeze, and foods such as chocolate and onions (Cornell). Lilies deserve their own warning. Every part of true lilies and daylilies is toxic to cats, pollen and vase water included. Vomiting, drooling and not eating can start within hours, and kidney failure can follow within a few days (FDA). Early treatment matters, so call right away. See our list of plants toxic to cats.
Long-term illness
Chronic vomiting, especially in older cats, often has a medical cause your vet can find and manage:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a long-term gut inflammation with vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss; often controlled, rarely cured (Merck). See IBD in cats.
- Intestinal cancer, uncommon and mostly in older cats (average age 10 to 12), usually lymphoma or adenocarcinoma.
- Kidney disease, often with more thirst and urination (Cornell). See kidney disease in cats.
- Hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid that can bring weight loss and vomiting; it is treatable (see our methimazole guide).
- Diabetes, liver disease and pancreatitis, which can all cause vomiting too (Cornell, VCA).
Other causes
Infections, nervous system and balance problems, and some medications can also cause vomiting (Merck). If it started after a new medicine, call the prescribing vet before changing anything.
VCA also lists urinary tract obstruction. A blocked cat strains in the litter box but passes little or no urine. Male cats are at greater risk, and Cornell calls it a true medical emergency. More on urinary problems in cats.
When to Call Your Vet
Call now | See your vet soon | Mention at your next visit |
|---|---|---|
Vomiting again and again in one day, or can't keep water down | Vomiting or hairballs more than about once a month; weekly or more, book a visit | An occasional hairball in an otherwise healthy cat |
Blood or coffee-ground material in the vomit | Vomiting that keeps going for more than a day or two, even if your cat seems fine | Changes in how often your cat brings up hair |
Possible string, hair tie, toy, lily, medicine or antifreeze | Worms in the vomit | |
Lethargy, weakness, or belly pain | Weight loss, more thirst or urination, or diarrhea along with vomiting | |
Not eating for more than a day, or repeated unproductive retching | A known condition (kidney disease, diabetes) and new vomiting | |
Straining in the litter box with little or no urine | Any vomiting kitten: call your vet today | |
A kitten that is vomiting and also lethargic, not eating, or has diarrhea |
Sources: Cornell Feline Health Center, Merck Veterinary Manual, VCA, FDA.
Kittens get their own line because they are hit hardest by panleukopenia (feline distemper), a contagious virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea and severe dehydration, especially in kittens that aren't fully vaccinated (Merck). More in our panleukopenia guide.
Poisoning? Call your vet or an emergency clinic first. If you can't reach them, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is at (888) 426-4435 and the Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661. Both answer 24/7; fees may apply.
What to Do Right Now (and What Not to Do)
Do:
- Note when it started, how many times, and what came up.
- Photograph the vomit, and film your cat if it happens again.
- Call your vet. They will tell you whether to come in, what to bring, and what to do about food and water meanwhile.
Don't:
- Pull on string or thread, from either end.
- Give human medicines. Many are dangerous for cats.
- Give laxatives, hairball pastes or other products without your vet's OK (Cornell).
- Wait it out if any "Call now" sign is there.
What Your Vet Will Ask (and Do)
Your answers often matter as much as the tests. Expect questions like:
- When did it start, how often, and what comes up?
- Any change in food, treats, routine or medicines?
- Indoor only, or outdoors too? Could your cat have chewed a plant, string or toy?
- Any diarrhea, weight loss, or change in appetite, thirst or litter box habits?
The physical exam should include a look under the tongue for string (Merck). Blood, urine and fecal tests may follow, then x-rays or an ultrasound. Sometimes only a biopsy of the stomach or intestines can tell IBD from lymphoma (Cornell, Merck). Treatment depends on the cause and is your vet's call.
Can You Prevent It?
Not always, but you can stack the odds:
- Brush your cat, daily for longhaired cats and in shedding season (Cornell).
- Put yarn, ribbon, dental floss, hair ties and wand toys in a drawer after playtime.
- Keep lilies out of the house, bouquets included.
- Change food gradually, not overnight.
- For a fast eater, once your vet has ruled out illness, ask about smaller, more frequent meals. The 2013 hairball review suggests they may help, but the evidence is thin.
- Mention vomiting and hairballs at every checkup.
FAQ
Why is my cat throwing up but acting normal?
A one-off episode in a cat that is otherwise eating and playing normally is often minor. Vomiting that goes on for more than a day or two still needs a vet, even in a cat that seems well (VCA).
Why is my cat throwing up white foam?
Foam is often froth from the stomach, but a cat that hacks up a little foam may actually be coughing. Repeated foam, or foam with other signs, needs a vet check.
Do hairball remedies work?
Brushing is the safe first step. Ask your vet before trying a hairball diet, gel or laxative, especially because frequent hairballs can be a sign of gut or skin disease that needs its own treatment.
Originally written by Dr. Kaylee Ferreira. Updated by the I Love Veterinary editorial team.
Sources
- Cornell Feline Health Center: Vomiting
- Cornell Feline Health Center: The Danger of Hairballs
- Cornell Feline Health Center: Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Vomiting in Cats
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Disorders of the Stomach and Intestines in Cats
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Gastrointestinal Parasites of Cats
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Gastrointestinal Obstruction in Small Animals
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Gastrointestinal Ulcers in Small Animals
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Feline Panleukopenia
- Clinician's Brief: Regurgitation or Vomiting?
- VCA Animal Hospitals: Vomiting in Cats
- VCA Animal Hospitals: True or False: It's Normal for Cats to Throw Up Regularly
- Cannon M. Hair balls in cats: a normal nuisance or a sign that something is wrong? Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2013
- U.S. FDA: Lovely Lilies and Curious Cats: A Dangerous Combination
- ASPCA: Animal Poison Control Center
- Pet Poison Helpline
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your veterinarian.
