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Why is my cat throwing up often, but acting normal? Hairballs or vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Colorpoint Shorthair | Male | neutered | 1 year and 6 months old

My cat is roughly 1 and a half years old, and he has never thrown up before. Over the last couple days, he has thrown up multiple times. Only one of those times have I noticed a hairball. A couple of times, he threw up bile. We haven't switched his food, and he's not lethargic and seems healthy/normal. Is he just old enough to start having hairballs, or is this something I should make a vet visit for?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 5th, 2016

Poor Theodore! He could have hairballs, or he could have a GI illness, pancreatitis, a foreign body, or may have eaten something rotten. Given that he's not lethargic and seems normal, I'm going to suggest you try withholding food and feeding a bland diet to see if that helps. I recommend withholding food for 12-24 hours, then feeding a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 29th, 2019

    Poor Milo. I can give him a home remedy to see if that helps. I recommend withholding food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

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    Answered By Megan, DVM, CVA

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 7th, 2018

    Poor Azrael! Do you have him on a cat hairball medicine? If not I would look into getting him started on some catlax. It is a flavored petroleum based paste that you can give to help move hairball foreword. I would give him a 1 inch dose everyday for 3-5 days then decrease it to three times per week. See link below. There are many other things this could be like inflammatory bowel disease, acid reflux, parasites, low grade pancreatitis and much more. If your vet has already done a basic fecal and bloodwork and the laxatone doesn’t help, I would talk to your vet about running a more in depth fecal check - this would be sending off a sample to the lab to check for giardia, campylobacter, and other possible infections. I would also talk to them about sending off a GI blood panel. This will give you results on cobalamin (vitb12), folate, and two pancreatic enzymes. This will help giide your vet to proper treatment. Your vet may also suggest abdominal X-rays and ultrasound. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better soon. https://www.chewy.com/vetoquinol-laxatone-lubricant/dp/109716?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Vetoquinol&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz76_9OzF2AIVTrnACh0eoAfBEAQYAiABEgJhDvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 29th, 2018

    It could be the hairball causing Bingley to vomit, and he may stop now that the hairball is out. I can give you a home remedy for his vomiting to see if that helps. I recommend withholding food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

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