Vomiting in cats is common. There are various reasons for this, which are explored here. However, one thing that is important to understand is that this is a perfectly natural process cats have to rid themselves of the problem.

This means you want to find out what the cause is before deciding on what to do. Giving anti-nausea drugs can appear to give short term relief, but it makes for greater problems in the long term.

Most people appreciate the need for cats to vomit up hair balls. Some do pass the hair through to come out the other end, but not all.

Fur doesn't have any nutritious value, so it makes sense to eject it when too much builds up. More appears when the seasons change and the cat sheds their winter or summer coat.

You can limit the amount of fur ingested by brushing them. Most cats love this gentle, rhythmic massage and can demand it as part of their bonding with us.

When cats have an upset stomach, the first thing they tend to do is to eat grass. This is why it's always important to have grass available for them.

Eating the grass resolves the discomfort. They may vomit up the grass with a little saliva. Or it may induce vomiting up the contents of their stomach.

Either way, it normally solves the problem.

However, if the food is not suitable or agreeable to them, as most commercial cat food isn't, there will be repeated grass eating followed by vomiting.

This is not showing the cat has a problem, necessarily. It is more likely showing you that the food is the problem.

When this happens, one of the best solutions is to allow the cat to fast for a couple of days.

Fasting is very normal and natural for our carnivore cats, despite the common veterinary warnings. Digestion takes up a lot of energy and when someone is not well, they need that energy to heal themselves.

A normal well fed adult can can go for many days without eating and come to no harm. They often do so in the wild, when prey is not so plentiful.

Trying to force a cat to eat is one of the worst things you can do. They know what they need to do. Respect and allow that.

Vomiting in cats can occur from a toxic overload. The elimination organs, the liver and kidneys, are being stretched too far.

This toxicity can be from a variety of causes such as household chemicals (cleaners, furnishings, etc), garden chemicals, veterinary drugs and vaccines and especially from food because of its daily intake.

Cats are particularly sensitive to toxins. While many can be dumped through the normal elimination channels, not all chemicals can.

They build up over time and eventually something gives way.

It's best to deal with the digestive problems as they arise. 

Below is a list of where you'll find common toxins. This is not exhaustive.

• commercial pet food which contains many synthetic chemicals (almost all do, despite the label)
• medication, most of which suppresses natural healing
• vaccinations, which contain a variety of toxins
• proprietary flea and worm medication, most of which contain highly toxic neurotoxins
• household cleaning products
• garden pesticides, fertilisers, insecticides, fungicides, etc
• atmospheric toxins released from furnishings

It is impossible to avoid then all, but changing the diet can be a great start. A natural, good quality species specific diet goes a long way to supporting robust health.

This isn't just good for your cat, it's good for your wallet. Robust health doesn't need health care providers, or not very often.

Frequent or continuous vomiting in cats is telling you something is wrong - not with the cat, usually with the cat's diet. Suppressing it with drugs will create more problems in the long term.