From time to time my tabby cat BooBoo upchucks; not only does that have me concerned but why do cats INSIST on barfing on carpet? :mad:
Last night’s a good example: at 3:00 am my DH and I were both woken up by that unmistakable “huappa huappa” sound of an upchucking cat. Not only that but he was in the bathroom on the linoleum floor, so he turned around to make sure he got it on the hallway carpet!!!
My vet says this isn’t unusual behavior for a cat but does anyone know WHY they puke in the most inconvenient place possible? And, yes, I’m going to talk to his vet about possibly changing him to food designed for cats with delicate digestion. He’s getting up there in years – 13 human years in July and lord only know what that equates to in a cat’s age – and his stomach might be getting more sensitive.
Is not just cats, although our cat does it, Gunner the Great Dane targets the carpet on the rare occasions he pukes. There’s woods floors throughout the house, but no. He has to puke on the area rug. And if you think a cat makes a mess, you can’t imagine what comes out of a Great Dane!
I have 6 cats… the oldest is 16 mine do this on a daily basis… sometimes one remember will go to the kitchen …but yeah one or two goes out of their way barf on the carpet …
Maybe in the wild they’re conditioned to vomit in grass or shrubs to conceal it and indoors your carpet is the closest approximation.
(Clearly just a WAG from me.)
ETA: I don’t own a cat but my buddy does and despite having mostly wooden floors his cat will always hurl on the carpet so I assume there’s something instinctual about this.
Well, I can confirm that concealment is a thing. My cat usually pukes on the carpet or a rug, too. But the times he’s puked on the tile and I wasn’t in the room to know and clean it immediately, I’ll consistently hear/find him “digging” the tile to bury it. I’ve never seen him do the same on carpet.
He might want a better surface to grip with his feet while he’s puking. I think some cats consider carpeting the equivalent of the ground outside. Some dogs do the same thing. Or, you know, he’s a cat, he might be doing it because he knows it’s harder for you to clean up. Never scold a cat, that just lets them know what to do to you.
They are food source for a whole bunch of critters.
they expend huge quantities of energy acquiring food (stop snickering) and preserve energy as much as possible. Sleep, lie in sun, casually groom - Magnificent!
They use carpet because it is soft and warm. They use shoes for the same reason they conceal their waste - confuse predation.
Viewed selectively, their behavior confounds; viewed collectively, it is logically seamless.
I like cats - and “felis domesticus” is readily available. Favorite: Snow Leopard.
It seems perfectly sensible for a cat to puke where it will make the least mess (from his point of view). On a hard wood or tile floor, the puddle will spread out vs. being absorbed by the carpet. And it could splash on the cat, requiring them to lick themself clean. So the carpet or rug seems a much better spot for a cat to puke.
What do you do if you suddenly get nauseous and are going to puke?
You run for a toilet or sink to puke in, or if you can’t reach that grab a wastebasket or some similar container. Just like a cat, you seek the nearest spot that makes the least mess for you.
When I had my orange cat, Ollie (R.I.P.) he used to eat fast and furiously that I left a stack of small paper plates around (this cat followed me EVERYWHERE), every now and then I would hear him retching, about to puke and I would pull a John Woo style move to slide a plate under his face, I actually caught the puke a few times, because the carpeting i used to have was white and pain in the ass to clean.
Woolite carpet spray. I swear by it. If you worry about the cats walking on it, put a towel over the area until it dries.
What I HATE is when Maggie pukes, because she’ll throw up in one spot, walk away, then puke some more in another, walk away from that, continue to puke again, etc. Why can’t she just throw up all in one area?
Woolite carpet spray. I swear by it. If you worry about the cats walking on it, put a towel over the area until it dries.
What I HATE is when Maggie pukes, because she’ll throw up in one spot, walk away, then puke some more in another, walk away from that, continue to puke again, etc. Why can’t she just throw up all in one area?
While puking, they are already under stress - having their sole/primary source of life support rushing them displaying concern/panic and alacrity further aggravates stress.
We are already enormous, hyper-strong creatures which display the ability to harm.
please do not threaten or display threatening behavior.
There was a Cute video circulating recently of a moron sneaking a long, colorful object (cucumber) alongside a cat feeding.
Count the number of things simply obscene about that practice.
The poor creature was feeding with eyes down (cannot be avoided due to skeleton).
It was also crouched into an instant-flee position. While feeding. Class Act!
If you find yourself tense, fearing for your life - esp. when feeding - you should examine the circumstances if your life.
She is fleeing as rapidly as possible. She is a prey leaving unmistakable evidence of her location - she will not linger.
Also, “put a towel over the area until it dries” is spot-on (shut up) - disturbing a liquid (NOT = “fluid”) on a protected, absorbing, surface will risk deepening and/or spearding the liquid.
We have nine indoor cats. It’s a daily occurrence for us.
I now give points for technical ability and artistic merit. The leader continues to be our older (13 years) female. She sat on the kitchen table once and proceeded with projectile vomiting. What resulted was a graceful arc of a well-formed hairball, along with a semi viscous pre- and post-recent food trip. The floor splashdown resembled a gigantic chewing tobacco spit created by a master chewer.
I feel your pain. Enigma has chronic stomach issues. He spends a good chunk of his time in the basement, which of course has a white carpet. At least, it started out white.