He left me a present this morning!

I know it is natural; but, he looks so "sad", disgusted", and unhappy" when he is actually doing it and then he trys to cover it up, like he is ashamed of it.

Haha.. I know what you mean speak easy. Men have been retching for thousands of years too, but we're not so happy about it either. Cats must feel the same. Getting a hairball up the throat must be one heck of an effort. But it's a necessary evil. Poor little cat.

1) Cats can be really miserable but they won't show it. That is a survival instinct, don't let others know you are not 100%. 2) If you had a huge mass of garbage in your stomach and you got rid of it, you would probably feel better also. I know a hairball only weighs 2 - 3 ounces but when you're a cat that only weighs 12 pounds in the first place that is like a 120 pound person throwing up 20 - 30 ounces (1-1/2 to 2 pounds). What a relief!

Thanks, no presents this morning. Without the hairball remedy; he would be leaving me daily presents. It really does help; but it is not 100%. What my son really hates is when they do it right outside his bedroom door during the night. Then, it is COLD and disgusting when he gets up in the morning.

Our cats rarely "bolt" their food, thank goodness. (I used to have a cat that did that and half his meals came right back up.) It would have been nicer if he did it NEXT to my shoes instead of IN them though.

When a cat constantly bolts his food, there are 2 things you can try. 1) Feeding him all by himself in a separate room - sometimes they are afraid someone else will try to take the food away (person, cat or dog). 2) Only giving them ONE teaspoon of food at a time and feeding they every couple of hours until they are full and happy. Daily "barfing" doesn't let them get all the nutrition they need.

I usually give my cat a few pieces of food to start him off, and then give him the rest of the serving. That usually keeps him from eating so fast that he pukes it back. Now it is usually just hairballs or eating the plants that makes him puke. My college roomate had a cat that loved to chases beetles in the summer and eat them by the pound. Regurgatated beetle casings has got to be the most disgusting thing I have ever found on a floor. It looked like something out of the "Alien" movies. :P

When they groom themselves, they end up swallowing loose hair. If it doesn't pass through, it collects in the stomach and then comes back up. It is "possible" for dogs to also get them BUT it is rare. Most dogs are larger and hair passes through more easily. Also, a cat's toungue is rough and actually PULLS loose fur from their coat; but that same "roughness" is angled inward and pulls the hair right on in.

ewwww

I am amazed that you never ended up with a hairball. I have had shorthaired cats all my life (Joe is the exception). Some shorthair cats shed heavily and others not as much. Our last Siamese, shed very little; but, even he presented us with the occasional hairball. FYI - even though they are called "hairball" they are not ball shaped. They look more like something that belongs in the litter box; but, they are full of hair and partially digested food.