Any other cats do this?

The other night I came home & did my nightly litter box cleaning. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jordan scratching at a towel that was laying on the floor. I didn't think anything of it. After I finished scooping I turned to look at him & give him a pet and found what he was doing was trying to cover some throw up that was on the towel. I don't know if it was from him, or Levi but it was smack in the middle of the towel, which was fine by me because a towel is a lot easier to clean than the carpet. So I walked towards him to start cleaning it up & he got this scared look on his face like he had done something wrong. It concerns me because this is the first time since I've had the boys that one of them has thrown up and I NEVER yell at a cat for this because they can't help it. So I just went about cleaning it up & didn't make a big deal about it, but I'm wondering if this is normal behavior or does it sound like someone punished him for throwing up? He's only 7 months old now & I've had him for the last 3 months. My Jordan is truly differnt than any other cat I've known & it's one of the things I love about him, but because he's so differnt his behavior often leaves me scratching my head.

He probably was yelled at or smacked for throwing up in the past because of his reaction. You did a good thing by not reacting to it and getting rid of it quickly.

It does sound like he was punished or yelled at in his past.

Felixia (I got her as an adult) will barf & run off to hide.

Mr. & Sylvestra (I've had since kittenhood) will barf, try to bury it, and just look at me: 'you can clean it up now'.

Sometimes they'll 'announce' that a hairball is coming, so I can get some newspaper & put it in front of them. That makes for easy cleanup.

Fortunately they're not doing it very often since I've added canned food to their diet.

Piper used to run in fear when she first came to us when she noticed that we saw that she had thrown up. I just went after her, even before cleaning it up, and told her she was a good girl until she calmed down! She is OK now !!!!

I've sometimes wondered if that isn't a matter of cleanliness. JC is the first cat we've had from a very early age (10 weeks), and he's never been scolded for "accidents". Still, if he has to throw up, he tries to do it in his litter box, and if he doesn't make it that far, he calls us right away to clean up the grass, saliva and hair. I've also noticed that he'll regurgitate on the parquet rather than on the Oriental carpet in the living room, which, after growing up with dogs, I find very accommodating of him. That's one reason why my mom says he's not a cat, but an alien.

Sam used to be like that. I got him as an adult, and he is long haired, and has a sensitive stomach, so he thows up pretty regularly. At first, he would run to the other end of the apartment and hide. I started patting him and speaking softly to him when he was in mid-throw up, if I could catch him at it. Now he tries to find paper or something to throw up on, and will meow and sit beside it until I have noticed. And if he uses something like tissue paper he will try burying it afterwards too. I assumed that he had been punished or yelled at by his previous family.

I have a commercial grade carpet everywhere, that I hate, except for the fact that it is kind of cat barf coloured. And was that colour even before I got the cat.

Aw that is so sad that he got scared.. poor sweetie

Saki has coughed up a small amount of spit/food before and he tries to cover it up. It's kind of funny to watch him do that. One of his little poops accidentally flew out of the litterbox onto the floor once when he got out and he tried to cover that too

Originally posted by Sicycat
One of his little poops accidentally flew out of the litterbox onto the floor once when he got out and he tried to cover that too

Click to expand...

When Kahu kicks his poo out of the litter box, he plays poo soccer.


Rang - I am sorry that your cat is so scared when he throws up but bless you for having patience.

Gus has always been a bit of a vomiter and he always acts scared or embarrassed afterwards. I've never yelled at him for doing it, I can't imagine that he enjoys it anymore than I enjoy cleaning up. Maybe it's just a cat pride thing or maybe he did yet punished for it in the past.

Jeepers has only been sick once, she also hid, She's never been yelled at for making a mess. I left her to her own devices and cleaned up the mess with a minimum of fuss, within half an hour she was stretched out on my lap.

I have had my cat since he was a baby and got him from my mom. He tries to cover everything from "potty overflow" (as we call it} to dust balls he has drug out from under the couch. He always acts suspicious like he is afraid he will be in trouble should he be caught. I know he has never been yelled at or chased away and is pretty much rotten to the core, I always assumed he acted like that because its not supposed to be on the floor.