one cat vomits, the other gets...very disturbed?

by Alex
(US)

My vet told me the feeding my cats organic plain yogurt every now and then would be good for my kitties' tummies. They are a little over a year old, and Leo, (orange male) used to get a very bloated and gassy tummy and she said that this would help with that. Surprisingly, they absolutely love the yogurt. Today, my female calico, Mia, gorged herself too quickly on the yogurt and ended up throwing it up in the kitchen floor. Upon seeing her vomit, my room-mate's cat, Hank, got very upset and began a long and distressed yowling, then began hissing at Mia and swatting at her.

The 3 of them always get along for the most part and I have never seen anything like this before. Obviously I will have to put less yogurt out next time so as not to allow them to over-eat, but what in the world could explain Hank's reaction to Mia throwing up??? It was as if he were angry at her for something that she did not mean to do...

Answer from Kate
Hi
Its all to do with fear. cats will often react in an aggressive way to something which frightens them, a sort of defense mechanism.

It is a common occurrence and hopefully the two will be fine again in a day or so. if not then you will have to help the cats rebuild their confidence in each other gain by using the re introduction method described here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-aggression-trauma.html

I must admit i am surprised the vet suggested yogurt for your cats as it contains milk which cats have problems with as they can't digest lactose properly. Perhaps small amounts are Ok.

best wishes Kate

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