I have two cats, so that I hope that qualifies me to answer your questions. So, there are two reasons that cats can vomit up substances. One is when they are having a hairball, and that generally looks like a clump of hair although it may be moist to the touch. If it’s more of a conglomeration of dry food, or any type of food where you can see bits of it still in there, then it could be for a couple different reasons. If it’s only once a month, and everything seems fine, then I don’t think you have to worry overly much. If it starts happening more often, that’s when you probably want to get them in to see the vet to see if there’s some other underlying, more concerning reason.
If it’s a hairball, you want your cat getting those up when they need to. In fact if you constantly see them retching and nothing is coming up, that’s when you need to be concerned if it continues because it could mean that they have a mass of hair that they are unable to bring up, and over time that can be life-threatening. So if you see your cat retching like they’re trying to pass a hairball and it is constantly non-productive, there are products you can buy to give them that will help them pass the hairball, but honestly, if you’re like me and you have to watch your money, I just take a little bit of Vaseline and put it on the end of their nose. They may not be happy with you in the moment but it really is in their best interest. Because they won’t like it on their nose, they will lick it off and then that ends up being much easier than you trying to put it in their mouth. And what those kinds of substances do is help to clump the hairball in their stomach and then it will come up much easier. Just make sure that it is the old traditional Vaseline and not some fancy product that might have something harmful for cats in it.
If it’s just once a month or so that they’re throwing up food, it may just be that their stomach wasn’t agreeable that day, or maybe the food wasn’t the best. I know that it’s better to give your cats moist food over dry food as much as possible. I give my cats moist food everyday, but I do have some dry food out for them to nibble on throughout the day.
I hope this helps! I didn’t mean to go on for so long. Wishing your kitties all the best!