English · Slang Candidate

shoot the cat

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: to shoot the cat

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To vomit.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Nôn mửa

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Examples

“[…] I am telling you the man is as sick as a— a—” “A dog,” Roland supplied. “Shot the cat twice after we got him to bed.”

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To vomit from excess of liquor; called also catting.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Nôn mửa vì uống rượu quá nhiều

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

to vomit. From a story of a man being sick in the back yard, and suffocating a cat and all her kittens.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

nôn mửa

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Cats Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “shoot the cat” mean?

To vomit.

Is “shoot the cat” formal or informal?

shoot the cat is generally slang.