Stomach Ailments

Can cats get the stomach flu?
The reason I ask is b/c my neighbors cat basically lives with me. Her name is Smokey. She is a fiesty, sharp (ouch!) indoor/outdoor cat who goes no furthur than the backyard. Super long hair and really fluffy. When I woke up on Friday morning I noticed a hairball in the bathroom. Nothing too strange but I could tell that she was a little "off". Still eating and using her litter but not as "on the go". So suppertime came and I fed her. She promptly threw it up. Ate some more..threw it up.
Saturday was much the same. Still hungry, thirsty and using the litter but barfing a lot. Saturday about 5:47am in the morning she threw up on my bed. It was mainly dry heaves. By this time I was getting very worried. I called her "real" mom early Sunday and asked her about a vet. She said that cats tend to pick up little bugs and quite often get over them themselves. So after a rather terrible Sunday morning she started to get better. She ate and kept things down and slept like a log something that she wasn't doing while she was sick.
So was it a bug? Was it a bothersome hairball? Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happenning again?
I do apologize for the length of this post but I was very worried and don't have a lot of cat experience. Please respond!

Hi Black Banana and welcome to Pet Talk. I don't really know if cats can get a form of the flu or not. I would wonder if maybe she ate something strange in the yard. We just recently had a couple of topics going about things that are dangerous and even poisonous to our kitties and I was very surprised how many things are bad for them to eat. It sounds like whatever was troubling her is lessening. Let's hope so. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif By the way, don't worry about the length of your post. Some of us tend to ramble on and on and on...... http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

Spencer...I love that description of a hairball on the way up... dramatic. That word says it all. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

Spencer you mentioned grass. I think you may be onto something. This is actually the first time that she has been like this and its also a record snowfall winter for St John's. Not a blade of grass in sight since early November. Maybe thats it...

I DID notice the cats from Nova Scotia. I actually attended university there. And I know the Smokster would LOVE butter!!