Kucing muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan.

Malay does not use articles the way English does. So:

• kucing can mean a cat, the cat, or even cats
• jangkitan can mean an infection or the infection

The exact meaning depends on context.

So Kucing muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan could be understood as something like:

• The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea because of an infection
• A cat vomits and has diarrhea because of infection

If you want to make the cat more specific, Malay often adds something like itu:

• Kucing itu muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan = That/The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea because of an infection

By itself, kucing does not clearly show singular or plural. It can mean:

• cat
• cats

Usually context tells you which one is meant.

If Malay really wants to make the plural explicit, it can use reduplication:

• kucing-kucing = cats

But in normal sentences, speakers often leave nouns unmarked for number unless it matters.

Malay often does not need a verb like to be in places where English does. It also often expresses states and conditions without using a separate word for has.

So in this sentence:

• muntah = vomit / vomits / vomiting
• cirit-birit = diarrhea / to have diarrhea

Malay is comfortable saying the symptoms directly after the subject:

• Kucing muntah dan cirit-birit
  literally something like Cat vomits and diarrhea

But in natural English, we translate it as:

• The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea

It can function as either, depending on context.

In this sentence, muntah is functioning as a predicate, so it is best understood as a verb or verbal idea:

• muntah = to vomit / vomits / is vomiting

But muntah can also be used as a noun in some contexts, meaning vomit.

This flexibility is common in Malay. Many words are less rigidly separated into noun/verb categories than in English.

Cirit-birit is the normal Malay word for diarrhea. In a sentence like this, it acts as a predicate meaning to have diarrhea or be suffering from diarrhea.

So:

• Kucing cirit-birit = The cat has diarrhea

Even though English needs has, Malay does not.

This is one of those cases where a noun-like word can behave very naturally as the main predicate in Malay.

The hyphen shows reduplication, which is very common in Malay.

However, in this case cirit-birit is a fixed expression. You should learn it as one vocabulary item meaning diarrhea.

Not every reduplicated word has a meaning you can easily work out from the base word alone. So for learners, it is best to memorize:

• cirit-birit = diarrhea

The hyphen is the standard spelling.

Kerana means because of or because.

Jangkitan means infection.

So:

• kerana jangkitan = because of an infection / due to infection

A useful note: jangkitan is a noun formed from the root jangkit, which is related to infection or contagion.

So the last part of the sentence explains the cause of the symptoms.

Yes, very often.

Both can mean because or because of, but there is a small difference in feel:

• kerana is often a bit more standard or formal
• sebab is very common in everyday speech

So you may hear:

• Kucing muntah dan cirit-birit sebab jangkitan

That is natural in conversation.
The version with kerana sounds a little more neutral or written.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. So muntah does not mean specifically vomited, vomits, or is vomiting by itself.

The time is understood from context or from time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• tadi = earlier
• sekarang = now
• sedang = currently / in the middle of

So this sentence on its own could mean:

• The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea because of an infection
• The cat vomited and had diarrhea because of an infection
• Cats vomit and get diarrhea because of infection

Context decides.

Yes, it is natural, especially in a simple medical or explanatory context.

That said, depending on context, a speaker might make it more specific or slightly more explicit, for example:

• Kucing itu muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan.
  = The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea because of an infection.

• Kucing itu mengalami muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan.
  = The cat is experiencing vomiting and diarrhea because of an infection.

The original sentence is perfectly fine. It is just compact and direct, which is very normal in Malay.

Yes. The phrase kerana jangkitan applies to the whole symptom phrase:

• muntah dan cirit-birit

So the meaning is:

• The cat is vomiting and has diarrhea because of an infection

Malay often places the cause after the main statement, and one cause phrase can explain multiple actions or conditions joined by dan.

You can add sedang before the verb:

• Kucing sedang muntah = The cat is vomiting right now

With the full sentence, you could say:

• Kucing sedang muntah dan cirit-birit kerana jangkitan.

This suggests the symptoms are happening at the moment.

But even without sedang, Malay often leaves aspect unstated if the context already makes it clear.