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Cat eating food too fast.

(18 Posts)
Nandalot Sat 28-Sep-19 09:06:45

Our cat is being sick with undigested food every few days. She is regularly wormed (monthly treatment) and I do not see any worms in the sick or her litter tray. She eats dried food, will not eat wet food of any sort even choice pieces of our food . This is a recent problem. Has anyone else had to deal with this? Is it something I should take her to the vets for?

shysal Sat 28-Sep-19 09:17:51

My Bengal cat has the same problem, which is due to her being hyperactive and eating too quickly. She never does it on a washable floor, often from a windowsill from where it slides down the wall behind the radiator onto the carpet in my bedroom!
I have tried feeding little and often so that she is not so hungry but it still happens a couple of times a week. I haven't mentioned it to the vet, should have done so at her booster appointment but forgot. She is otherwise so healthy I don't worry. As it is only a recent problem for your cat it might be worth a mention to the vet.

ninathenana Sat 28-Sep-19 09:20:58

Have you checked her teeth ?
If she can't crunch her dry food properly it will not pass through and her stomach will eject it.
If her teeth look fine then maybe try softening the dried food a little with water or gravy especially if she doesn't drink much.

Septimia Sat 28-Sep-19 09:27:23

The cat we now have has the same problem, dating from his previous owner. I think his digestion was ruined by being left large quantities of dried food intended to last for a couple of days. I suspect he scoffed most of it in one go and then brought it back up.

He is still inclined to eat too fast and is still sometimes sick, although often because of fur balls and usually somewhere awkward. Anyway, we managed to improve the situation by feeding him less at a time and using grain-free food (don't know why that worked!).

Charleygirl5 Sat 28-Sep-19 09:40:15

My cat has similar problems and the vet suggested making her stretch for her food by putting it on a box or something. The problem is her bowl slithers around but she does take longer to eat.

Nandalot Sat 28-Sep-19 09:49:05

Thank you all. Some good suggestions here which I shall try before taking her to the vets.

SueDonim Sat 28-Sep-19 12:08:24

You can buy special feeding bowls to help slow down their eating, something like this. www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Musketeer-Feeding-Non-slip-Interactive/dp/B078PFSD35/ref=asc_df_B078RKZFSV/?hvlocphy=20342&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&hvnetw=g&hvadid=205211220682&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos=1o14&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-456460443979&hvrand=11374493720027428721

Sussexborn Sat 28-Sep-19 12:15:45

Try putting a silicone oven pad under the bowl to stop it slipping. Get them from a pound shop or Lidls/Aldi.

shysal Sat 28-Sep-19 13:09:18

SueDonim, thank you for the link. I have found something similar on Ebay which is ideal. I didn't know they existed.

EllanVannin Sat 28-Sep-19 15:02:43

My cats have the Felix pouches and a little tray loaded with Whiskas pockets dried food. I never have any problems because with them being used to this they just eat what they want when they want and I just keep filling it up. It's always there.

Willow500 Sun 29-Sep-19 07:17:07

One of my cats has this problem too - she wolfs her food down so fast it sometimes just comes straight back up again - if I'm lucky it's on the tiled floor! She was feral as a kitten so I think it stems from her having to find food for herself. She's also incredibly greedy so will eat the other cats food if she finds it - she had an overactive thyroid which made that worse but had the iodine treatment which cured her. She did have dental problems too and now only has her bottom front teeth so it's even more difficult to make her eat slower. I tend to feed her (she only has Felix pouches) a little and often and then mash up the food with a fork to make it easier to digest which helps a bit.

I think she has Pica too - when she's hungry she will lick anything and everything - carrier bags especially but the bathroom tiles, wardrobe mirrors, even the material on the bed head. Strangest cat I've ever had but wouldn't be without her grin

SueDonim Sun 29-Sep-19 10:55:20

Shysal I didn't know they existed until recently, either! I saw one in the pet section of a garden centre, I think, and thought 'What's that?' grin

Luckily, the cats we have now don't bolt their food but I could have done with such a bowl for some of our previous pets.

Nandalot Mon 30-Sep-19 14:19:02

I shall try one of these bowls. She isn’t greedy or overweight. The dried food can stay there for ages before she eats it.

Nandalot Mon 30-Sep-19 14:19:47

Thank you for the link, *SueDonim”.

Nandalot Mon 30-Sep-19 14:20:18

Sorry did “ instead of * round name!

SueDonim Mon 30-Sep-19 15:04:21

smile

grandtanteJE65 Mon 30-Sep-19 17:02:42

In my experience, if a cat has a large fur ball in her stomach there won't be all that much room for food until she has brought up the fur ball, so a pot of grass, if she doesn't go out, is a good idea.

Some of my cats have been unable to eat one brand of dried food. They were immediately sick if they did so. I assumed it was either the colouring agents in the food or something else in it that they were allergic to. Changing the brand solved the problem.

Any cat that eats too fast, will be sick, so would we. So let her eat a little then take the bowl away for quarter of an hour, then let her have a little more. Repeat the process until she has had her normal amount of food.

I believe the current worming pills dissolve the worms entirely, so you won't see them in what she passes or brings up.

HeyTheree Tue 01-Oct-19 08:01:30

Special bowl is a great idea. Also, you could try a slow automatic feeder as this review says. You control the size of every portion served. Also, every model has a timer which also can be adjusted.