Tips to help minimize problems when cats eat too quickly
Lorrie Shaw / Contributor
As carnivores by necessity, felines' teeth are designed to cut and tear meat. A typical diet for cats these days consists of kibble that comes in small pellets, so that is where the problem usually lies. Kibble's shape makes it difficult to chew, and coupled with the fact that cats eat too quickly and swallow it whole, it makes them gag.
Hard, crunchy food is helpful in keeping your kitties' teeth clean and healthy, but there is the matter of keeping cats from inhaling their food.
There are ways to safely and effectively to keep your furry friend from rushing through a meal.
Try feeding your pet on a plate or a cookie sheet. This spreads the food out a bit and slows them down a bit.
Foraging toys — found in different sizes, shapes and levels of difficulty — can act as a tool is addressing your pet's penchant for eating too fast. Secondary benefits include enticing play and activity, and achieving healthy weight loss and maintaining a good weight.
Depending on what shape your cat prefers, you can try making a homemade foraging toy out of a empty cardboard box (my cats' favorite is an empty cat food box) by cutting medium to large holes in it and dropping in kibble — or click here for more resources.
Kitties who favor rolling things around might like the SlimCat Interactive Feeder. This fun toy can be filled with a healthy portion of food that dispenses as your cat moves the ball around.
If after you try out one of these methods, and your companion is still having an issue with gagging, it's important that they see their vet to rule out any disorders or illnesses.
Lorrie Shaw is lead pets blogger for AnnArbor.com and has previously written about funky cat facts. Follow her writing and pet-related adventures on Twitter @psa2 and contact her via e-mail.
Comments
Indicat
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:22 a.m.
Love the golf ball idea. Looking forward to trying it out on my fast-eating kitty.
chipper
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 10:30 p.m.
The golf balls are a great idea. Our vet recommended using stones (large enough not to be mistaken for food, of course), which also worked well. Our cat would vomit occasionally, 10 to 20 minutes after eating. We assumed it was because she was still eating too fast, even with the stones in her dish. However, when we ultimately took her to a veterinary internist, we found out that this timing is more consistent with inflammatory bowel disease. Cats that vomit from eating too fast tend to vomit almost immediately after eating. Our cat didn't have any other symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), just the intermittent vomiting. but ultimately got sicker and had IBD proven by biopsy. It's important to be aware of this possibility because it's a risk factor for more serious illnesses like GI lynphoma.
Top Cat
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 6:26 p.m.
Sometimes the least obvious solutions make the most sense. Take the kibble and make a line with the pieces being three inches apart. Then run the line through your entire house.
Lola
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 3:31 a.m.
Top Cat, this will only work in a house without a dog ;-)
Lorrie Shaw
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 8:53 p.m.
Top Cat, Good concept, certainly, aside from running a line throughout the house. Foraging toys are a lot more fun, I'm sure! ;) Thanks for your two cents! Much appreciated!
Lola
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 5:20 p.m.
Are you supposed to put the SlimCat Interactive feeder in their bowl? If not it just looks like I'd end up with a lot of cat food all over my floor.
Lorrie Shaw
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 8:51 p.m.
Lola, No, the SlimCat feeder simply rolls along on the floor. The kibble trickles out as the cat moves the ball. Once a piece or two (or more) comes out, cats stop to eat them, and proceed. The food is the drive; they won't let it go to waste. :) Thanks for your question!
Beth
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 3:46 p.m.
We have a cat who kept eating too quickly and then regurgitating her food, and the vet recommended just putting a few golf balls on top of her bowl of dry food. It has made a tremendous difference! It takes her longer to get the food out, and she can't just stick her head in and gobble it down, and she is having incidents very rarely now.
Lorrie Shaw
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 8:48 p.m.
Excellent - I'm glad that you noted that. A lot of cat owners have a tendency to think that their cat's vomiting is due to a food that isn't right for them. Although in some cases it might be true, but most often, it's the gobbling, like in your furry friends case. Golf balls are a great tool to help avoid a problem. I appreciate you taking the time to note that. My best to you and and your cat!
Pablo
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
Why not just give them small portions at a time? If cats are appreciated, surely their friend-owners can spend a few precious moments with/for them.
Lorrie Shaw
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 8:45 p.m.
Small portions could certainly be a good choice, Paul. I'm not sure that it would slow a cat's rate of eating, but who knows - it might! One thing is for sure. In my experience, cats do love company while they eat. Many of my feline charges eat better if I sit right next to them. It's sweet. Good point. Thanks for bringing that up.