Do cats sometimes eat too fast?
In the past year, about every two months or so, Ritzy will snarf down a bunch of food, not chewing it very well, then urp it all back up---I can tell that all of the dry food pieces are intact, like she swallowed them whole. She is always fine after that, and continues to eat normally, chewing her kibble well, without throwing up again.
I'm wondering if this is anything to be concerned about. I check the contents of her litterbox to make sure everything is "solid", she is as regular as a clock, drinks enough water...is fed regularly (and limited to a scoop in the morning and a scoop in the evening because she was getting "chubby") and is only fed Iams dry cat food. She has come to monitor her intake with our feeding schedule, so I don't think this is a "hunger" attack.
This baffles me...is it her way of 'cleansing' hairballs? I'm always worried she is going to choke.
Sorry for the gross topic.
Ohh, so sorry about Sydney
Was Sydney an older cat? Wasn't that the big black kitty? too sad, and to have it happen while away...my heart goes out to you. I probably missed the thread announcing this sadness - I've been busy and not on line as much the past few months. My condolences
Ritz does not have other health problems and is a very active kitty - while she does sleep the typical cat hours, when she is awake she wants to play and run (and is only a little over 2 years old). She is indoors only. The vet believes her weight is fine
This is a "random" act. While we do feed her on a schedule, she does not go for any length of time without food. IN fact, she seems to know how to "ration" her intake based on our timing, (morning and evening)there is always a little kibble left in the dish when we put out more...this is just something that she will do periodically.
Re: Do cats sometimes eat too fast?
Quote:
Originally posted by tuxluvr
In the past year, about every two months or so, Ritzy will snarf down a bunch of food, not chewing it very well, then urp it all back up---
LOL LOL urp it! :D
Yes! I guess I'm not the only one with one of these binging cats! LOL Marius has this very bad habit of gulping down everything then...urping it all back up. As long as everything is ok with your cat, I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. I've tried several tactics with Marius, but he'll still do his binge and purge thing every now and then. I notice that it happens more frequently when we get home late and are behind in feeding time. He'll just wolf it down. But, we ended up switching from Iams (little pellets) to Nutro (bigger chunks) in hopes that the bigger pieces would force him to chew. It helped a little, but he'll still urp. Lately I've just been giving him a few kibbles at a time and if he keeps them down, I'll give him more.
emily_the_spoiled, what you explained about cats in the wild is most probably the reason some cats do that. I hadn't thought of it before!:) Thanks for posting that. You know, come to think of it, I sometimes have to wonder if Marius gulps his food like that because he was a starving bag of bones street cat when I got him, and he's never recovered from that trauma...so he feels he must gulp all of his food in case he doesn't get fed again!! ??
Re: Re: Do cats sometimes eat too fast?
Quote:
Originally posted by wolflady
LOL LOL urp it! :D
Yes! I guess I'm not the only one with one of these binging cats! LOL
Oh dear, I just realized that we may be harboring "model cats"...they are so obsessed with being runway-svelt that they go on binge purge attacks! If I see empty bags of cheetos and cheeseburger wrappers in Ritzy's usual hiding places I'll worry....no...wait...SVELT. yeah, right......:rolleyes:
Thanks for the thoughts, we keep very close tabs on ritzy - keep the water bowl clean (scrub out with hot water every 2-3 days and refill), sift the poopy box twice a week and do all new litter every 2 weeks....gad, I've become a maid to a furry little tuxedo face!
But she is always active and healthy, as is evidenced by her evening and morning rampages through the house, the shinycoat and bright eyes. She doesn't act sick when she does this, almost like "something went down the wrong way"...and she continues to eat after. She did have a legitimate tummy ache once after her spay surgery - it was a different event, lots of awful moany merrooooouuuuuwws accompanied that one.
The dreaded annual vet visit comes up in a few months, so I'll mention it then, but all seems aok in Ritzyland...
thanks for the enlightening comments!