how to help kitty choking on dry food?

hi everybody
I know there are a lot of experienced cat lovers on this forum so I thought I would post my question here. Our Heidi Ann loves to eat and she eats her food extremely fast. Yesterday afternoon was one of those days. A morsel of food lodged in her throat and she began coughing- it was a strange wheezing cough, not the normal cough that she occasionally has. I panicked, got her carrier out and was going to take her to the vet immediately. By the time I came downstairs with my keys etc. after a mad dash throught the house, she was fine. Has anyone experienced this and could you pls let me know how you handled it? Our vet is about 10 min away and when the choking happened, needless to say I freaked out.

Uhh, that must have been so scary. :( I'm afraid I wouldn't know exactly what to do, but somehow I would try to help, of course.

Not that I think this happens often with cats, but nonetheless, it's important to know, as there's not much time to find out. :eek: I suggest you ask your vet - so will I. :)

Hope your kitty is OK now!

I have heard of people putting a large rock in the bowl with the food to help slow an animal down when they are eating. Make sure it is too big for the kitty to put in its mouth though. It's supposed to take up a large area of the bowl so the animal can't stick its mouth in and gobble away. It has to work a little harder for the food, hence it eats slower.

Randi, yes it was very scary because I knew i had to do something fast and did not know what. I have to take her in tomorrow for something else to her "pediatrician" and I will ask. She is fine now, thank you.

Moesha, thank you. She has been with us for 4 years (she is a senior kitty)and has always gobbled her food down like this. She literally inhales her wet food, it dissapears that fast. She gest several small dry food meals a day to control her weight, and there were not too many morsels in her bowl when the incident happened. I will look for a rock in our garden and see if this helps her slow down.

Feed smaller portions more often throughout the day. This will force her to slow down!

Or another alternative is to spread her food out on a dinner plate, or even out on the floor. This will also make her slow down since she'll have to pick up each piece of kibble individually instead of inhaling them from the bowl!

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Originally Posted by Moesha

I have heard of people putting a large rock in the bowl with the food to help slow an animal down when they are eating. Make sure it is too big for the kitty to put in its mouth though. It's supposed to take up a large area of the bowl so the animal can't stick its mouth in and gobble away. It has to work a little harder for the food, hence it eats slower.

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Yes, this is what my vet recommended. I have a kitty who eats like it might be her last meal and this has helped her.

I like Jessika's idea about spreading the dry food out on the floor!!! If she is the ONLY kitty(or if you have others that can be somewhere else while she eats)this is a great idea!!! That is what is so great about this site, all the great ideas!!!

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Originally Posted by Jessika

or even out on the floor. This will also make her slow down since she'll have to pick up each piece of kibble individually instead of inhaling them from the bowl!

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This is what I do with mine. Anybody who needs extra time or extra kibbles gets the feeding cage, but scarf-&-barfers have to chase their kibbles. Cuts down on barfing a lot!!!

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Originally Posted by critters

This is what I do with mine. Anybody who needs extra time or extra kibbles gets the feeding cage, but scarf-&-barfers have to chase their kibbles. Cuts down on barfing a lot!!!

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Scarf 'n' barf, I love it! :p