Do cats sometimes eat too fast?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by wayne0214
This barfing up food that was too quickly eaten is common occurance around here. Fortunately, it is only my kittens that do most of this and it is not a regular occurance. Once in while I will let Amy outside, for her to gulp down some green grass. And then she will usually barf up the contents, but not after a whole meal.

.........wayne

Wayne! You're back! I'm sure there's probably a post in "General" but I've been swamped again so just wanted to say a quick "Welcome Back!" You've been missed. Can't wait to hear how all the kids took the trip and are settling in.

[wayne0214]

Thanks for your thoughts of me. Yes, they made the trip OK after the initial protests about being shut up in back of my little truck. However I lost Snow Cat in the journey. Apparently he got in some kind of situation where he was in danger of being covered with small but heavy boxes. I heard a lot of meowing in the back of my truck but thought it was Otis, my orange tabby kitten, fussing. At any rate, by the time I had entered Mohave, Calif, Snow cat was dead. But I did not realize it until I got to Ashfork, Ariz, that following morning and got out to check on the alternator on my truck, that is when I found him dead. Needless to say I was quite upset. When I crossed the bridge connecting Needles, Calif. with Arizona, at about 2 AM, I saw a figure crossing the bridge covered with gray wool blankets, pushing what appeared to be a baby stroller. What was most unusual was that at this time of the morning in the Lower Colorado River Valley, it was still 90 deg F. However, I did not see any part of her body. I thought to myself that perhaps it was one of the local Indian tribes crossing with her children. But in Ashfork Ariz, after finding Snow Cat dead then it dawned on me that the figure was an apparition, telling me that I was carting a dead "baby". I still get the hair raising up on me whenever I think of this. This also acconts for not seeing any part of her body, because there wasn't any. I have heard of apparitions presenting themselves in such a manner but it was thought that I would never see such a thing. Otherwise, my remaining 12 made the journey OK and without fussing. In fact when I arrived at my new (older) home in southeast Kansas, some of them did not want to leave the truck, especially the kittens. But after getting all of them in the house, they began to explore and within about 45 minutes, they were chasing each other around the large vacant rooms. I have been off line because everything I looked at in the house needed some attention, especially the electrical sockets as there was still the old style 2-slot types beig used. I have been replacing them with the code 3-slot types. Fortunately, the large basement allows access to all the plumbing so, it was only necessary to find a solid earth ground in order to connect the newer types. So, I have been purchasing various furniture, painting and repairing things before I could get back on line.

...............wayne

[krazyaboutkatz]

Sunny will also eat very fast sometimes and then throw it up again. He hasn't done this for quite a while though. I used to find throw up almost everyday from one of my cats. Now I give them hairball medicine every other day and it rarely happens.

[gary tweedle]

At the lost cats hotel this is a bit of a problem!!And it seems to be the Siamese cats who end up leaving thier food on the floor.The problem is that they leave
the mess
where i have to walk,on the stairs etc,etc.And it can be dangerousand I have to step lightly!!

[wayne0214]

Perhaps some of you remember last spring, about Tiger barfing up what ever she ate, because she has a 3" piece of grass in her nose. She has quit barfing all together, and generally holds her food down OK now. Barfing is not generally a problem now from any of my 12. But every once in a while I have to get out the mop and bucket of soap-water and clean up kitty barf.

Lut, I am certainly sorry to hear about Sydny. He must have passed on to the RB during my moving. I know it is hard to take because of the love that is shared with them. I hope you get another kitty to "take his place" soon. There are plenty of furkids out there who need loving homes. I am seriously considering getting a new kitty to "replace" Snow Cat because I miss him so.

.........wayne

[Nomilynn]

Our old cat with no teeth would eat and urp because it made the food softer so he could gum it up. Maybe that's the reason?

Wayne, I'm so sorry to hear about Snow Cat.. but that story you wrote sent shivers down my spine. How wonderful to know that Snow Cat is still with you! Glad to hear the trip went well otherwise.

[tuxluvr]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
Our old cat with no teeth would eat and urp because it made the food softer so he could gum it up. Maybe that's the reason?

Nope, Ritzy's choppers are intact....and she won't eat what she hurled...blech..just leaves it there and sits by it like she's proud or something...and watches mommy clean it up...fortunately this is not an every day thing...just once every other month or so, which makes me wonder if it's some kind of hairball cleansing ritual.

[Edwina's Secretary]

just leaves it there and sits by it like she's proud or something...and watches mommy clean it up..

Edwina does this too. She seems to feel it is a special thing to do when we have overnight guests Like my in-laws Who point it out to me first thing in the morning.

She free feeds -- IAM low fat -- so she has no reason to binge. When she barfs -- not often -- the kibbles are undigested and -- shall we say "distinct." At least that makes it easy to clean up.

When I asked the vet about it she said..."cats vomit."

Well...there you have it!

[tuxluvr]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary




When I asked the vet about it she said..."cats vomit."

Well...there you have it!

Can't get more succinct than that

[neko1]

My chunky-butt eats like she has never had anything to eat before. She swallows her pieces whole and once in awhile she will vomit the pieces back up. It's just because she eats too fast.

[Felicia's Mom]

I have noticed that Felicia will vomit if she eats and then drinks water, so I make sure she does not drink right after she eats.

[toughCookie]

do cats eat too fast?? ha, come to my house and watch them, there is no question!

sometimes Louise would do the same, meow for food then gobble it then I would find that she had vomited it up and almost whole. smaller amounts like your vet siad is a good idea, I had to do that for a while, then when I thought she had had enought time to digest that, Iwould give her more.

[Cataholic]

Hmmmm I had thought about posting this as a new thread, but, since we are talking about vomit...here goes:

Tex is a nueterd male, indoor king, and 11 years old. I have had him since he was 7 months. He vomits all the time. At first, back in his 'youth' it was maybe once a week. Now, it is pretty much every other day, and he will sometimes have good episodes, and sometimes a bad two or three days. His weight has dropped, slowly, and he is about 8.5 pounds. At his max, he was 12 pounds.

Before anyone gets too upset, I have had him examined, tested, on different meds, foods, etc. I have not just let this condition exist. As strange as it sounds- he is really healthy, though he does show his age somewhat. Namely, his coat is not as shiny, and thick. He is a tuxedo cat, and you used to be able to see your reflection in him

He is now on reglan (anti spasm) 1/4 tab 2x day. I have had him on anti nausea before, too, as well as steroid injections. These things seem to help, but not eliminate the problem. I moved into a house with hardwood floors largely so I wouldn't stress over the stains on the carpet. We have a routine. He starts the body spasms, I grab the newspaper, magazine, etc., and he vomits on it. The only bad time is when he does it on my bed!!! Ugh.

Does anyone have a cat that vomits like this? Know what it might be? I don't like his drop in weight, and what it must be doing to his esophagus....

[toughCookie]

Louise seems to have a problem with chicken flavored canned food, so I don't give that to her, and she is ok. also- Patches doesn't like some of the beef flavors, other than that, they all eat ANYTHING

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Have his kidneys been checked? Sounds like what Tubby was doing before I had him checked out. He is in the beginning stages of kidney failure. They can tell by doing blood tests. I think they check 2 or 3 different enzymes to see what their levels are. My vet suggested a 1/4 of a pepcid everyday. The pepcid helps the kidneys by allowing more blood to flow to them. And it helps his stomach by reducing the acid. I also have acid reflux disease, and it's no fun, and it does make me not want to eat sometimes. (Unfortunately the pepcid isn't strong enough for me. No, my pills cost over $100.00 a month, thank God for insurance!) The vet said just a 1/4 of a Pepcid a day will make a big difference in a cat. He will have less acid in his stomach, which should make him throw up less, which will in turn make his throat feel better, which will make him want to eat more, and when he does eat more, it will stay down so he'll get more of a benefit from it. Tubby was losing weight too. He was down to about 12 pounds, from a high of almost 16 at one point. He has now been on the pepcid for a year, and the vet says he's doing better than ever. One of his enzyme levels went back to where it was supposed to be, and they have leveled off (not gotten any worse) and he has gained back the weight so he is 15 pounds again.

Are you feeding him a "senior" cat food? Tubby gets Science Diet Senior, which the vet said was an excellent choice. Chronic kidney failure is a somewhat common thing for older cats. Tubby was first diagnosed at 15, but his throwing up had been going on for awhile before that. He has always had hairballs, so I just assumed that was the problem, until it got to the point where he was throwing up almost everyday. 12 is considered to be "senior" for a cat, so I would ask your vet to check his kidneys if they haven't already been checked, and as him about the pepcid. The thing the vet told me was that they haven't done enough studies on it to know for sure if it really helps them, but it doesn't hurt them at all, and the least it will do is reduce the acid in his stomach which right there will make him feel better. And from my experience with Tubby, I can only recommend it because his last report at the vet was "He's doing extremely well for a guy his age."

So check with your vet, and let us know what happens. I hope this helps, because I know what an awful feeling it is when they are vomiting. I feel like it hurts them so much, and I want to help but there's nothing you can do. Poor kitties.