My11 year old indoor kitty, Polly Prissypants, eats really fast & then barfs undigested food. She does this 4 or 5 times a week. Occasionally, she barfs up watery digested food.
Sometimes I think she's bulimic; binges & purges. I think that maybe she eats too much, too fast & feels like she needs to compete with our other cat, Big Fat Lacey Cat. What can I do to keep her from hurling on my sisal rug every day?
2006-07-07 13:24:08 · 20 answers · asked by Kimberly C 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
1. have separate food bowls for each cats and place them in different areas.
2. feed your cats smaller portions twice a day(yes this is a pain but it may help)
3. leave a small amount of food for your cats when you are not around. cats are grazers(they eat a little throughout the day), so they are not ravenous by the time you get around for the second feeding.
4. try giving her something for hairball treatment. it's possible that a hairball is in her digestive track and causing her to digest the food improperly.
5. switch to a brand of food that's designed for older cats so she will get better benefits from it and more nutrients.
6. if all else fails, take her to the vets as there may be some underlying problem.
2006-07-07 13:31:02 · answer #1 · answered by Kismet 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok my cat does this too and she is an indoor cat and the only cat indoors. I took her to the vet for this and they did everything they could to figure this out. Finally the vet realized what was going on. Since your cat is an indoor cat, she cannot go out and catch mice and birds. Cats like to catch these things and then present them to you as a present (like when you go outside and find a dead mouse by your door, the cat was bringing you a present) so since your cat cannot do this, she is bringing back up her food as a present to you for caring for her. I know a sucky present, but that's how they do it.
One thing you can do is isolate your two cats when they eat. Feed one in the bathroom and the other in the kitchen. That way there is no competition. Also what we did with our cat, we found out which food made her get sick less. For our cat it was Meow Mix that seemed to settle well with her.
If she is barfing up watery digested food, this could also mean that she just had an upset stomach that day.
So basically, this is a part of cat life. You just gotta deal with it and realize that your cat is trying to be nice and give you a present. Ours does this as well so you are not the only one.
2006-07-07 13:30:24 · answer #2 · answered by daredevil_girl013 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes changing cat food will upset the stomach. Try transitioning different brands of cat foods in 2-7 days. Also change the catfood! If you leave the catfood out for a long time, the fat coating in the food gets rancid and can be sour for a cat to eat.
If the cat is throwing up furballs, buy a cat comb and comb the cat's hair so she doesn't have to lick the hair into her throat. The upset stomach sounds like old catfood or stale catfood. I throw what is left in the bowl out every 3 days and always give fresh food.
2006-07-07 18:11:53 · answer #3 · answered by TiredofIdiots 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try feeding her just a little bit at a time. Say a teaspoon every 15 minutes for an hour if you have the time. She might need a shot of cortisone for stomach inflamation. Also it might be furballs, and you can get some excellent goo at the vets for that. That's it for my experience. Four different puking cats, four different problems. Also, if she goes back to eat after she just puked, don't let her. Make her wait at least two to twelve hours. When cats vomit their stomach litterally lunges back and forth and can get bruised
2006-07-07 15:33:30 · answer #4 · answered by Molly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you asked the Vet about this? I would suggest only giving her a small amount of food at a time. That would atleast slow her down a little. Since you have another cat, she may feel like she has to scarf to get her fair share of food. In that case, try separating them and their dishes during feeding times. It may sound like a lot of work, but it's better than your poor cat throwing up all the time.
2006-07-07 13:30:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try feeding her away from the other cat. Maybe this will make her slow down to eat. My dog does the same thing, he competes with my 10 cats. He does not want any of the cats to eat his food. If your cat doesn't improve take him to the vet.
2006-07-07 13:33:46 · answer #6 · answered by kc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put a golf ball in the middle of her food bowl so she can't eat as fast. She'll have to eat around the ball...a trip to the vet might not be a bad idea since she is getting on up there in age she might have something wrong with her. I would call the vet and tell them whats been going on and see if they think it warrants a vet visit.
2006-07-07 13:32:42 · answer #7 · answered by Manny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The FIRST thing I'd do would be to get her checked out by the vet. Then, if nothing wrong, try changing her food. An 11 year old cat is middle aged, and if this is something newish, she may have a health problem........
2006-07-07 13:32:47 · answer #8 · answered by maggie rose 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cat don't go bulemic.
Does she get any food throughout the day? Or does she only get 1 big meal of wet food when you get home? You might want to try putting a little dry food out so her stomache doesn't go completely empty.
They do get sick or get cancer, and regular vomiting is a symptom something is very wrong.
Please have your vet look at her.
2006-07-13 08:54:55 · answer #9 · answered by Funchy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My sister's cat does this. She had to change her food to something made for sensitive stomachs. I think she feeds her cat Science Diet (the indoor cat/sensitive stomach one). Also if you just fill a bowl and let her graze she might be over eating, so try limiting her portions and see if that helps. If not you might talk to your vet for more options. Good luck!
2006-07-07 13:31:12 · answer #10 · answered by srevels2005 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋