Cat overeating?

Question

My cat that is about 6 months old will sometimes throw up after eating. I have a younger cat that is about 12 weeks old and I only feed them twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. They both do this kind of begging for food ritual in between feedings. I try not to give in for fear of overfeeding them. I noticed when they are eating that my older cat will stop and he looks like he's full, but then he'll look at the bowl, see more food in it, and it's like he has to eat it because it's there. If anyone can give me pointers I'd gladly appreciate it! Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Hi Pamela...it doesn't sound as if your kitty is gobbling his food too quickly if he is pausing before catching another wind to eat some more. If he is eating too fast this will cause cats to expel shortly afterwards. However, if the serving portion is too large this may be contributing to overeating too much at one sitting. Alternatively, some cats have stomach sensitivities to certain food which contain the ingredients corn, corn meal or byproducts. These are allergens and is used as a filler to preserve shelf life of the food as well keep manufacturing costs down for the consumer... and found in nearly all commercial brands of cat food other than in specialty pet food stores brands. If it's an allergic reaction it may be helpful to consider gradually changing over to a lamb and Oatmeal brand of food such as Nature's Variety Prairie http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1365&-session=naturesvariety:43B7DCEA1e07e0867AnqRMFDB0BB . The premium brands of cat food are found in specialty pet food stores. They are more expensive, however the advantage with these brands is one doesn't have to feed as much as the commercial brands since cats feel satiated/full with these and therefore they last just as long or even longer.

If there was a sudden change in food served this will also cause cats to expel since they have sensitive digestive systems. Diarrhoea is more common when this happens, but vomiting can be another symptom. Cats should be gradually weaned over to a new brand to minimize bowel distresses: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&aid=100

More on cat food nutrition and associated information: http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/cat-food/review.html

Answer 2

You may want to only feed your kitten once a day to prevent overeating. I used to have an overweight cat, and he died from kidney failure due to diabetes, so obesity could be a big issue. As far as your older cat goes, You should first wait and see if the medicine helps her. If it doesn't, you may want to consider putting the kitten up, in a room or basement, while the older cat eats, then let the kitten back out. I have a 13 year old cat and two 5 month old kittens. If I try to feed them at the same time, the older one won't go near the food until the kittens are done.

Answer 3

You'll find this problem is not a medical issue if you try this -- change the food to the wet or moist variety (follow the DRA on these) and there will be no vomit.

The issue is dry cat food. Dry cat food has a nasty tendency to inflate bit in the gullet as it encounters water, which makes the cat feel inflated and ... vomit. What I do about this is I place the water dish next to my cat's dish with clean, cold water about 5 minutes before she eats. (She's there meowing for dinner and reacts to the water well.) She usually drinks first. Now when she eats, water is already down there and the inflation happens before the gullet is already full, so she doesn't overeat and then doesn't vomit.

I hope you are using kitten foods for your two cats, since they need different levels of nutrients than adult cats. Good luck!

Answer 4

Set the food down for both of them ; then after 20 minutes take it away. It will teach them to not overeat and they won't be able to. Possibly even watch them eat while watching a movie ; or reading a book. Do not give in to their "begging for food" they will start doing it daily and it will become a habit. When they simply want food, give them a few small cat treats each. It should say on the back how many to give the cat depending on either their age or weight, maybe even both.

Answer 5

that is because they are use to a 4 hour eating schedule and the get a small amout of food each time

4-5 table spoons per serving.


Okay so here in the real world, just feed them like you want and they will figure it out. just be consistant.

Mine have dry food 24/7 and in the beginning the "boys" would [binge and purge] then they figured out the food is always there and stopped. Sometimes if they over sleep and freak out and run to the bowl and compete to eat, they still do it.

Answer 6

Throwing up? I would mark down the days in which your cat throws up. What are you feeding your cats? The food could have something to do with it if it's a low-quality brand like Science Diet, but it could also be a medical problem if it's often. I would first begin to mark just how often your cat is throwing up and bring that up with your vet.

Something also to think about with the food brand is how nicer kibble will leave a cat more satisfied as brands like Felidae, Natural Balance, Eukanuba have more meat ingredients in them, the main ingredients, versus a lower quality brand whose main ingredient is something like Corn Gluten. Just look at the ingredient lists, and you should mainly look for meat meals (ie, lamb meal, fish meal), followed by meats as the main ingredients.

I solved the problem of my cat returning to his bowl periodically by keeping his water and food bowl seperate, so I could put his food bowl away until feeding time.

But again, to touch the puking subject, I would seek a vet's opinion on that.

Answer 7

My cats do the same thing. They are 10 and 8 years old. A vet told me to put the food down 3 times a day for 5 - 10 minutes then to pick it up. They should have their fill by that time.

Corn, corn meal or byproducts are fillers. It causes animals to poo more because it doesn't absorb into their systems like foods made with rice. I pay the e-xtra and premium food so I don't have as much poo to clean.