Some cats eat their meals too fast. I mean, way too fast. Sometimes they will even eat so fast that they will end up vomiting because it was too much, too quickly, with lots of air going down with it. That’s why it can be important to find ways to help slow down how fast your cat eats and retire from the life of being a feline vacuum at meal times.
Make a food “puzzle” with golf balls or a muffin tin
Some cats will put up a bit of a stink about this one, but it seemed to help after they realize they weren’t going anywhere. This can put a stop to the “hoovering” ways. Basically, you put golf or ping pong balls into your cat’s food bowl after you’ve filled it with food for the meal. This will make it incredibly difficult for your cat to eat quickly.
Ping pong and/or golf balls act as obstacles that your cat will have to push out of the way before he or she can get to the food beneath. Just make sure to leave enough room for your cat to get his or her full face in to eat the cat food, and have the rest of the bowl covered in balls (you might need 2-3 in there depending on the size of your bowl).
You can also help them slow down by using a muffin tin. If your cat totally balks at the idea of balls in their food then this may be the better choice. Simply put a bit of food in each individual muffin cup. Then Dyson-Cat can no longer suck down his entire meal in one or two swallows – he must move from cup to cup, which will naturally slow him down. Also, if you don’t own a mini muffin tin, you can also try spreading the food out over a large cookie or baking sheet.
Play treat inspired games before meal time
Help your cat’s belly not be overly hungry and get their exercise in before the meal with a little play. Use healthy treats to have them jump up to high places, then to the floor, dart down the hall, or even jump the furniture playing “the floor is lava.” Whatever they love will help them get the exercise they need and also turn off their “my stomach is STARVING” signal that sometimes leads them to wolf down their food.
Get them a feeding “toy”
This is a great time to be a cat for reasons just like this. They have “toys” that are made just for this problem. You can purchase a tower that you put their food in and your cat has to interact and play with it in order to get the food out. This means that they are only getting small amounts of food at a time and in no way get around it. They have to slow down and work for there food. Not only does it help stop the quick eater, it’s also mentally stimulating, a win-win!
It can be a little worrisome when you have a fast feline eater on your hands, but there are definitely things we can do to help. After all, the only cat that we need to see shovel down food is Garfield eating his beloved lasagna.