Food change drama with our cat.

Keanu's_parents

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Our cat has been eating the same food for god know's how long. He has always had a problem with eating too fast and not chewing throughly then, shortly after eating, throwing up in various places around the house. We've decided to change their (three cats in house) food to a more of stomach friendly diet food (the more expensive brand). The other two cats have not had a problem with it yet, it has been about 3-4 weeks. But said problem cat seems to be protesting....to the extent of annoyance on the other two cats, us as well. We are seeking advice on how to control or calm the cat down before we consider spending money on a vet opinion.
 

RainBoots

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We had a similar problem with the scarfing and throwing up. It got better when we offered more feeding stations with less food and a food ball.

When you switched, did you do it gradually? It's always recommended to mix your new into your old to slowly transition them over.
 

ArtNJ

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Protesting is not eating the stuff, whining at the food dish or bugging you to change the food. I haven't seen it last 3-4 weeks, and I haven't seen acting out on other animals per se, although a hungry cat may look for distractions at times. If the cat is now eating the new food in normal amounts, the issue should be done as far as I've seen. I don't have any experience with food allergies, so moving on . . . maybe an unrelated behavior change for some other reason?

Edit: Well, if you have been relenting and doing special feedings of the old food, then you could get all kinds of problematic behaviors lasting 3-4 weeks, including maybe acting out on other animals.
 
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Keanu's_parents

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We have switched food bowls to the "slow feeder" type that way he cannot scarf it down but another factor in this is the kitten. She is the only female cat and has not been fixed yet. She is 6 months old. We have had her the entire 6 months but didn't think she would bother the other two male cats (fixed). I have no idea, if not the food, why he would be behaving like this out of the blue.
 

ArtNJ

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Oh! New kitten! That is a totally normal reason for a cat to act crotchety not only with the kitten, but also with other pets and even with their human. Its a normal response to cat stress called "redirected aggression"

Re-directed Aggression In Cats – Cat Articles

This sounds much more likely to me than new food behavioral issues lasting 3-4 weeks. I mean, if it was a digestion issue of course it could still be the food. But a behavioral issue when they are eating the new food would be very much outside the norm. Probably not impossible, but the new kitten is the vastly more likely answer.
 

FeebysOwner

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But said problem cat seems to be protesting....to the extent of annoyance on the other two cats, us as well... We have switched food bowls to the "slow feeder" type that way he cannot scarf it down...
She is the only female cat and has not been fixed yet. She is 6 months old.
Hi. What do you mean by protesting to the extent of annoyance - attacking the other cats, or what? Did the food bowl switch to a slow feeder coincide with the food change? If so, he may not like having to struggle to try and scarf his food. Does each cat have their own food bowl?
And, while I have never exactly heard of it, is it possible your un-spayed kitten is going into heat and somehow affecting this one cat? Some cats have an almost silent heat, so you might not even be aware of it yourself.
 
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