Swallowing food whole...

Gary O

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My cat Timmy now 10 months, was a feral rescue, found on the streets of Dubai with half his tail cut off by children. He was fostered there, in a home with about 20 other cats and I think there were battles for food; I was told that he had been in fights with other cats just before he flew to the UK when I adopted him. I also have another female kitten Shani 9 months. Timmy eats his food as fast as possible, then he attempts to eat Shani's portion. I can't afford to keep seeing the vet but his stomach is distended and I was told by the vet that he is eating too fast, but this was only diagnosed through feeling his stomach. It has prove true by him vomiting a couple of times, and the food came up with no sign whatsoever of mastication; looked the same as it had in the bowl. I have tried mincing up his food but if I do that he refuses to eat it.
Is there anything I can do to help alleviate this problem?
 

Tobermory

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It’s not unusual for rescues to bolt their food. They’ve been conditioned by deprivation and competition to eat it while they have it! Can you feed Shani behind a closed door, and then parcel Timmy’s food out in small increments over 20 minutes or so? One of mine used to inhale her food and then spew it back a few minutes later looking completely undigested. I now feed her in two stages about 10 or 15 minutes apart. She’s calmed down quite a bit and doesn’t eat nearly as quickly.
 
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Gary O

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Thank you, that sounds like a very good idea. I make homemade chicken jerky for them as treats and I have to separate them with that. Shani is very small and has a slightly deformed jaw, so i give Timmy a big chunk of it so it takes him a little while and break small amounts for Shani; I didn't think of giving Timmy small bits as well. I will start doing this with their meals as you you say in two stages and separate them.
Great advice thanks very much!
 

fionasmom

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Thank you for helping Timmy to have a wonderful new life. I am assuming that you have not had Timmy for very long, so in his mind he has no real knowledge that this is his new forever life and is eating while he can. Does he do this with all textures of food, including pate?

There are slow feeder cat bowls available which you could look into. If you think those would upset him or make him feel that his food was now harder to eat, it may not be the best solution right now.
 
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Gary O

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I have had Timmy and Shani since June. Both of them are really fussy, they only like Gourmet Perle by Purina but it gives them diarrhoea, so I have tried everything I can think of and they wont eat it, pate doesn't get touched. I give them half a pouch each morning and evening and they fill up with Purina gastrointestinal kibble, but they only eat it when they get fed up screeching at me for treats. I think his main reason for bolting his food is so he can eat Shani's as well, so I have started putting them in different rooms. Shani is much happier, as one would imagine, but I can't see Timmy without opening the door but I have the feeling it is working. I don't think a feeder would last long, they break things, you wouldn't believe the things they have manged to smash up :jump: lol...
 

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Your current rule needs to be if it's breakable it goes in a locked cabinet until they are older. You can use it if you're with it. They make cat and people bowls out of bamboo, pretty sturdy stuff. Things like the TV need to live on the floor with something in front to protect it if it goes over, large soft pillows/ cushions are good. You may also find your neck will enjoy watching the screen from above better than looking up at it.

Yes, it's hard to realize everything that is breakable. consider this an exercise in becoming Zen. It will get better. This is mostly them investigating their surroundings.
 
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Gary O

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Communicating his displeasure :) With mine it is either accidental in their zoomies and fighting, or deliberately breaking things just out of interest, like a battery thing that whizzes a toy round and round, they don't chase the toy they break the whole thing up.
 

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If you have decent walls, or wood floors, guy wires or clothesline cord can be very useful.

Holiday lights are what they go for around doors, windows and on trees. Just so you'll know. We went with all bounceable decorations, no glass, no tinsel (dangerous expensive to remove stuff. le sigh)
 

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Use furnitiure wall safety straps to keep a freestanding TV, bookcases, etc from toppling over due to kids or pets. If the TV sits on a heavy sturdy table, there are safety straps to hold the TV to the table although adding a wall safety strap just in case would be a good idea as well.
 
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Gary O

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I used to foster before I adopted these two, they are Arabian Mau for the most part; known to be very active I believe. Shani is deaf due to a head injury, I think she might be a bit touched because of it, she is totally bonkers :) They fly around everywhere like bats out of hell!
The one thing that I do worry about is my computer monitor, I'll try some of your ideas to stop it going over, I was letting them watch bird videos on Youtube but Shani started biting the corner of the monitor:runaround:
 
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Gary O

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He doesn't have worms, does he?
No, that was the first thing I did, give him the worming treatment. If it doesn't go down soon I will ask the vet to do some tests, he's been checked by the vet just feeling his abdomen but I'm still a bit worried about it.
 
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Gary O

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I'm in UK, earthquakes must be pretty scary.
I built two climbing frames for my two monkeys, things have been a lot better due to that. I think my TV got smashed by Shani's back legs when she took off at 100 miles an hour and propelled an ornament at the screen (I nickname her Miss Ile 🙂).
 
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Gary O

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It’s not unusual for rescues to bolt their food. They’ve been conditioned by deprivation and competition to eat it while they have it! Can you feed Shani behind a closed door, and then parcel Timmy’s food out in small increments over 20 minutes or so? One of mine used to inhale her food and then spew it back a few minutes later looking completely undigested. I now feed her in two stages about 10 or 15 minutes apart. She’s calmed down quite a bit and doesn’t eat nearly as quickly.
I have been following your excellent advice; Timmy is very pleased with this, he started going into the other room to wait for his food when he sees me dishing it up. It must be that although Shani never eats as fast as him, he was bolting his food in fear of getting his own food eaten as well as wanting to eat hers. I don't need to close the door now and they both eat in peace. Best of all Timmy is calmer in himself and the pot belly is shrinking. Thank you! 👍
 
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