Which Kibble Is Best For Cats That Eat Too Fast?

[xenathecrazy]

My kitty gets wet food and kibble overnight. She's 6 months old. She eats 1/2 cup of dry food mainly overnight and I do want to keep dry in her diet so she's used to eating it for when we have to go away and she stays home. The problem is that she eats it way too fast and it is being vomitted completely undigested. She was eating Purina One kitten when I adopted her and I changed her to Nutro Max Cat kitten food because it was bigger but flatter but she still chugs it down and pukes. Is there a food that will make her have to chew vs just swallow it whole? Nutro natural choice was so tiny and that was just as bad too.

 

[Neo_23]

I’m not aware of any kibbles that slow down kitties while eating. But, I know a lot of people use puzzle feeders for this purpose. You can make one yourself (google DYI cat puzzle feeder) or purchase one on amazon.

 

[xenathecrazy]

I was thinking maybe an odd shape or a bigger kibble she would have to bite and can't just swallow it whole.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does she eat the whole half a cup of dry food at night? Can you spread it out during the day too? Science Diet has some huge kibble, but my cats weren't thrilled with the flavor.

 

[mizzely]

I use this: PetSafe SlimCat Interactive Cat Feeder

There is no kibble I've found in 16 years that slows down Jasmine's eating.

I've also used something like this but they get so little kibble these days that it was just taking up space.
Trixie Activity Strategy Game Tunnel Feeder Cat Toy, Blue/White

 

[Pjg8r]

I use puzzle feeders too. I have two different ones and rotate them. I don’t give much kibble but the feeders definitely slow them down.

 

[xenathecrazy]

She eats most of the dry during the night but still has a few left in her bowl. It's also a bigger, shallow bowl so it's not all heaped in there. I take away the dry sometimes during the day so she'll eat more wet food.

 

[Lalka]

Aikiou thin cat interactive puzzle slow feeder, the best cat feeder ever
I didnt test it...but it look great. I did try a couple of slow feeder *ball*, my cats dont care and i hate looking for the ball.

 

[colbey]

i just talked to a vet tech and she said this about cats that tend to throw up dry food:

they either eat it too fast, or eat too much of it. she said that because it's dry, when it gets in their stomach it absorbs liquid and "blows up" so that the cat is suddenly over-full. then they throw it up. i guess that makes sense, although i've never heard that explanation before, so don't know if it's true or not.

she said the "fix" for it is to wet the kibble before the cat eats it. for the cat i was asking about, who needed more calories, she recommended wetting it with CatSip milk. but she said just sprinkling water on the kibble would also help/work.

unfortunately, this doesn't address your underlying concern of being able to leave dry food out when you have to leave for a few days. but you could try it and see if it stops or helps with the throwing up. then you'd know that was the problem (rather than kibble size or kibble ingredients). then you could work on the "home alone" problem.

i know they have auto feeders that will dispense only so much food at a time, so that MIGHT be a solution for future "home alone" times. it wouldn't be wet, but it could be limited so she can't wolf too much of it down at once.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think half a cup of kibble is too much for their stomach to hold all at once, since it expands in the stomach. My cats eat half a cup of kibble each, but they eat it spread out throughout the day. The most dry food they have ever eaten at one meal without vomiting is 1/4 cup.