Won't chew hard food

[misstoviah]

Well, we're still puking! Thought I would try a smaller size food to make her work harder well it's easier...she just swallows it whole and it comes right back up. I have no idea why she insists on doing this. She's been in my hands for over 6 months now (a 2-year old female). I'm on my 4th cat food. Any suggestions?

 

[misstoviah]

Went and bought some Nutro Complete Care today. Good for hairballs, sensitive stomachs, etc all in one. Large pieces so she would HAVE to chew them. Served it to her and listened from outside the kitchen. She swallowed those BIG pieces whole. I don't know what to do!

 

[hell603]

How about Science Diet Oral care - those pieces are as big as olives.

 

[eddorsey]

Could it be she has some dental problems? Maybe it hurts to chew the food. What does your vet say? My cat developed a food allergy and was vomiting food quite often. My vet had me switch to Science Diet W/D, which is only available through a vet, but it solved the problem.

 

[misstoviah]

She's seen the vet. Teeth are fine. Told me to try different foods.

 

[sandie]

You might want to ask the vet about putting her on a prescription diet. There are a few companies that put them out. You are supposed to put them on it for 6-8 weeks and if the vomiting stops, you add one different ingredient at a time to find out what's causing the allergy. Cats with a food allergy rarely have a reaction with the special diet.
You also might want to think about going in the opposite direction by crushing the dry food like you would graham crackers for a crust. This way they aren't getting swallowed whole.

 

[misstoviah]

How could I crush the food? Any suggestions?

Found that she hasn't touched the new food all day. Gave her a little bit of the old stuff and she gobbled it. I guess she doesn't like the new food. Frustrating!

 

[sandie]

The easiest and cleanest way would be to put it in a zip lock baggie and have at it with a hammer..lol, Actually I usually use a small frying pan

 

[nanat]

I had this problem with my 11 month old male cat, Otis and took him to the vet where they x-rayed him and we found out that the reason he wasn't eating and keeping his food down was a rare disease called megaesophagus. Please have your vet check into this and x-ray your pet for this condition. It is NOT curable but things can be done to improve the quality of life.

 

[misstoviah]

She decided to stop eating it after swallowing it whole for a few days. Took it back. We're on day two of Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs. Likes it. Putting her on a feeding schedule per suggestion of the woman at the pet store....1/4 cup in the morning, 1/4 cup when I get home....it recommends 3/8 cup each but she is a skinny little thing and the woman said if she's used to eating 1/2 cup a day and isn't gaining weight, it's what she should continue to have. Hope this works!

 

[cooie]

Cats normally swallow their food nearly whole. Cats' jaws don't have a sliding motion like ours do, therefore they can only tear their food, not grind it.

Some cats simply wolf their food down so fast that it comes back up.

Also, many cats have stomachs that are sensitive to change. Four different cat foods in six months sounds like you may be overwhelming her little tummy.

I'd stick to one of them that she likes, and if the vet has ruled out any disease, just disregard the puking. Cats, after all, are famous for this irritating and little-understood phenomena. It almost never means anything is wrong with them.

 

[misstoviah]

that the changes have been often but the vet told me to do this. Some of the foods she clearly didn't like. I'm going to stick with what I have now because she does like it and it's for sensitive tummies. It's hard to disregard puke!!