When cats become hungry, they do not shy off from showing you their intentions from rubbing against your legs, meowing when their feeding time approaches, and even looking at you desperately next to their bowls. However, once you serve them, you might notice your cat eating too fast. As such, this article will walk you through:
- What would happen if the cat eat too fast;
- Reasons for your cat eating too fast;
- How to slow down the cat’s eating;
Table of Contents
What Would Happen If My Cat Eats Too Fast?
Letting your cat eat too fast will result in a multitude of issues, as you will see below:
a) Obesity
When the cat eats quickly, its stomach and brain will not be at per. Because the cat’s mind will still tell it it’s famished, whereas, in the practical sense, it is full. That can result in the cat overeating that will eventually result in obesity.
Obesity will result in numerous health issues for your cat and can even shorten its life span by as much as two years.
b) Vomiting
If your cat eats quickly, it is likely to swallow significant amounts of air. With the swallowing of air coupled with their stomach’s inability to digest all the food, the cat will vomit.
c) Aggressive behavior
If you let your cat eat too quickly, it might result in greed, especially if you have two or more cats in the house. Once one cat is through with his or her meal, it is likely to want the other cat’s meal resulting in aggression.
Why Cats Eat Too Fast?
Having known the consequences of letting a cat eat too fast, you should identify the causes of such behavior that typically tend to be:
a) Hunger
You might feed the cat as per a routine or how a friend recommended. However, if the potions are not satisfactory for your particular cat, the cat will be hungry frequently, and like humans, cats might tend to eat fast when they are hungry.
If you suspect hunger might be the reason for their fast-eating, consider increasing their meal portions or giving them small meals throughout the day coupled with treats to keep hunger at bay.
b) Stress
If you have other pets in the house, such as cats or dogs, your cat might feel the need to finish its food before the other pets have the opportunity to take it from them, resulting in the cat eating quickly.
c) Nutritional deficiency
If the meals you provide your cat with are low on particular nutrients, the cat eating fast might be its way of communicating a nutrient deficiency in their body, sort of like a baby eating soap.
In such a scenario, look at the feed nutrient composition before issuing your cat, and if you realize it is deficient in a given nutrient, incorporate it into the meal.
d) Parasites
As in the earlier cases, parasites might be starving your cat of food and vital nutrients resulting in hunger and nutrient deficiency that will prompt it to eat quickly. As such, always deworm your cat.
How to Slow Down Cat Eating?
After you have identified the reason why your cat eats quickly, you should know the most appropriate method to slow down it’s eating as in the below methods;
a) Separation of eating areas and the installation of a cat flap
As earlier stated, your cat will eat fast if it fears another pet might grab its food. Therefore, feed the pets in different locations to avoid such. If the neighbors’ cat threatens yours, install a cat flap to keep it out.
b) Utilize slow feeding bowls and other obstructions
Slow feeding bowls have ridges and bumps at their bases that act as obstacles as the cat eats as they prevent easy access to food resulting in your cat eating slowly. Moreover, slow-feeding bowls can function as good boredom breakers.
Here are 3 recommended slow-feeding bowls you can use:
If you do not have a slow-feeding bowl, placing a larger golf ball in their bowl will require them to keep pushing it away before they can eat hence slowing them down.
However, ensure the obstruction you place is large enough such that the cat cannot eat it. Moreover, it should not have tiny pieces that will come off and choke the cat.
c) Hiding dry cat food
Instead of feeding your cat all its dry food at once, hiding the food all over the house and letting it hunt for it will slow down the cat’s eating. Moreover, it will help sharpen the cat’s hunting skills.
d) Small meals throughout the day coupled with treats;
If your cat is frequently hungry, this can result in them eating quickly. To avoid such, give the cat small meals throughout the day coupled with treats to keep hunger at bay.
e) Addition of water
Regardless of whether you feed your cat wet or dry foods, bulking out your cat’s meal using water will slow their eating.
The cat will have to drink a considerable amount of liquid before it can reach the food. Incorporating water into the meal will serve the two purposes of increasing the cat’s water intake and slowing down its eating pace.
f) Squashing of wet cat food
If you feed your cat wet foods, you can opt to squash the food into a paste before giving it to them. The squashing of the food will force the cat to lick the food hence slower eating.
g) Utilization of cat feeding toys
Cat feeding toys are toys that dispense dry food while your cat plays with them. These toys allow your cat to exercise as it consumes food. Moreover, since the cat eats each time it plays with the toy, it will not be as hungry as it would have felt come its feeding time.
Recommended cat feeding toys
Conclusion
Various factors, as listed in the article, can result in your cat eating quickly. However, regardless of whichever cause, cats eating fast is not best for their health and will result in obesity and vomiting, among other complications. As such, try and identify the cause and the best way to slow down the cat’s eating. Nevertheless, contact a professional if you find it challenging to deal with your cat eating fast.
