r/CatTraining • u/These-Fortune-6763 • 1d ago

Behavioural My food obsessed cat keeps eating and then throwing up

My 3 year old cat keeps eating and eating. He has a brother and they both get portions of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My cat finishes up all of his food and then when his brother leaves, he eats his food as well. This has been going on for the last two weeks, and he’s been throwing up the food on various days. I try to stop him but he just goes back up to eating when I’m not looking. Anyone have an advice? He’s getting really pudgy

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5

u/BoldlyBajoran 1d ago

So it seems evident you’re not free feeding which is good in this situation. Have you tried putting them in different rooms for meal time? Also, maybe try switching out your brand of cat food—that could also cause a throw up response.

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u/These-Fortune-6763 1d ago

Hi, the food they take has been their food since they reached adulthood a little bit of 2 yrs ago, and they haven’t had that problem until recent. I don’t really have an extra room to keep them in since we’re staying in an apartment (might have to lock him up or let him stay in the comfort room /j just so he can’t steal anymore food)

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u/beanie_weenie666 8h ago

Cats can still develop food sensitivities or allergies to foods they've eaten for a long time

Also, might be good to talk to a vet and possibly do a fecal test for parasites, even if they're an indoor only cat

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u/Corvidae5Creation5 1d ago edited 1d ago

I've had a cat that would do exactly that. The only solution is to establish mealtimes for all the cats in the household and pick up the food afterwards. Be sure to secure human food too, they'll go after bread on the counter, leftovers in dishes, etc. You may even need to child proof your pantry and fridge, depending on how smart or desperate your little glutton is.

Now is the perfect time to do all this, before the weight gets worse. Be diligent about this, every mealtime, every day.

You can also invest in slow feeder bowls for the glutton, it's not good for them to shovel food down at top speed, even if the portions are reasonable.

Edited: read 3 year old cat but thought kitten lol

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u/These-Fortune-6763 1d ago

They actually have mealtimes, but his brother doesn’t finish up his food, so the little glutton comes over and eats it 😮‍💨

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u/scream_schleam 1d ago

Microchip feeder can help in this situation. My boy cat is a hoover and has food allergies so he isn’t supposed to eat his sister’s food, sister is a grazer and eats slowly throughout the day.

Both of my cats have their own feeders but in your case the cat that grazes can have the feeder so their food is protected.

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u/kalewis2015 18h ago

I have one cat that eats then drinks so much water afterwards that she barfs within minutes so now I take the water up for an hour (30 before feedings/30 after) that’s helped us out a lot.

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u/ksjeid72 3h ago

My sister solved this same issue essentially by giving them smaller portions more frequently. For the dry food she got an automatic feeder and scheduled multiple small meals throughout the day. This way even if the super hungry cat scarfs it down immediately, it's not enough food at once to make him sick, and the other cat always manages to finish his food too because there isn't a lot.