Why does my cat eat so fast, vomit, and yell when boarding?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Oscar. Cats can respond to stress (ie. a boarding stay) with a decrease in appetite. You may want to inquire if he had any vomiting/diarrhea or lack of appetite during his stay. Continue to hand feed him. If his appetite does not return, consult his veterinarian if you can try another diet versus having him seen for an appointment. I hope this information helps!

If Jax goes outside, he may be hunting or even getting food from a neighbor, so he may no longer need much food from you. Yowling is a normal behavior in strong-willed cats. It is their way of telling you they want something, and some cats are very vocal about it! The vomiting could be a one-time thing, or it could be caused by hairballs, food allergy, eating too fast, GI blockage, intestinal parasites, IBD, among others. If you can stand the howling, I would recommend continuing to keep Jax inside for monitoring. If his appetite does not return, if he continues to vomit, or if he develops diarrhea, he should be evaluated by a veterinarian.

Your vet is right that when cats eat too quickly, they can vomit and that may be the cause of Mario's vomiting. It's good that feeding him less at a time helps with the vomiting, and he may still be eating that little bit too fast occasionally leading to the vomiting. I would continue to feed him small bits at a time to keep him from eating too fast. There are slow feeder bowls you can get him that force cats to slow down when eating, and that may be helpful for him. You can find them on the internet or possibly in a pet store. It sounds like Mario is drooling when he's relaxed and happy, and this is common. When cats become very relaxed, the tension in their jaw relaxes as well, and they drool. I had a cat who drooled so much when she sat on your lap that you would inevitably end up with large wet patches your pets! This is a normal behavior, and if it only occurs when he's relaxed and cuddling, it's nothing to worry about. I hope this helps!

Antibiotics can cause GI upset in cats, so it could be that Korben Dallas was eating less while he was on the antibiotics. Now that he's off the antibiotics, he's feeling better and eating much more quickly. That would be why he's throwing up all of his food. I would try to feed him smaller amounts more frequently to have him slow down his eating. If that doesn't help with the vomiting, I would take him into the vet for an exam, as he could have a medical illness causing the vomiting.

It depends on how soon after eating your cat vomits. If food is consumed and then almost immediately regurgitated (still looks whole, not digested), then s/he may be eating too fast. If it is several hours later and the food is partially digested, s/he may have a food allergy or intolerance, a gastrointestinal disorder, or some other underlying medical condition. For cats that gobble their food, it helps to feed more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day. Or you can put a couple balls or small blocks (too large to be swallowed) in the bowl so your cat has to eat around the obstacles. This will slow down his/her eating.

Eating too fast is not a common reason for vomiting in cats, despite the fact that you can find this misleading information over the internet too often. chronic vomiting in cats is almost always a sign of a medical problem, the most common conditions causing this are pancreatitis, IBD and lymphoma. another common condition is kidney failure but it is not common at this age. i would recommend taking Arlo to the vet in order to get it checked and treated ASAP.

George's intermittent vomiting can be a frustrating problem to diagnose and manage. While eating quickly can cause vomiting, other possible causes of this waxing and waning frequency of vomiting could be related to inflammatory bowel disease or chronic pancreatitis. These conditions can both require fairly extensive diagnostic testing to get a definitive answer, including blood tests, abdominal ultrasound and intestinal biopsies. At this point, you can certainly try to slow down George's eating pace, but you can also consider trying a diet change, as this can help both of the issues I mentioned. If you decide to change his diet, I recommend using a novel protein diet (one protein source/one carbohydrate source), such as Dick van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets or prescription based formulas. Choose a flavor of food that he has never been exposed to (i.e. venison, rabbit, etc.) and gradually mix his old and new foods slowly over 5-7 days. Avoid feeding any treats or table food while feeding this diet to eliminate any exposure to other foods. It can take 6-8 weeks to determine if a diet change is successful, so don't give up after a few weeks if you haven't noticed a change. If George continues vomiting intermittently on a new diet that he is eating slowly, I would consider taking him back to the vet to discuss further diagnostic testing. I hope that all goes well!