How to Slow Down My Cat’s Eating

Does your cat gobble up their food way too fast, and every time they do you want to pull your hair out and ask yourself “what do I do?” If you’re wondering the answer to “how to slow down my cats eating,” then chances are you’re in the right place.

Here, we’ll give you a few ways to slow down the eating so that it’s not too much for them, because do you really want them wolfing down food, and then throwing it up? Probably not, and here we’ll tell you how to prevent that.

Put some Golf Balls in!

This sounds super strange, but if you put ping pong balls of golf balls into your cat’s food bowl once you’ve filled it actually makes it harder for them to get into there.

Why is that? Well, it does the following:

• They’re obstacles, and your cat will need to move these out of the way to get the food
• They will need to paw them away, which does make it like a game
• This, in turn, makes it very difficult, even impossible for them to eat fast

If you do this, leave enough room for the cat to get their full ace in, and usually, 2–3 do the trick. If you don’t want to deal with that, you can always get a cat bowl that slowly feeds them, and it literally does the same thing.

It could be the Food

Cats actually may end up wolfing this down because they don’t like it and want to get it over with, or maybe they just want something else.

The solution to this is pretty simple, and it’s the following:

• Switch their foods
• They might do better on canned food
• Look for ones that have health benefits to this

Food could play a major part, and allergies in cats are more common than you think.

Try a Non-conventional Bowl

This doesn’t have to be a special bowl, but instead, try a bowl that’s a little bit different.

This actually can make it possible for cats to not overeat, and in turn, you’ll see them slow down on eating.

Some ideas for nonconventional bowls include the following:

• Baking sheets
• Little tins or paper plates
• Elongated rectangular pieces

The spaces are marked out, which leave gaps for kibbles or the chunks of food.

When a cat has this type of bowl, they’ll do the following:

• They take a bite
• They move along
• They will move to the next place
• They will essentially eat in spurts rather than just one big gulp

This is a great way to markedly slow down the process of eating.

Use Automatic Feeders

Automatic feeders are actually a great solution, and they are a way to set up smaller meals, and they are also good for monitoring how they feed the cat.

Some of the benefits include the following:

• They open up at certain times for small meals
• This, in turn, can help space out meals, and help with weight control and monitoring appetite
• They even have ice packs to keep the fresh food there for a while and are good for those who like several meals a day

They are the perfect solution for those who love to gulp down the food that they have.

Get them some Exercise!

Working for their food is actually one of the best ways to help your cat slow down eating. Some ways you can do it involve the following:

• Getting feeder bowls shaped like mazes
• Getting feeder bowls with grooves
• Using the puzzle solvers to have your cat work for their food
• Getting them a treat ball that they have to play around to release food
• Get them interactive toys

This is a great way to get them exercise but also provides some great nutrition as well.

What about if you don’t want to buy an expensive feeder? Well, here is a cheap way to get your cat some exercise and slow down fast eaters:

• Hide the food in both high, and low areas
• Have your cat run around and find it
• Continue to have the cat work for it till food is done

Why does this work? Well, a few things happen when you do this, and it’s the following:

• They eat way slower than if you put the food in front of them
• Since their tummy isn’t completely empty, they won’t be acting like they’re starving
• This will prevent some overeating and regurgitation

Cats need exercise and this is a good way to improve their ability to eat, and in turn help with weight control as well.

Pat down Wet food Before Serving

Patting down wet food is another solution, and that is a way to help with compressing it inside the tin.

When you do this, the following happens:

• When using wet food, you pat this and make it much denser
• It will be harder for a cat to bite and swallow the food and gorge themselves
• They will need to lick it in order to make this work, which means it takes longer to polish it
• You can even combine this with feeding plates since it makes obstacles there for your cat, so they can get to it

Try it, and see if that works! It’s a way to help cats stop scarfing down food, and although you may not use wet food, this is a great option.

Stop the Gorging

Gorging and gulping are not healthy for cats, since they do cause regurgitation, and it’s not a fun way for your cat to eat their food. You can stop it in its tracks with this, and you’ll be much happier when you do.

By stopping this, your cat will learn to not only enjoy their food more, and they’ll be more appreciative of the food too.

Originally published at purrpetrators.com on March 11, 2019.