Cat swallows food whole

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Robotech_Master - 29 Sep 2006 08:45 GMT

I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
someone), but she has this little problem. Apparently she doesn't
chew her food. Every so often, after I've given her a kitty snack or
filled her cat food bowl, I'll hear a gagging sound and I'll look over
and there will be a perfectly whole kitty snack or several kitty
kibbles sitting there on the floor in front of her.

I can only guess that when she was living on the streets she learned
the habit of bolting food down quickly so as not to get it taken away
from her, and she continues to do so to this day. And sometimes this
whole food doesn't agree with her, and comes right back up.

Is there anything that I can do about this?

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Robotech_Master |
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bearclaw@cruller.invalid - 29 Sep 2006 09:17 GMT

> I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
> enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Is there anything that I can do about this?

Have a vet check her teeth. Cats who don't chew often have gum disease.
It hurts them to chew.

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Niel Humphreys - 29 Sep 2006 10:01 GMT

>> I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
>> enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> Have a vet check her teeth. Cats who don't chew often have gum disease.
> It hurts them to chew.

I concur, I was going to suggest this too.

Having said that I had a stray Tom who hangs around and come in to eat my
cats food, he used to do the same. One day he came in lame with a crushed
foot so I managed to catch him (as he was slow) and got him to the vets,
while he was there I arranged for him to be neutered and also had the vet
look at his teeth but they were fine. As the OP suggests the cat could be
just used to grabbing food while it is there.

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Niel H

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Lynne - 29 Sep 2006 14:11 GMT

> I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
> enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> robotech@eyrie.org | Earn a free iPod and a free Mac Mini!
> | http://www.terrania.us/conga.html

It is my understanding that cats don't really "chew" their food so much
as they slice it. And not nearly as much as humans or dogs. If the
vet rules out a dental problem, you may want to offer smaller kibbles.
Perhaps run it through the food processor very briefly or put it in a
bag and crush it a bit with a rolling pin. I've never tried either of
these methods, so they may not work well, but it's what I would try.

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The Polish-Kraut - 29 Sep 2006 14:39 GMT

>> I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
>> enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>bag and crush it a bit with a rolling pin. I've never tried either of
>these methods, so they may not work well, but it's what I would try.

Fancy Feast dry makes a dry food that is in really small pieces if
that is what you are looking for.

My furbabies

http://members.aol.com/larrystark/

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The Polish-Kraut - 29 Sep 2006 14:37 GMT

>I have this middle-aged cat who I rescued from the streets (oddly
>enough, she was already spayed, so she must have been abandoned by
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>Is there anything that I can do about this?

I would concur with having a vet check her to make sure everything is
all right.

I recently read in an issue of Cat Fancy magazine that most cats
swallow their dry food whole. I know mine do because on occasion they
bring it back up in a place where I am sure to step in it in the
middle of the night. They also said that is why most of the dry
dental cat food is in larger chunks - to get them to chew it before
swallowing it thus cleaning their teeth better.

My furbabies

http://members.aol.com/larrystark/

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Matthew - 29 Sep 2006 17:02 GMT

"Robotech_Master" <robotech@eyrie.org>

the others already gave great advice so this is off the topic but loved
the series and game that is your display name waiting for the new movie to
be released

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