Vomit Eating Cat??

This is disgusting, and somewhat worrisome - our youngest cat, Turtle (about 4 months) eats the vomit that the other cats throw up, and with lots of enthusiasm. One of our older cats threw up the remains of a bag of treats he tore into last night (that is an issue in itself, he has to be trained out of that), and the instant he did, Turtle was right there, gobbling it up. When we tried to pick her up and get her away from it, she started growling and hissing and tried to shred us. She is crazy over those treats as well as him, and I can only think that some of the scent of them was left behind (mint), but she does this with all the cats, no matter what the food. What's going on, why does my cat eat vomit?

They all do that. It is their survival mode kicking in. Vomit reeks, so they need to get rid of the smell before the predators come. Suggest you stop feeding treats for awhile, look into why your cats are vomiting so much and get them to the vet if if continues. Don't free feed. move to scheduled feedings picking up the food after 20 minutes and move the water bowl away from the food bowls. Also elevate your food bowls a bit so the cats don't gulp their food so much. Keep a small bucket nearby with a small dustpan and a litter scoop and plastic bags. Pick up the emesis immediately, treat the area with warm water and blot dry, then cover with an small mat or rug till it dries.

Gee, I thought it was just good protein conservation! That's what we learned in biology class ... along with cannibalism, etc.

Originally Posted by hissy

They all do that. It is their survival mode kicking in. Vomit reeks, so they need to get rid of the smell before the predators come. Suggest you stop feeding treats for awhile, look into why your cats are vomiting so much and get them to the vet if if continues. Don't free feed. move to scheduled feedings picking up the food after 20 minutes and move the water bowl away from the food bowls. Also elevate your food bowls a bit so the cats don't gulp their food so much. Keep a small bucket nearby with a small dustpan and a litter scoop and plastic bags. Pick up the emesis immediately, treat the area with warm water and blot dry, then cover with an small mat or rug till it dries.

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I didn't give him the treats, he somehow got the bag off the shelf (it should be way too high for him, so I can only assume it fell) and ripped it open, then devoured it overnight. And he vomits when he gets into stuff he shouldn't, just like this (he doesn't make himself sick off of cat food, only the stuff he's not supposed to have). I do my best to keep everything put away and out of his reach, but he's relentless about food.