Contest: Does Your Cat Eat Too Much or Too Fast?

Some cats tend to eat fast. Real fast. They take in their food so fast it's as if they're "hoovering" in into their body, never stopping to chew. Some cats eat to the point of vomiting, as they ingests air along with large morsels of food.

Even if your cat isn't a super-fast eater, slowing down feeding time and making it more interesting is a good thing. Cats are designed to look for prey and work for their food. Which is the CATCH Interactive Cat Feeder is a great idea. It slows down feeding time, providing your cat with some well-needed stimulation: 

Catch, is an innovative feeder that stimulates a cat's natural instinct and helps turn feed-time into an inspiring hunting game. Not all cats have free access to the outdoors and Catch is a simple solution that helps bring stimulation and fun indoors. Modelled on a tuft of grass to replicate foraging and searching, the stylised spikes have been ergonomically designed to provide the maximum challenge for even the most determined of cats. Also, as the speed of eating is slowed, Catch is perfect to use for overweight cats or those prone to gulping and digestive problems.

Want to try out the CATCH feeder? Contest sponsor The Company of Animals  is giving us a CATCH feeder to try out and we want to give it to the member who needs it the most.

How to win? (The Rules)

1. Post a reply to this thread telling us why your cat needs the CATCH feeder. Be descriptive and make your post interesting and maybe even fun to read. Add pictures of your cat or cats if you can.

2. One entry per member (though you can describe a lot of issues in your entry   )

3. The prize can only be shipped within the US. So, if you win and you're not in the US  & Canada, you can either provide us with a US shipping address for yourself or perhaps donate the prize to shelter in the US & Canada.

4. Submissions accepted until and through Friday, July 3rd.

Winner will be picked by the site team based on quality of entry. Judges look for detailed eloquent posts that convince us that you need the CATCH feeder the most!

Good luck!

View media item 280988Hi, Anne! My name is Robbie, 'n
For the Catch Feeder I sure am a' lobbyin'!

I'm a cute little teapot, short and stout
As an indoor kitty, I never get out.
So I turn to my food, same as my mummy [emoji]128556[/emoji]
Which you sure can tell, just tickle my tummy!! [emoji]128570[/emoji]
View media item 280990Which is getting, er, round, so it's not all that funny.
Mom says I gotta lose weight so my outlook stays sunny!!

This Catch Feeder looks like a feast for my eyes!!
To win it would be like a big brain surprise!!
What kind of cat wouldn't love THAT!!
It's almost better than a big juicy rat!!!

To play!! While I eat!!! Oh boy!! That is neat!!
I could lose weight, and my happiness keep!!

So this is my letter, I hope for the best!!
Thank you!! Love, [emoji]128573[/emoji] Robin (and maybe a guest!!)

If you look at my owners username, then you would see,
I'm a big chunk of ball,I Iike to eat food alot!
Whenever someone walks into the house,
In my head, it is time to eat,
Whenever somebody gets up,
In my head, it is time to eat,
And if I don't get my food, I must find it some how.
Maybe it will be that shiny sticky stuff over there,
Or maybe that colorful string over there.
The food just doesn't stay in my bowl long enough!
Once I finish eating, I sleep in the house,
I sleep and occasionally I get up to find a better sleeping spot, then I sleep some more,
If sleeping was a hobby........
I don't really play, but when I do, its not enough,
But playing while eating, that sure sounds grand!
The catch feeder sounds like a wonderful thing,
It sure would do a lot of help when you have thys like these.
View media item 281001
Its time to eat now, feed me please,
"I just fed you breakfast!"
But there Is no more left!

Just to clarify, this isn't a poetry contest   I love these two, but feel free to submit your entries in prose form! 

LOL, Anne, you SO gotta do a poetry contest next.. those two above are just awesome!!

Asha shortly after I got her View media item 281052(I know you said poetry wasn't compulsory Anne , but I couldn't resist!)

I had a dreadful start in life,
I didn't know how to cope.
My home was a rat - infested cellar,
No warmth, no comfort there -
My food was what little I could catch.
(There was a bully cat you see, who barely let me out.)

One day I heard my Mommy call,
Somehow she knew I was there.
She took me in and gave me food;
The yummiest in the world.

I ate and ate, and ate some more -
I couldn't get enough.
Every mouthful was inhaled
For fear I'd starve again.

I ate so fast that I was sick,
My tummy was in shock.
But little by little I slowly learned
That more would always come.

As time went by I put on weight,
My coat grew shiny and thick.
No longer do I feel the need
To rush and bolt my meals.

I don't know quite how old I am
(Mom thinks that I'm just one).
I'm full of fun and love to play,
Though food is still a joy.

Mom says I'm very clever,
I know I drive her mad.
A bowl that makes my meals a game
Would be tremendous fun!

I never thought I'd say this
When first my Mom found me,
But, whilst food's still important,
Play's now my favourite thing!

(A note from Mom -

Asha's still in love with food,
She begs and begs for more.
I have to tell her 'No' sometimes
For fear that she may burst!

A bowl to slow her eating down
And make her brain work hard -
Well that would just be heaven,
And would keep her purring too.)

Asha now (with Shadow)
View media item 281053

Sir Edison hails from the kingdom of Distinguished Fluffiness.

He is the sole ruler of this land and watches his kingdom with great pride.

While young in years, he is an ancient soul.

Though he is adored by his humble human servants,

he feels the need to eat like he is in maximum security prison.

Not a one dares bring this to his attention.

Late at night, as Sir Edison walks the grounds of his kingdom,

the lowly countrymen speculate as to why his food is so fiendishly inhaled.

"Perhaps he hates to share," whispers one.

"Me thinks he has a vacuum motor in his esophagus," speculates another.

"No," shouts Sir Edison from the balcony above the servants' quarters.

He peers down to them, considering an attack, or at least an aggressive head butt to their legs.

"I'm just really hungry, and I have no opponents to challenge me," he bellowed. "Your feather sticks are a joke.

The castles you've built for me are only good for sleeping. Your crinkly tunnels lead nowhere, and I have bested

every treat ball you've thrown down the hallways of this great domain. There is nothing new for me here..."

"But wait," came a voice from the shadows. "There is this!"

A tiny, frail hand held up the most beautiful, complex, and pink feeder Sir Edison had ever seen.

"Bring it here," he ordered.

A little girl peered up to the balcony where Sir Edison stood. She held it high and he planted his back feet into the floor,

wiggling his butt in preparation for the pounce.

"Geronimo," he proclaimed, leaping into the air, grabbing the Catch Feeder, and wrestling it to the ground.

After subduing the feeder, Sir Edison beckoned for the human servants to fill it with treats aplenty.

He walked around the feeder, curious and determined. Then, with paws batting and eyes alight with intrigue,

Sir Edison proclaimed that all royalty shall forevermore be given a Catch Feeder for their dining pleasure.

"It's exhilarating," he exclaimed. "This is the coolest."

Sir Edison was so excited by the feeder that he would wear himself out during mealtime, leaving no energy for

biting ankles as his servants ran up the stairs, and no vigor for leaping from around corners and startling the maids.

Sir Edison had met his match, and the kingdom could rest easy.

       
               

My cats  are grazers so I can't enter the contest.  i thought this was such a great idea that I dropped one of Eclipse's treats into his cat grass?  He look at the grass and looked around, then looked at me again.  So I dropped another treat in while he watched so he could see it go into the grass.  Again he sat there and looked around, sniffed the grass but didn't paw at it.  Sigh . . .  This morning the grass was laying on it's side and the treats appear to be gone.  

First of all, I can't post a picture of this, although I will include a picture of the cat in question, because I (with the help of people on this very site--see http://www.thecatsite.com/t/298529/strange#post_3753722  ) fixed the problem. Here's the story: we currently have six cats in our house, one mother and five babies (it's not my fault, I tried to have their mother fixed before she ever went into heat, and that's a rant for another time). One of the kittens, Ra, would gulp his food down so fast that he would literally choke on it. Luckily, I've had CPR training (even if my license expired), so I knew the basics of what to do and treated him like an infant. Well, it worked, and I didn't think more of it. I mean, the cat is clearly not stupid and he would learn from the experience not to bolt his food like that anymore. Right? Wrong. It happened two more times at different feedings, which prompted me to ask for help (and I got REALLY good advice, anyone still having problems might want to check it out). It was awful. I was frazzled from performing kitty Heimlich's, everyone who saw him choking (including his siblings) tended to panic (Princess actually stopped eating for a day or so), and it was just wearing on everyone.

Columbine hit on a good solution, which is this: put a smaller bowl (or egg cup, depending on the size of the bowl) inside the food bowl. It reduces the amount of food available, makes the cat work harder to get at the food, and makes it difficult for the cat to glut to that point. Once again, thank you Columbine! View media item 281325

Beautiful boy :heart3: So glad my suggestion helped him

The catch feeder seems just the thing for Daisy, with her not being socialized she has come on but still bolting away from people but she does it the most when eating. She gets straight into her food and in two minutes its gone. she doesn't feel safe when eating and can't watch if anyone is about so its just gobbled up as quick as she can managed. She has two packets of Felix and a dish of dried food as well a day. I think if it took longer she wouldn't need so much.

I have 1 year old male Highland Lynx who will not fully mature for another one to two years. His daddy is 20 lbs of lean muscle so, he will prolly be a big kitty. He is around 13 lbs now and eats about two cans of cat food every 24 hours but he usually meters it over the the day. he is very lean and i don't give him people food with exception to a sliver of meat and cheese once in awhile. 

Aw, I'm loving these entries.  And the beautiful pics...

It's not that Luci loves to eat it's just that she isn't going to let anyone else eat until she gets finished. She will guard the food dish and gorge herself while slapping at the two boys. She has, at times, eaten so fast that she will get sick. I guess it all goes back to when she was a baby and was abandoned and hungry. She's always been a feisty eater. Slapping at whoever got too close.

This would work for her so she can't just hover over the plate and pig out too fast. She would have to take her time and work for her food while letting the boys have a turn too. It would keep her from over filling and getting sick.

I love that last photo of his fluffy face! 

We need more enteries!! Tomorrow's the deadline!

Here's mine. Nothing compared to the above though!

Monet has a tendency of eating fast, only because he wants to go after Cassie's food. Sometimes he'd eat fast that he'd throw up.. typical feline.

The only way I solved this is by separating the two.. Cassie now eats in the bedroom where she can take her time eating. Though, it really doesn't stop Monet from gulping down his food and race to the door, begging to be let in for Cassie's food.

Bumping this thread - last day for entries!

The contest is now officially closed for submissions. Only eight entries, I think, but quality over quantity (and the topic was very specific, after all).

The esteemed judges will take the weekend to consider the submissions and vote. Thank you so much everyone for the submissions and good luck!   

Can't wait to see who the winner is!!

Me either!! View media item 282605