Just noticed an eating habit.

sullaford

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Have two young cats Buttons (9months) and Simba (15 months). Buttons is the adventerous one and loves his food(dry food for both). He chomps and it and chews it to pieces when he eats. Heck, sometimes not all of it stays in his mouth. Simba is the shy one and doesn't always get to eat his fill if Buttons is around. He will usually stay at his dish a short while and retreat to his comfy chair or high buffet, at which point Buttons comes to finish off Simba's food. I have been feeding them in seperate rooms to reduce this occurance.

This morning I dished out their food and sat down next to Simba and petted him while he ate, boy did he love that. But I noticed something wierd. Simba just picks up the food and swallows it whole. No chewing at all. Is this odd or do some cats just do this? Perhaps his belly fills faster with bigger chunks in him meaning he eats less? It's kinda worrying me that he eats this way. Should I be?
 
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ghostuser

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Hans and Merlin will swallow their food whole sometimes. I really can't figure out why they swallow sometimes and chew other times. The only downside I've noticed is that when it hits their stomachs and expands by absorbing water and bile, they tend to throw up if they've eaten a lot. I did switch the dry food from a small pellet shape to one with points, and they didn't vomit once. (I switched back to the first food for other reasons.)
 

hissy

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Cats are famous for being gulpers- that's why dogs look at litter pans as holding candy because the feces are pure protein of undigested food. You can break up the kibble with a hammer, or elevate the bowls to stop them from gulping their food. It always makes me laugh to hear people claim that dry food is essential for tartar control, most of my cats swallow dry food completely whole.
 
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