Do you have a cat who gulps their food, sometimes so quickly that they almost immediately vomit it back up? (Also known as “scarf and barf”ing?) Or maybe you have a cat who gobbles their food and then moves on to steal more food from their feline siblings? Here are a few tips to help with a cat who eats too quickly.

• Invest in a variety of feeding tools. Feeding puzzles and slow feeders can help slow your cat’s eating down so that they can both digest their food, and potentially prevent them from moving on to the food resources of the other cats in your home. Bonus: feeding puzzles can be a great way to enrich your cat’s environment, too! Here’s more on feeding puzzles for cats.
• Feed smaller meals more frequently. In doing so, you’ll slow down your cat’s eating habits and spread out feedings so that they’re not as hungry at meal times.
• Make sure you’re managing stress during feeding times.
  • In a multi-cat home, it’s important that you have enough resources for all of your cats. This means that they each need their own feeding station, ideally separated from one another. Each cat has their own space, so that no one feels like they need to protect their meals.
  • Avoid feeding at high energy times in your home. If you’re under stress and moving quickly, your cat will sense this. Make meal times happen at a space in your schedule that’s comfortable for you. Creating a schedule that works for you will also work best for your cat!

P.S. Always speak with your veterinarian if your cat is vomiting regularly or scarfing their food. It’s always best to make sure there’s nothing of concern causing this behavior!