Conference misery::feline

    1. aka "snarf and barf"  When the dishes happen to be empty, try giving
    her a small portion, then waiting awhile and giving her another, etc.
    That should prevent her inhaling a lot and whoopsing it back up.
    
    2. When Holly goes into demon mode, I calmly pick her up and shut her
    in a bedroom for about 5 minutes.  Since she misbehaves to get attention,
    this is pretty effective, since she gets just the opposite.  Initially
    I had to do it a couple of times in a row, but she caught on pretty 
    quickly. just don't give her a lot of attention (scolding, talking to,
    etc.) when you do this as in a little kitty mind :-) that counts
    as attention, apparently.  I just say No.
    

    My oldest cat Pumpkin (15 years old) started barfing after she ate.  I
    figured it may be a hair ball, which can be serious if you don't take
    care of it.  I bought Petromalt (any hairball goop is ok) and for one
    week I put a small amount on her top lip.  She has to lick it to get it
    off.  Or you can pry their mouth open an put it on the back of the
    tongue.  Pumpkin cleverly spits it out at me if I do that.
    
    For obnoxious behavior, if they don't mind me, I have a small spray
    bottle full of water.  It doesn't hurt them, and breaks them up.  I
    don't use it all the time, cause Sunny got too used to it and would
    brave the water to get even with someone.  
    
    
    Donna

    
    
    
    there are no hairballs when she gets sick....just full pieces of the
    food...... I guess I'll try giving her a little bit, but it's tough
    when you have 5 cats that eat all day.........
    
    michele

    Cats should not eat all day. In fact a cat in the wild will only eat
    once a day or depending on the food supplies, less than that. I would
    suggest you put food down for your cats and leave it down for a half an
    hour. If they dont eat it, TOO BAD, they will learn real quick that the
    food is only down for a limited time. Only feed them twice a day. This
    feeding pattern will mimic more closely a cats feeding cycle. By taking
    the food away you are doing a couple of things; 1. if a cat can smell
    food it's digestive system will prepare itself for feeding and the cat
    may over eat. 2 a cat has a stomach the size of a quarter, not very big
    if you are feeding your cat HIGH quality food then only about 1/4 - 1/2
    a cup of food daily is all the cat needs. Look at the size of a mouse
    (which is the cats main food source in the wild.) and imagine that a
    cat only eats one mouse every day if that. Think about your cat from a
    cats point of view not from a human point of view. Look at the food
    your cats are eating, put some in your mouth and chew if that disgusts
    you then how do you think your cats feel?
    

    I also have five cats, I had a problem once with Max when he was little
    gobbling his food.  I would watch him when he'd eaten about  1/3 of the
    plate I picked him up and burped him.  It seemed to work after about a 
    week he stopped eating so fast.  I too leave food out all the time but 
    usually the can food only lasts about 15 minutes unless the two boys
    get finicky.
    
    As for the agression I too lock up the one looking for trouble.  
    Luckily it only happens once in a while usually when my only whole
    female gets pregnant(sp) she goes after everyone except her sister.
    
    Dennis

    
    re. 0
    
    One of my cats is just like Pricey, gobbling everything down until
    he gets sick. The vet suggested spreading the food out on a plate 
    instead in a bowl, so that he can't as easily stuff his face. It
    seems to work, it takes him twice as long to finsh his meals now.
    
    
    Eva
    

    One of my four cats has to be fed where she can't view the others
    easily.  She gets agressive if she can see any of the others while
    eating, the same thing happens when grooming her.  Maybe feeding the
    cat in a place with less hustle/bustle will calm their nerves thus
    helping to keeping the food down.  Its worth a try not to have to clean
    up after every meal.   
    
    Maybe the cat has a blockage?  Pudge loves plastic, esp. the thin bags
    in the produce department.  After a hugh vet bill when he was less than
    a year old, we have learned to keep anything plastic inside something
    else.  He had ingested a strip of the plastic that would not allow the
    food to pass all the way through.  He had vomited enough times that we
    could predict almost to the moment when he would hurl.  The vet knew
    that it was not the stomach in jeopardy but the intestines.  Lesson
    learned the hard way.  But I guess I'm not alone in that department!
    
    Hope your solution doesn't cost as much as mine did.

    
    When Mischa was alive she would sometimes eat really fast, especially
    if it was fresh cooked turkey or chicken and then after about a half
    hour she'd go outside and throw up whole pieces. It was as if she
    hadn't chewed it. What I used to do in the end was instead of giving
    her a lot all at once I would give her a few small pieces and then wait
    until she'd eaten it and give her some more. I'd even stand next to her 
    and tell her to take her time, whether she knew what I was going on about 
    is anyones guess. That seemed to do the trick. 
    
    Bye
    
    Trev
    

    PRINCEY, PEPPER, PRECIOUS, POOKIE, PICKLES.  I love it !!!!!
    
    Now to your problems.  Spreading the food out is good.  Giving her/him
    less in a bowl/dish is good too.  How are the teeth?  Beauty had no
    teeth and used to swallow his food whole.  He would also tend to vomit
    afterwards at times.  Is there a possibility of a tooth hurting which
    makes it hard to chew?
    
    Aggresive behaviour - Spray bottle aimed at culprit is the best one.  I
    use it and it works wonders.  Now I just have to pick up the bottle and
    the culprit immediately stops what he/she is doing.  I also let them
    know that Mommy is *UPSET* with them and coo-coo the victim.  This way,
    the culprit sees what is punished as well as what is rewarded.
    
    Good luck on both counts.
    
    Sandi (mom to 6 cats and 2 strays)