Elderly cat vomiting dry food

[Mingmoo]

My lovely eighteen-year-old cat is in very good health generally and is in good spirits - you'd never guess he was eighteen. But he has started to be sick every time he has dry food. We usually feed him twice a day on a mixture of wet and dry food, but over the past few months we've had to switch to wet food only. This seems to make him ravenous. I've been working from home today and fed him a tiny amount of dry food on a couple of occasions (a teaspoon of it, literally). It all came back up again in one go about half an hour after he had the second lot. As I say, he's in great form otherwise and full of energy, goes out, grooms himself, looks in the pink, hasn't lost weight. But he's very hungry all the time and it's driving me mad. Any thoughts? Do I need to take him to the vet? My DH thinks not...

What dry food is it? Have you tried other brands?

It's Purina at the moment but we've tried loads of types. He doesn't seem to have any problem with chewing but he doesn't do it! He eats really quickly even if I try to spread it out or make it hard for him to get at it. He's like a hoover. And then I think he feels too full and up it comes.

My cat tends to hoover up dry food without chewing when the biscuits are smaller, and then regurgitates them almost unchanged. Something a bit bigger, like Arden Grange, goes down better as she can't swallow it whole and is forced to chew it up a bit.

Alternatively, what about adding some liquid to the dry food, or mixing some in with the wet food? It might help it to slip down his throat better (and stay down!)

Also, I find my cat is less hungry when given higher meat content wet foods.

If if persists I would have thought it would be a good idea to see the vet, to check his teeth and to rule out any other conditions.

If he is constantly hungry and gulping his food it might be worth getting his thyroid checked.

You can but bowls and toys to slow down cats that wolf their food

I think I'll try larger dry food and see if it forces him to chew it. I thought if it was smaller it would be easier to eat but it has backfired. But he does seem quite wired all the time so it might be worth taking him to the vet for his thyroid too. Thanks!

A very hungry cat is a sign of hyperthyroidism and very common in elderly cats. Even if you feed more, he'll feel hungry and start to lose weight. Personally, I would get this confirmed/ruled out by the vet. I passed the comment at the vet's that my girl eat far more than her brother but was smaller and that's when the vet picked up on her having it.

With regards to bringing the dry back up quickly, it could well be he's eating it too quick and can't digest it.

Just read your last post, you mentioned he's wired, restlessness and hyperactivity is another sign.

I've now looked up the symptoms and I am pretty convinced that is probably it. I'll book him an appointment asap.

If it turns out to be hyperthyroidism, it can be managed for a long time with treatment. The blood test is usually a general test for many other readings, so will give the vet an idea of whether there are any other things to keep an eye on so not a bad thing to have done anyway.