[Nammu]

Got some questions about my guy. He's around 10-12 yrs old and has come a long way since I bought him home from the shelter.

He's a mixed bag. Has manners and build of English shorthair with the thick dense blue fur but the head is more American shorthair. Very much a four on the floor kind of guy.

When I got him touching his paws and clipping claws was a traumatic thing for him, but now it's no problem. The ongoing problem is brushing him. He goes nuts. Won't hold still and is always trying to ram his face into the brush. I've tried to sneak the brush out when he's laying on my lap but immediately he jumps up and starts rubbing his head on it. I have an all in one soft plastic brush that I don't mind him doing that too much but the other one has wire bristles that do much better to get the fur out...if I can get him to calm down enough that is. I'm so afraid he's going to take an eye out the way he buts his head on the brushes. And suggestions for how to get him to calm down during brushing times?

The other thing is his tendency to gulp or inhale his food, then throw it up. He is much calmer now than he used to be about food. But he still has a tendency to swallow food without chewing it. He doesn't get much wet food at a time, a third of a can twice a day. But his dry food is out all the time. He does have set times for snacks. He does love yogurt and gets to lick the cup clean.

There was one more thing but I've forgotten.

[PsychNitrous]

My parents have had similar problems with their cats. The youngest likes to eat fast, even though there is dry food out all day for them. I'm pretty out of touch since moving out, but I believe that issue was just a wait and see thing, eventually she got sick of throwing up every time she ate. Not sure if that's much help for that issue.

As far as with brushing, my cat always hated being brushed, so kind of an opposite situation. We found that distracting her with something she really likes helps (not that it's easy to find things! She's 14). She likes to have a small glass of water from the tap at night when my parents are getting ready for bed, so my dad will sometimes brush her while she is drinking her water. That cat won't give up those little glasses of water for anything, so it helped her to get used to being brushed. I hope some of that might help!

He wants to put his scent on the brush. His scent glands are in his cheeks. Maybe brush his cheeks and head, then his body, while rubbing his cheeks with your other hand. That works for my cat. I use a Furminator, which she adores.

To stop him gulping his food, put a small dish inside a bigger dish, with his food around the side, so he has to work to get it, and can only have a little at a time.

Hope this helps!

[Yoda]

You might try feeding him his dry food from a device that requires interaction. There are several different types available. I found this one on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER Besides slowing his eating it also keeps his mind busy for a bit.

[Nammu]

Some good suggestions here.

[*Laurie*]

Yes, I like these suggestions, too.

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Some good suggestions here.

Yah, they mentioned most of the things I thought of. My mom used to have this thingie that you wore like a mitten that had brush bristles on one side. Maybe something like that would work?

For the eating and vomiting.... was he feral at some point? Some cats raised in a situation where they have to eat fast continue to do it to get their food before someone else does, even if they are the only cat in the house. Old habits and all that. What about an automated feeder that only releases a few kibbles at a time? I've also seen a Kong-like thing for cats where they have to work to get their food out. It forces them to eat slowly because they can only get a little food at a time.

[Nammu]

He did have owners but not sure how good they were cause he ended up in the shelter 4 times. Ever since I bought him home if you open the outside door he goes and hides he wants nothing to do with the outside world so I suspect he might have been kicked out of the house at times. The cost to retrieve an animal from the shelter goes up each time the same animal ends up in the shelter and the owners gf wanted him back but the fb didn't want him back so my guess is that he was in a home where there was a lot of fighting and got kicked out routinely. He's afraid of loud voices but not loud noises. One of my nephews has a loud deep voice and Sir is scared of him even though he is an animal lover.

[Hairball]

Hi Nammu, we have a cat at our rescue exactly like that she loves to push her head into the bristles of the brush, hard to comb the rest of her when she is honed in on that brush on her face. We put one of these in her room and it helped tremendously.

https://www.chewy.com/sentry-hc-groo...pouch/dp/56587

[Nammu]

That looks perfect hairball

[Ocean Swimmer]

I had a cat who got his mid section crushed by a car.
He vomited all of the time, until I started making his food.
Fried chicken livers ( liquified first)add water for a gravy. He loved it and could keep it down.
For dry food, my current cats I use a slender plastic tube. They reach their paw in and pull out one piece at a time. Slows down the eatting.

[cakeladie]

See I am having the same issue with our cat sunny. He eats and then throws up and it doesn't look like he has chewed his food. Since we got McGee we also give them a can of cat food. Sometimes hubby has to pick sunny up and put him in front of the wet food. I think sunny is being difficult since hubby and sunny don't always get along. I also keep dry food out 24/7