Why does my cat vomit almost every time I refill her food bowl?

Question

Normally I fill up her food bowl all the way and it will last her 3-4 days. When it's starting to look empty she will come find me and I fill it up again. It's hardly ever completely empty by the time I refill it, so it's not like she's starving, but she does seem anxious and needy when it needs to be refilled.

Usually within a few hours of her food being refilled she will vomit on the floor. Then she does not puke again until I refill her bowl again. She is otherwise healthy. Perfect weight, shiny hair, happy, energetic. She is about 5 years old.I have tried food that is intended for sensitive stomachs and she still vomits.

Why is this happening and is there anything I can do about it?

Answer 1

A prior cat of mine had similar issues with binge-eating right after a refill, resulting in barely-digested food gracing my carpet. The two most effective fixes I found (and combined):

• Food dishes that slow down eating. These can be puzzle/interactive feeders (e.g. food maze), or something as simple as a wide and shallow dish (instead of a deep bowl)--I even had success with an empty icecube tray.
• Feeding the cat smaller meals more frequently. If your refilling excites them into a feeding frenzy because it's so infrequent, perhaps doing it more often will calm them down. Additionally, you may find that the smaller amounts of food provoke less upsets. I found 2 meals a day to be the ideal timing for mine.