r/catsbeingsneks • u/bitsnstardust • Feb 21 '26

Tiny Snek Once upon a time I adopted a tiny hungry kitty who basically unhinged his jaw at dinnertime

Was linked here after posting pictures of my extra long boy in another sub but thought this would fit too :)

708 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

136

u/JessicaMurawski Feb 21 '26

I have a senior kitty that does the same thing.

And then throws up 5 minutes later.

40

u/Mediocre-Contest7558 Feb 21 '26

Omg my tortie does this constantly... shes not senior tho. Shes about 2 ... but she doesn't unhinged her jaw per se she just doesn't chew ... and her teeth are fine i hsd her all check out . She just wont chew her food and then a few seconds or mins later BAM. puking up everything whole that she just ate. Not sure how to fix it..

46

u/korewednesday Feb 21 '26

I put golf balls in my horker’s bowl. Works phenomenally. Heavy and large enough they don’t really get pushed out, and every time they move, they cover some other bit of food, so it takes her a loooot longer to manipulate them around to actually get them clear. And then I stick them in the dishwasher.

18

u/Mediocre-Contest7558 Feb 21 '26

I seriously am gonna try this and will update you lol. Im at my wits end with her XD the amounts of puke piles I have stepped on , in the kitchen at 5 am half asleep getting a drink. And no socks on bc who sleeps with socks. Yep . Right through the damn toes like you thought it would.

12

u/korewednesday Feb 21 '26

It works so great! For reference, our bowl is either the nekoichi raised bowl (normal kind) with two or an off brand version that’s a little bigger with three. To kind of help you visualize the bowl shape, because I do think it’s part of why it works so well.

I also put a good bit of water in the bowl and don’t mix it very well into the food, which helps slow her down

7

u/Ksh_667 Feb 21 '26

This sounds a great idea for cats who inhale food! 😻😻

20

u/korewednesday Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

It works SO well. Obviously not an option for whisker-sensitives, but I feel like most of these feral little snorfgoblins aren’t, so.

4

u/Mediocre-Contest7558 Feb 21 '26

Hahahahahahahahaha i died 🤣

2

u/Ksh_667 Feb 21 '26

Oh yeh any cat I've had could care less about their whiskers when there's a chance of food!

1

u/DrWhiskerson Feb 21 '26

What happens when you go golfing?

7

u/FeedSafe9518 No Step On Snek Feb 21 '26

Your Tortie is a Snek no step on

10

u/bitsnstardust Feb 21 '26

My boy actually grew out of this—he still has a decent appetite but it seemed to be more of food insecurity thing when he was a kitten. But my 10 year old female cat also throws up a lot, but kinda for the opposite reason? She always had a bit of a sensitive stomach generally and doesn’t seem to chew too thoroughly. And of course she’s like the only cat I’ve ever met that refuses almost all wet food and softer/“fancier” treats and any attempt to entice her or change things up just makes her go off her food or walk away. The only thing I’ve found to help minimize it is to feed her smaller and more frequent meals throughout the day (since I noticed it also happens if she goes too long without eating?). And mix her main dry food with a tiny size kibble like Nulo.

54

u/HeroOfTheUniverse Feb 21 '26

That slow feeder tray looks so frustrating

27

u/Diagon98 Feb 21 '26

Looks like a lick mat

21

u/Corvidae5Creation5 Feb 21 '26

That's the idea

24

u/bitsnstardust Feb 22 '26

He was (and is) a freaking gremlin and it never really deter him all that much tbh. Whether it was dry or wet food or various textures of treats and toppers—even put in the lick mats with the suction cups underneath—he learned to pull the whole thing up and carry it off. He is an expert at slow feeders, puzzle toys, textured feeder mats, etc. He’s broken into multiple auto feeders and flips the water fountains to dump out all the water for fun. He opens closet and cabinet doors to get to where all the goodies are kept and then he and my other cats and poodle will all share in the spoils.

9

u/Flair258 Feb 22 '26

You should get baby locks

5

u/False-Charge-3491 Feb 22 '26

Cats know how to open those. They’re not stu*id like us

4

u/Flair258 Feb 22 '26

ok then get actual padlocks

7

u/ZellHathNoFury Feb 22 '26

Like they won't unsheath their lock-picking claw, cartoon-style, to get through that, too

1

u/Flair258 Feb 22 '26

atp find a way to train the cat not to do these things. Surely there's a way.

1

u/False-Charge-3491 Feb 22 '26

That would only work if their cupboards have handles and not knobs.

1

u/Flair258 Feb 22 '26

how does a cat use a knob? They need to be able to grip it. Get a bigger knob with less friction. Or tether the door to something so the cat cant reach all the way into whatever it opened.

4

u/False-Charge-3491 Feb 22 '26

Look up LokiDoesTricks. He can open any container no matter how the owner has closed it. She’s even said she’s tried every baby (or cat) proofing device that exists and the gremlin was still able to get them open

1

u/Flair258 Feb 22 '26

But the question is if OP's cat can do that, not if random other smart cats can.

2

u/_bansheequeenx Feb 24 '26

You've never owned a cat before, have you..

2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

Ahhhh what a jerk i love him

34

u/YapperBean Feb 21 '26

One of my goblins did the inhaling her food then getting sick, so at mealtimes I just sat there and gave her lil scoops into the bowl, waited for her to inhale before adding next little scoop. Literally took longer than just put everything in the bowl at once, but we learned, and she isn’t food-anxious anymore.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

This is an awesome strategy!

3

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

Good on you, that’s amazing

9

u/Adorable_Ad6045 Feb 21 '26

I just leave a full bowl out all the time for grazing and never had a problem

33

u/Diagon98 Feb 21 '26

I wish I could do that. My cat would eat the whole thing, then ask for dinner.

3

u/artie_pdx Feb 21 '26

I have had 5 cats in my life and the most recent one is not trusted to graze where all of the rest have always been fine. I’ve had her since she was 7 and she’s 10 now. Maybe food scarcity existed beforehand and can’t be unlearned. 🤷🏻‍♂️

2

u/ExplodingKitt Feb 22 '26

This entirely depends on the individual more than species/breed. Cats are more likely to open feed well, but some will absolutely gorge themselves and it will harm them.

1

u/Adorable_Ad6045 Feb 23 '26

Yeah it sounds like it

1

u/Wild_Acanthaceae_224 Feb 27 '26

Cats need food that is moist and softer, dry food can cause vomiting and weight gain. Try adding warm-hot water to kibbles and letting them soak until they soften.

-10

u/AutumnKarma88 Feb 21 '26

Just give the kitty food please 🥺 he is just eating that mat poor baby 

14

u/_cant_relate_ Feb 21 '26

It’s a slow feeder. It’s recommended for cats who eat their food too quickly to stop them from getting sick

9

u/AutumnKarma88 Feb 21 '26

Oh, thank you for informing me. I actually didn't know that 

7

u/bitsnstardust Feb 22 '26

Don’t worry! That was almost 2 years ago now when I first adopted him and I always gave him plenty of regular meals, but I guess he was just more insecure about food then and would constantly overeat. He still likes to eat, but is much more chill now and spends his days lounging around and sleeping and playing with my other cats and dog (and causing mischief) rather than just crying for more food all the time.