Food hound no longer crazy about food

I rescued a kitten just before Thanksgiving. He is now almost 6 months. He has always been crazy for food. Getting into the food bag, trying to steal people food, begging for food, when we would put food in his bowl he would devour it. Since last night he has been leaving food in his bowl. I fed him at 9 this morning at at noon he still has some left. This is very out of character for him. He is acting normal other wise and his feeding routine has not changed. We feed his 3 times a day, 9, 3 and 9. He is getting Nutro Natural choice kitten and on occasion he will get some wet food. Any ideas? Is he just getting used to the idea that food will always be around? should I look for any signs of sickness? He is sch. for his neuter on Feb 14th (maybe he found out!). Thanks for the help.

It's possible that:

He is concerned about his next meal and is gorging b/c of that...
That he is in a growth phase and/or was underfed and is making up for lost time...
That he has worms ... and the parasites are causing him to be ravenous.

The last one a vet can check.

He may have worse than worms - if he doesn't eat in the a.m. definitely take him in for a check up - not eating is a big deal.

Sounds like he's eating, just not horking it down. If he's still eating i wouldnt be concerned, my guess is he's just finished a growth spurt and doesnt need all the calories you are giving him 3 times a day.

They can calm down once they realize the food will keep coming.

My recent, extremely starved, kitten took four months. Now that yours is headed for the vet, so be sure to let them know of this behavior.

I would just moniter him; perhaps he is getting used to food being there, as you mentioned, and will now be content eating his fill, and leaving the rest. With previously 'starved' kitties, I have always fed free choice, so that this behavior leaves quicker; horking food down is not good for their digestion, just as starving isn't good for them either.

If he starts losing energy, or seems to lose any interest in food, i would get an immediate vet check; but if he is just leaving some of his kibble, it is highly likely it has finally clicked in his brain that he will not be left without and is 'okay' with leaving food in his bowl. And as was mentioned before, he may have stopped a growth spurt, as well, and is all caught up from his previous ordeal, and now doesn't require as much food intake.

This afternoon I gave him some wet food because he was not interested in his dry food. He ate just fine. Then about 7 hours later he had a large soft stool. It did not look normal. It was a grayish color and not digested very well. I just gave him his night meal of dry food and he barley touched it. He was very roudy tonight and seamed to be feeling great. I am going to call the vet tomorrow. Any Ideas? Thanks.

Take in a stool sample to the vet if you can get one - in a clean jar or glass.

Originally Posted by Larke

Take in a stool sample to the vet if you can get one - in a clean jar or glass.

Click to expand...

On the one hand, you don't want to go into full panic mode and be a worry wart. On the other hand, a very noticeable change in elimination and food consumption is usually a sign of some sort of illness. And he is still rather young and at his age he can go downhill rather quickly. Better to be safe than sorry. And even though he is scheduled to see the vet in a week, you might not want to wait that long for an evaluation.

I know that in humans, grey colored stool is an indication that there is a lack of bile in the stool, signifying a bile duct obstruction. I have no idea whether this is true in cats and I am certainly not saying that this is your cat's issue. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

Please keep us posted.