Is the diet driving him batty?

Vince is a normally very mellow 4 year old male neutered Maine Coon. He's happy go lucky and fun to be around.

A month or so ago, while grooming him, I noticed a scabby bald spot near his tail. I rushed him to the vet who said that he'd gained 3 pounds in a year and a half (from 16 to 19 lbs) and that he couldn't reach back to his big booty to clean himself properly.

So, they knocked him out and gave him a bath, a lion cut, some vaccinations he needed, a dental cleaning and then sent us home with cream for the scab and told us to put him on a diet. Instead of the 1/2 C. of food twice a day, he was only to have 3/4 C. through out the day at the MOST. The scab healed quickly and he looks great.

So since then a few things: 1. he BEGS for food. Like, shoves his bowl around, howls and nearly climbs the walls in the morning for food, it's like nothing I have seen out of him before.

2. He has become very sassy. He's pawing at our feet, suddenly sneaking into our bed to sleep (he never did that before) and is beating up on the dog more.

So what's the deal? Any ideas? At first I thought maybe he was holding a grudge for the vet trip, but it's been over a month!

Originally Posted by Vincent'sMom

Instead of the 1/2 C. of food twice a day, he was only to have 3/4 C. through out the day at the MOST. The scab healed quickly and he looks great.

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I'm just curious based on the way you've phrased this. Have you changed when and how you're feeding him at all? Cats can get very neurotic about that. Depending on your schedule, you might WANT to change it a bit. Try feeding him smaller meals 3-4 times a day instead of 2 if your schedule allows. You might also try feeding a bit more for the evening meal (right before bed) so that he will be less likely to bother you at night.

For peace of mind, you should probably have him weighed every couple of weeks to make sure that he's not losing weight too fast or still gaining. You need an accurate scale (+/- an ounce or so), so you need to take him to the vet for this or else purchase a baby/pet scale. Your vet might be willing to let you come in and weigh him for free since they are the ones who put him on the diet.

As for him being sassy, that's hard to say. If he's losing weight, it may just be that he's feeling more energetic and that's how he's expressing it. It's also possible that he's hungry and cranky and he's taking it out on the dog, your feet, etc. I have an 18-pound tabby that I've had on a diet for over a month now and I see similar behavior - sleeping on my bed more, roughhousing with the other cats, etc.