Personality change

Puppy's personality has changed over the last couple weeks. For the 6 weeks he was at my parents, he was a very calm and chill cat. He didn't even get phased when the girls would go out of their way to hiss at him. He didn't cower; he just acted as though he didn't care and completely ignored them.

For his first two weeks here, he was noticeably less playful and sudate. More recently, his old personality came back, but stronger. He's much more vocal, he plays more aggressively with his toys, and he isn't quite as chill. The new nickname is "A.D.D. Cat" because he gets distracted easily.

We're trying to figure out what caused the personality change. Could it be because he's now "alpha cat" since he's the only cat in the household? Any ideas?

How old is he? Is he nuetered?

He's about a year, and he is neutered. He was neutered before I got him, about 6 months ago. I figure any change from neutering happened long ago.

Has anything changed in Puppy's environment recently (around the time he changed)? Did you guys move any furniture? Is there a stray male in the neighborhood? Are your other kitties fixed as well?

Changes in a cat's environment and/or in its social group often cause different aspects of a cat's personality to emerge. Same as with people. Our basic personalities don't change, but different features of our personalities may be expressed or suppressed depending on the circumstances.

No, nothing's changed in the environment since he moved in with us.

Our vet thinks that after he got over the initial shock of being moved, his personality was different because he has less stimulation when we're not there. At my parents house, all he had was two cats that hated him, but the vet said this did give him some kind of interaction. Even though people didn't play with him as much and he didn't have toys, there were just more people and animals, so he had more stimulation.

He suggested that we only give him 3 toys at a time and switch them out every few days. He also suggested getting some "puzzle toys" with food inside.

I've got an even better suggestion: get him a little playmate.

Yeah, the apartment's a little crowded now, what with 2 people, a cat, and a turtle. I think another animal in the house might be too much!

He does seem to have adjusted his sleeping pattern to our schedule though. He only sleeps now for about an hour during the time when we're home and not sleeping. The rest of the time he's playing with us or patroling the apartment.

Maybe the turtle will give up a little living space for another cat.