Hi all,
I adopted Skimble (8 years old) a little over 3 weeks ago from the local humane society. Over those 3 weeks I've seen a lot of behavior changes, so I'll give you a description of the timeline:
I picked him at the shelter because he was really affectionate right away. As soon as the door to his little room was open, he hopped up, rubbed up against my legs, and walked into the hallway and flipped onto his back for belly rubs from my roommates and I. He stayed like this for a week after bringing him home. Whenever we had friends over, he'd run up to greet them and ask for belly rubs. He once had like 5 people petting him at once. He loved to be picked up and held and would purr all the time. He's always had a love nipping habit. He'd nibble at you when he was happy or bite gently at your arm when he was done being pet. He slept in my room on my bed with me. He was very playful too and entertained himself with his favorite glitter ball when we couldn't play with him.
A week after adoption, I took him to the vet. She said he looked really good, but to watch his food since he's a bit overweight at 14.5 pounds. He also got his rabies vaccine.The next day I switched his food from Purina Pro Plan (what he was on at the shelter) to a sample of Hill's Science Diet the shelter had given me since the Orijen and Nature's Variety I ordered hadn't come in yet. He really didn't like the Science diet and didn't eat very much at all. That's when his behavior started to change. He still slept with me, but he didn't want to be picked up and would attack your legs and arms after you put him down. He started biting harder and didn't tolerate being pet for nearly as long as he used to. I attributed this to the Science Diet, so I switched slowly over to the Orijen once I got it in the mail and tried giving him the wet NVI in the mornings and evenings. He didn't like the wet food very much, but ate the Orijen right up. His behavior really didn't improve much though.
Ultimately, with the advice from others, I reluctantly decided to put him back on the Purina since his mood was best when he was eating that. He's been eating that for the past 4 days. His behavior seemed to get a little better. He's been a little more affectionate and has been wanting to be pet for longer. His bites have also gotten softer. However, he doesn't want to sleep with me or hang out under my bed like he used to, he doesn't play at all anymore unless it's with a person and a fish pole toy, and he's been spending almost all day sleeping behind the toilet in our bathroom. He comes out for food but that's about it. I've been trying to close the door to keep him out of there, but he follows us in when we use the restroom and we can't get him out. Sometimes I coax him with Greenies Smartbites to a point where I can pick him up and carry him out, but other times I just leave him be. He's been extremely lethargic and just lays around all the time.
I'm really worried. I'm wondering where the cat I adopted is. I don't know where this lethargy is coming from. They did just turn on the heat in our building and our apartment is like a sauna so I don't know if that's doing it or if it's something else. I just want him to be okay and I'd love to have that sweet cat back.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me. I really, really appreciate it.
I adopted Skimble (8 years old) a little over 3 weeks ago from the local humane society. Over those 3 weeks I've seen a lot of behavior changes, so I'll give you a description of the timeline:
I picked him at the shelter because he was really affectionate right away. As soon as the door to his little room was open, he hopped up, rubbed up against my legs, and walked into the hallway and flipped onto his back for belly rubs from my roommates and I. He stayed like this for a week after bringing him home. Whenever we had friends over, he'd run up to greet them and ask for belly rubs. He once had like 5 people petting him at once. He loved to be picked up and held and would purr all the time. He's always had a love nipping habit. He'd nibble at you when he was happy or bite gently at your arm when he was done being pet. He slept in my room on my bed with me. He was very playful too and entertained himself with his favorite glitter ball when we couldn't play with him.
A week after adoption, I took him to the vet. She said he looked really good, but to watch his food since he's a bit overweight at 14.5 pounds. He also got his rabies vaccine.The next day I switched his food from Purina Pro Plan (what he was on at the shelter) to a sample of Hill's Science Diet the shelter had given me since the Orijen and Nature's Variety I ordered hadn't come in yet. He really didn't like the Science diet and didn't eat very much at all. That's when his behavior started to change. He still slept with me, but he didn't want to be picked up and would attack your legs and arms after you put him down. He started biting harder and didn't tolerate being pet for nearly as long as he used to. I attributed this to the Science Diet, so I switched slowly over to the Orijen once I got it in the mail and tried giving him the wet NVI in the mornings and evenings. He didn't like the wet food very much, but ate the Orijen right up. His behavior really didn't improve much though.
Ultimately, with the advice from others, I reluctantly decided to put him back on the Purina since his mood was best when he was eating that. He's been eating that for the past 4 days. His behavior seemed to get a little better. He's been a little more affectionate and has been wanting to be pet for longer. His bites have also gotten softer. However, he doesn't want to sleep with me or hang out under my bed like he used to, he doesn't play at all anymore unless it's with a person and a fish pole toy, and he's been spending almost all day sleeping behind the toilet in our bathroom. He comes out for food but that's about it. I've been trying to close the door to keep him out of there, but he follows us in when we use the restroom and we can't get him out. Sometimes I coax him with Greenies Smartbites to a point where I can pick him up and carry him out, but other times I just leave him be. He's been extremely lethargic and just lays around all the time.
I'm really worried. I'm wondering where the cat I adopted is. I don't know where this lethargy is coming from. They did just turn on the heat in our building and our apartment is like a sauna so I don't know if that's doing it or if it's something else. I just want him to be okay and I'd love to have that sweet cat back.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me. I really, really appreciate it.
