Food addicted cat personality change
When I adopted my now 5 yo male 2 years ago and I quickly found out he was insanely food motivated (likely because he came from a hoarding situation).
Per vet advice, started giving him numerous frequent small meals daily via automatic feeder to make him feel less food-scarce. This led to him mostly just waiting by the feeder, whining for food in between meals. He was always very energetic and active, loved to play and cuddle.
3 days ago, per new vet advice, I started trying to allow him to have grazing food out at all times. He seems to have some self control and will leave food in the bowl if he’s full. But his personality has completely changed. He’s like a normal cat now, sleeping most of the day, not waiting at the feeder constantly. But he’s also a lot quieter and less energetic. He still likes to play, but he sleeps a lot more so we play less.
Any thoughts on this? I just want to take the best care of him that I can. I think he’s happier with this new change but the change in behavior has been a bit jarring since I’m used to his very loud proud and active self.
I’m monitoring his weight but it’s still too early to see significant changes there. Other options I’m considering are maybe getting some lower calorie food to balance out the constant access to it.