Overeating and not wanting to go outside?

by Sara
(UK)

Hi,

My cat is a 4 years old moggy (but with a bit of siamese in him, according to my vet, as he has a kink in his tale & is slim build & bone structure), he has always been nervous and loves to follow me around and is happy when he is within the same room as me. I have had him since he was a kitten but last year moved away for a year and was not able to take him with me so he stayed with someone else during this time. I now have him back, but, he is like a different cat...

He has become very overweight, doesn't want to go out at all, when previously he loved to, & he doesn't play very much anymore. Despite all this he does come for lots of cuddles, still follows me around & purrs lots so I know he is not desperately unhappy. I have reduced his food but as he is not getting the exercise, the weight is not coming off & still he is wanting more food all the time.

He has also recently started meowing very loudly if I am out at work during the day. The new house I have moved into is shared & it has taken him a while to let the other housemates near him (which is normal for him) However, one of them plays very loud music & is generally a loud person, my cat will not stay in the same room as him if he even moves, could this be something to do with his meowing & unsettling him?

I am not sure how to resolve this but any ideas would be much appreciated,

Thank-you!

Answer by KAte
Hi
Well yes it does sound like he is a very anxious cat and could be using food as a comfort.

If he was always a little nervous then all the changes he has gone through could have easily made things worse for him and so has caused these changes in his behavior.

You will need to make sure you only feed him the recommned daily amount and stick to it and you will also have to encourage him to take exercise. This is not always easy but is necessary to help him loss the weight. It will also help to give some structure to his day. So make a routine at a specific time that you play with him. encourage him to chase string or balls. he will not want to do it at first but you must be persistent and encourage him.

There are also some things you can do to try and help calm him down generally. Please see this page for more on this

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/scared-cat.html

If all else fails and you are concerned that there may be something else wrong, then take him to the vets for a checkup to see if there are any possible underlaying illnesses which could be causing the weight gain.

best wishes Kate

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