lost energy? moody teenager? depressed?

[mercurysmile]

Hi all again!

I've never had a kitten before, so please bear with me (all my previous cats were from spca and already adults)

Walter, when we got him was full of beans! super curious, and energetic. He slept a lot, but he also played at least a few hours a day.

He's now about 7 months old, still a kitten I think? He was neutered about 3-4 weeks ago, so maybe he's still adjusting, but he seems disinterested and sleeps A LOT! He doesn't like to play anymore, not even interested in his favourite toys. He is eating normal and drinking normal, no sneezez and no goopy eyes or nose, he just doesn't seem to be interested in much. He's excited for chicken, his favourite treat, he'll walk over to get some, eat it, then right back to his bed...

Maybe he's still adjusting to neutering. Maybe he's in that angsty teenager phase. not sure. His breeder kept about 4 adult sphynx, plus his 5 litter mates, and they also bred bengals so there were lots of cats around. Do you think he's lonely? I noticed that most sphynx owners have at least 2 of them. (yes, I would love a second one too)

He's not left alone very often, I work days and my BF works nights, so 99% of the time one or both of us are home. I'm not sure what to do. I just spent half an hour on the floor playing with cat toys in front of walter to show him how fun they are, lol.

maybe it's a winter thing. it's dark 16 hours a day here in Calgary...

(ps I am willing to take him back to the vet again, but they are starting to think I am a little nuts I thought I would check with you guys first,)

thanks!!

 

[Mews2much]

All the males I had altered were fine the same day.
Maybe he reacted to the meds they used.
I would go for another cat.
Kittens do slow down some as they age.
My Wrinkles is the same age as your kitten and gets altered on monday.

 

[mercurysmile]

Hi Mews2much

thanks for your reply. When we had him neutered, he was fine that day. He was playful as normal, but slowly over the last month he seems to have lost interest...

I am looking for a kitten friend for him already now I just have to convince the hubby it's a good idea

 

[Mews2much]

That might help.
I am sure the altering is not why he is that way now.
I have 2 sphynxs and will be getting a third.
They play all the time.
My husband said yes to me.
Just keep pushing.

 

[Maggies mommy]

Good luck I hope Walter perks up

 

[Brooke]

Hmmm, seems to me like something might be wrong. Just to give an example, my girl Helen, age 8, was super playful - still very kitten-like. She was acting really lethargic, sleeping a lot, and seemed depressed for about 2 weeks. Finally, I took her to the vet because of this and had him do some blood work because she just wasn't herself. My vet didn't find anything wrong with her, and her bloodwork came back normal. He told me "she's just getting old and slowing down, it happens..." I didn't want to accept that, because just weeks earlier she had spent 2 straight hours chasing a ball around the house!

Anyhow, I changed her food (switched to raw) and within 24 hours she was running around the house again.

Another example, my other 3 are aged between 2.5 and 3.5 and they play NON-STOP! There's no reason a 7 month old should be lethargic and not playing! Walter was slow to recover from his neuter because it was done when he was an adult, and by slow to recover, I mean it took 3 days. I would definitely check in with the vet. Has anything changed since the time he was playing and being a rowdy kitten and now, besides the surgery?

 

[mercurysmile]

We haven't changed much... I got a new brand of food for him but only in the last week. He seems to like the new wet food as much as the other kind, but the new brand seems to be healthier (less weirdo ingredients that I can't pronounce, less corn/grains, more protein) We actually got his old food from the vet, and I noticed it had whole grains of rice in it that walter would always eat around and leave behind in his dish... I'm no expert, but cat's probably don't eat rice!

I have been researching a raw diet, and think we will start him on this. We feed him meat like chicken and pork, but so far we have cooked it.... is it better for him raw? He hates fish, and has had some raw beef, but it seemed hard on his system. chicken and pork are his favorite so far.

I'll definitely get him to the vet again, and ask them to do full blood work. He's not lonely for being left alone, usually someone is home with him and he's not left for more than an hour or two, but he might be lonely for cat company. If only I could understand what he is saying. maybe those blinking eyes are morse code!

 

[Brooke]

We haven't changed much... I got a new brand of food for him but only in the last week. He seems to like the new wet food as much as the other kind, but the new brand seems to be healthier (less weirdo ingredients that I can't pronounce, less corn/grains, more protein) We actually got his old food from the vet, and I noticed it had whole grains of rice in it that walter would always eat around and leave behind in his dish... I'm no expert, but cat's probably don't eat rice!

I have been researching a raw diet, and think we will start him on this. We feed him meat like chicken and pork, but so far we have cooked it.... is it better for him raw? He hates fish, and has had some raw beef, but it seemed hard on his system. chicken and pork are his favorite so far.

I'll definitely get him to the vet again, and ask them to do full blood work. He's not lonely for being left alone, usually someone is home with him and he's not left for more than an hour or two, but he might be lonely for cat company. If only I could understand what he is saying. maybe those blinking eyes are morse code!

I just went back and re-read your original post...

I'm not familiar with how the 16 hours of darkness might affect him (sorry, missed that the first time!). I'm curious about that, because I know that does have a depressing affect on humans, so its quite possible that could be it. Your vet will hopefully have some experience in that area! Maybe they have light therapy for pets!?

As for the food, yes - raw is better than cooked. Cooking depletes the food of many of its valuable nutrients. If you want to research some more on raw feeding, some good websites are fnes.org, catnutrition.org, and catinfo.org. And, you're absolutely right, cats don't need rice, or corn...or any grains for that matter...My girl, Mandy can't eat beef either. She pukes it up right after she eats it. From what I understand, that's pretty common with beef. And, fish isn't that great for cats, either - it can contribute to urinary health problems.

Pitrottmommy is our resident food/raw expert. She's the one that finally convinced me to make the switch (my cats are so grateful!) so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or I know she'll be more than happy to help, too. It can be overwhelming at first...

 

[Marnasobsession]

Do you think it could be the anesthetic they used?

 

[abbyknitter]

I hope everything works out ok!

 

[ilovemysphynx]

My guess would be the daylight or maybe some kind of slow infection from when he was fixed? Or maybe the recent food switch about 1 week ago. My best advice would be to find A food you are both happy with and stick to it. Changing frequently is not good and will upset their belly.:Laugh: Best of luck keep us posted on this.

 

[gizmo6370]

We feed him meat like chicken and pork, but so far we have cooked it.... is it better for him raw?

Don't give him pork.....raw or cooked.....

Pork
Pork (especially raw pork is very dangerous) might contain the virus of Aujeszki. This virus is very dangerous for a cat. If the cat gets infected with it, it is always mortal. This lasts maximum 3 days,.the symptoms resemble the rabies' virus. They are: foam at the mouth, a lot of miaowing, character change, nerve symptoms etc. There are no medicines for it, so: Avoid this disease by not giving your cat pork!!!! It is therefore always better to heat the meat; the best way is to boil the meat. Too much meat is often given. Because of this cats might develop kidney problems when they are older. You give young cats 20 grams per kg body weight. Adult cats only need 10 grams per kg body weight. A cat which already has kidney problems, only needs 5 grams per kg body weight. If you give meat, make sure it has a good quality. For example muscle meat. You shouldn't give offal like: blood pudding, liver, little kidneys.

http://www.catplaza.org.uk/cat-and-wiser/Cat-food/

 

[Brooke]

Don't give him pork.....raw or cooked.....

Pork
Pork (especially raw pork is very dangerous) might contain the virus of Aujeszki. This virus is very dangerous for a cat. If the cat gets infected with it, it is always mortal. This lasts maximum 3 days….the symptoms resemble the rabies’ virus. They are: foam at the mouth, a lot of miaowing, character change, nerve symptoms etc. There are no medicines for it, so: Avoid this disease by not giving your cat pork!!!! It is therefore always better to heat the meat; the best way is to boil the meat. Too much meat is often given. Because of this cats might develop kidney problems when they are older. You give young cats 20 grams per kg body weight. Adult cats only need 10 grams per kg body weight. A cat which already has kidney problems, only needs 5 grams per kg body weight. If you give meat, make sure it has a good quality. For example muscle meat. You shouldn’t give offal like: blood pudding, liver, little kidneys.

http://www.catplaza.org.uk/cat-and-wiser/Cat-food/

There is a lot of controversy about feeding pork to cats. I know people who have fed it to their cats for years without any problems, and the problems are not prevalent here in the US. It's also said you can kill off any parasites by freezing the pork for 2 weeks before serving it. Either way, there are so many other things our cats can eat, I choose not to give pork to my cats, to err on the side of caution. Interestingly, though, many commercial pet foods contain pork - including some of the Hill's prescription diets that are sold at practically every vet's office in the country!

 

[Sam lewis]

Hi, Mo was a bit like what you describe after he was neutered (He was 6months too when I got him neutered). I think it calmed him down a lot. It could be the weather too, In the UK we arn't getting much more than 7 hours day light and it is soooo cold, Mo spends A LOT of time at the moment asleep and by the heater in his bed, I notice a BIG difference now it's colder. He does have little outbursts of activity though now where he likes to play, but then goes back to find a warm place to sleep. I got him another cat to play with in june last year and she keeps him on his toes. Maybe another cat would be good for him as sphynx like other animals and it's another form of stimulation I think.

 

[mercurysmile]

Wow! I didn't know that about pork, I'll stop feeding it to him (he only got a taste anyway)

I have been reading about the raw diet, and really like this idea. I just need to get my paws on a grinder...

Walter has a little heat pad that we kept in his bed, I moved it onto the couch, so that he would be forced to be more sociable if he wants to be warm (dastardly I know) He seems a little more interested now. At least he's not alone, I think he likes that.

He's off to the Vet to get a full inspection tomorrow, so we'll see.

I have already been looking for a pal for Walter... I think I can convince the husband that two cats are less work than one cat, or at least not any more work, and they will be ever so happy together There could be some litters locally to choose from this spring.

On that note, I am nervous about ordering a cat from a breeder far away, one that I cant go see with my own eyeballs how they raised/keep their cats. Also, I have heard of many scams and heartaches. Do most people pay deposits and wait for kittens or have had them shipped? We kind of fell into some luck, and got Walter from a local breeder, we were invited to her home and see where she raised the cats so I felt very confident in her and the health of the kittens. I think she stopped breeding sphynx now so we may have to wander further about to find one...

 

[Mews2much]

Before I got Cleo I was only looking at breeders that were 3 hours or less from here but the breeding started playing games.
Cleo came from the east coast and I am on the west coast and everything was fine.
Just reasearch the breeders real well.
There will alaways be good and bad breeders.

 

[Sam lewis]

I got Mo from a breeder in North Wales, only about 1 1/2 hr drive from me, I went to visit when he was 3 weeks old and saw the other cats and kittens at the breeders, when I had seen the kittens and felt happy I paid a deposit to make sure I got one! Then I went again when he was 2months to see that everything was ok. Then I went a 3rd time! To bring him home! I got my other cat from the same breeder too 6months after I got Mo, not a sphynx but they get on well.