Meowing for food and not playing much.

[miish]

Little bit of background information: We have our 3 year old male cat and a new 7 month old female kitten, both fixed. They got introduced to each other about 2 months ago. Their introduction went quite well. Now they hang out together and chase each other around the house with only a few arguments (the kitten gets overwhelmed and growls or hisses at our 3 year old. They eat together and sleep with us in the bedroom. So I'd like to think their introduction went well...? But recently I've noticed some behavioural changes in our 3 yr old cat so I was hoping to get some advice.

Changes: Our 3 year olds play has decreased A LOT. It used to be really easy for us to get him to play. He'd play with string toys and laser pointers and chase us, or we'd throw toys and he'd pounce on them etc.. really easy play. Ever since getting the kitten its almost impossible to get him to play. We've tried all his old favourite games, new toys, more catnip and separating them. We'll take the kitten into the bed room and play with her in there while one of us tries to play with the 3 yr old out in the living room. Its SO hard to pique his interest anymore. He doesn't seem to want to play anything, we've tried a variety of toys, making them look like mice or flying feathers. He's not even interested in the laser pointer any more and he used to go crazy for it. Does any one have any ideas about how to help him want to play again? Is this because of the new cat? Will he get back to normal after some more time?

The other thing I've noticed is he's getting really bad about meowing at us for food HOURS before his meal time. They get fed at 9am and 6pm and we're feeding food that the vet has recommended to us (diet food for the 3yr old and regular kitten food for the little one) Today we kind have hit our wits end with him. He started meowing and nuzzling us for food starting at 2pm.... he even got a bit aggressive when I picked him up (something he normally likes) and bit me. So I tried to play with him but like I wrote above, no interest in play. He just sat by his food bowl. Then since he wouldn't stop meowing we decided to put him in the bedroom with the lights out to hopefully calm him down. Then when he quieted down we found he had pooped in our laundry basket... He has access to the litter boxes (which were pretty clean) so we're really baffled as to why his behaviour was so bad today...

Does any one have any advice or ideas for my boyfriend and I? We want both the cats to be happy.
PS. His latest vet visit was 4 months ago and he had a clean bill of health besides being overweight but he's now on diet food and almost back to his normal weight.

 

[Jem]

This is just a thought. But perhaps he's not interested playing with you because he's tuckered out from playing with his new sister? He could also be hungry because he's playing more and burning more calories. Not to mention he's now on diet food which may not be sustaining him.
Is the food you're feeding dry food only? If so, perhaps giving him (and her) wet food would be better. Not only does it tend to have less filler and carbs, which contributes to weight issues, but it has moisture which is very important for urinary health. Wet food also tends to keep kitty fuller longer, which might help with the begging for food.
You could try and divide their meals into three meals as well. Many cats prefer more smaller meals than one or two big ones.
As for his behavior today, I have to think a bit more on that, hopefully someone will also chime in.

 

[miish]

This is just a thought. But perhaps he's not interested playing with you because he's tuckered out from playing with his new sister? He could also be hungry because he's playing more and burning more calories. Not to mention he's now on diet food which may not be sustaining him.
Is the food you're feeding dry food only? If so, perhaps giving him (and her) wet food would be better. Not only does it tend to have less filler and carbs, which contributes to weight issues, but it has moisture which is very important for urinary health. Wet food also tends to keep kitty fuller longer, which might help with the begging for food.
You could try and divide their meals into three meals as well. Many cats prefer more smaller meals than one or two big ones.
As for his behavior today, I have to think a bit more on that, hopefully someone will also chime in.

I hope he's tuckered out from playing with her, that at least would be good news! Although I will miss playing with him so often!!
We'll have to see if adjusting his food will help, he gets wet food occasionally but its not a daily thing, is there a way to get wet food in a more bulk form, rather than getting all the small tins all the time? We try to avoid creating too much waste/recycling. Also we are usually at work during the day which is why they only get the two meal times. Maybe a quick meal before bed could help?
His behaviour today was so out of the ordinary, he's usually a well behaved cat, I can even cut his nails and brush his teeth without a problem on a regular day. Pooping outside the litter box is rare for him, he's only done it once before when we left him with my parents during a camping trip and they didn't keep the litter box as clean as we did.
Thanks for your input on the food !

 

[ArtNJ]

Adding (or subtracting) another cat is known to potentially have a variety of subtle behavioral effects. They don't always make a ton of sense to us humans. Its perfectly normal for a cat that has a new playmate to want to play with humans less. Not something that always happens, but nothing abnormal either. Also quite often something that happens normally as cats age.

There are other possibilities. If the kitten is out, sometimes the older cat won't engage in certain games because the kitten is fast and active they tend to ruin the game. My 4 year old loves playing with the kitten, but he is definitely much more reluctant to play games when the kitten is just going to come flying in at hyper speed. Age is another possibility -- cats just play less as they get older, not always gradually necessarily. Illness is also possible, so I'd watch for other symptoms.

Become food focused is really common and can happen seemingly randomly. However, I wonder if it has to do with the kitten eating a lot of the adult cats food. Kittens eat a lot more than one would think based on their size. You could consider adding at least one or two separate feedings a day -- not sure it would help, but couldn't hurt. Some people on here have very advanced two bowl-systems where the cats know which is their bowl, but I have never managed such a thing.

 

[di and bob]

With all the playing with the new kitten, he may be using up a lot more calories and IS hungry and also tired from not getting enough to eat. Maybe you could give him wet food as an extra feeding before bed. Kittens should not be limited, they expend way too much energy to be cut back on their food.
2 months is not long in a cat's world either. Maybe the kitten is getting TOO rambunctious with him and trying to boss him around, you might monitor for a while and see. That would explain his improper eliminating, maybe the kitten is bothering him in the litterbox. Maybe another litter box is in order, the kitten can't patrol them all. He sounds like he is hungry to me, and spending all his effort and time trying to get fed.

 

[miish]

Adding (or subtracting) another cat is known to potentially have a variety of subtle behavioral effects. They don't always make a ton of sense to us humans. Its perfectly normal for a cat that has a new playmate to want to play with humans less. Not something that always happens, but nothing abnormal either. Also quite often something that happens normally as cats age.

There are other possibilities. If the kitten is out, sometimes the older cat won't engage in certain games because the kitten is fast and active they tend to ruin the game. My 4 year old loves playing with the kitten, but he is definitely much more reluctant to play games when the kitten is just going to come flying in at hyper speed. Age is another possibility -- cats just play less as they get older, not always gradually necessarily. Illness is also possible, so I'd watch for other symptoms.

Become food focused is really common and can happen seemingly randomly. However, I wonder if it has to do with the kitten eating a lot of the adult cats food. Kittens eat a lot more than one would think based on their size. You could consider adding at least one or two separate feedings a day -- not sure it would help, but couldn't hurt. Some people on here have very advanced two bowl-systems where the cats know which is their bowl, but I have never managed such a thing.

Thank you for your response! Yeah he definitely seems to avoid playing when the kitten kinda takes over the game. We will need to separate them more when he needs playtime I think.
Food wise, we monitor their meal times so we know for sure that they're eating their own food so that's a plus! He hasn't been as bad the past two days so Idk if he was just having a grumpy day or what haha. Cats are so mysterious.
On a happy note, caught noodle (older cat) grooming the kitten (sushi) for the first time that I've seen!!!

 

[miish]

With all the playing with the new kitten, he may be using up a lot more calories and IS hungry and also tired from not getting enough to eat. Maybe you could give him wet food as an extra feeding before bed. Kittens should not be limited, they expend way too much energy to be cut back on their food.
2 months is not long in a cat's world either. Maybe the kitten is getting TOO rambunctious with him and trying to boss him around, you might monitor for a while and see. That would explain his improper eliminating, maybe the kitten is bothering him in the litterbox. Maybe another litter box is in order, the kitten can't patrol them all. He sounds like he is hungry to me, and spending all his effort and time trying to get fed.

Yeah I haven't limited her food in any way!
I think in the end he was just having an off day that day and I got worried. Since then they're both still playing with eachother well and there have been no litter box issue since! Maybe he was stressed from the holidays, lots of guests and stuff? I've also been supplementing their meals with occasional wet food or treats during the day.