It’s true. In a stunning turn of events, Bubba now balks at food left in his bowl more than 12 hours. Never before has he turned away food. Could his stomach be shrinking? Could he be depressed? Could he just not want it?

It all started earlier this week when I started pouring the cats’ leftover food into one bowl, topping it off and filling the empty bowl with a fresh scoop (cleaning them both completely out once a day, of course). I noticed that Bubba immediately went to the fresh kibble and left the day-old food for Benny.

Curious, I began topping off both bowls. Again, Bubba would eat only the fresh food on top and leave the rest. He even left Benny’s fresh kibble alone.

I’m not sure why his habits are changing like this. It’s nice because I don’t have to worry about him eating everything in sight. On the other hand, it concerns me a little because I don’t want him becoming so finicky that he requires a home-cooked meal every night! I’ll keep an eye on him …

Another behavior shift has been Bubba’s aggressiveness toward Benny. It has almost completely stopped. It’s almost as if he survived the food withdrawals and now he’s back to his normal, laid-back self.

Not surprisingly, Bubba’s exercise routine has taken a lazy turn downward. He’s over playing with the catnip banana tied to the string, preferring just the string. I need to invest in a quality interactive feather or fishing-wand toy.  That’s top on my list of things to do when we return from the mainland next week.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, my brave and gracious mom will be pet-sitting Bubba, Benny and Petey. I’ve given her the instructions for Bubba’s low-calorie, increased-exercise regime. Because they’re her pet-grandkids, I’m certain that she’ll take great care of them (though I bet she’ll slip them a Thanksgiving treat or two)!

I take Bubba into the veterinarian’s office for another weigh-in to check his progress after we return. I don’t see signs of weight loss yet, but because he’s only supposed to lose less than a pound per month, I imagine that it’ll be several months before I see a change.