Peanut chronicles: growing and thriving

Posing by the compost heap, he's an active and playful little dude who also loves cuddles

Peanut is approximately six months old and growing well, it looks like he's going to become a large cat. Like all teenage boys, he loves eating and unfortunately still gobbles his food and throws up regularly.

Feeding him in an ice-cube tray didn't last long, he quickly learned to tip it over and went back to vomiting soon after eating. He graduated to a 30-egg cardboard tray, which worked well for quite a while although he was rubbing his nose raw on the edges of the egg cups from time to time. The bald spot is still visible.

He recently started throwing up again so I went looking for new solutions. Looking online at interactive feeders, they seem interesting but are pricey and look like the kind of thing that will break easily.

I found a slow feeder at the pet supply shop over the road from where I work, expensive but much cheaper than anything else I've seen so I thought I'd give it a try.

He has to work for his food by extracting it with his paws and he seems to enjoy doing it. His eating time is significantly slower. Hopefully this will be the last thing he needs, I like the sturdy, durable construction, He won't be able to tip this over.

He's now old enough to be neutered and the lockdown regulations have been relaxed enough that I can take him in whenever I get the chance and I'll do it next month. His hernia will still need repairing but his missing testicle finally showed up which means that his surgery will be less complicated. I'm grateful.

He's still happily hunting and eating locusts, birds and the other cats leftovers of the rats they catch, he hasn't caught his own yet although I expect he'll do it soon. The other cats mostly find him annoying although Katia and Yoda play with him so he is slowly fitting in.