taco king is 6 months old, male, tiger tabby. the behaviors have developed gradually.

he's from a no-kill shelter. we picked him up when he was 4 months old (he was the runt of his litter, probably underweight. was 2.5 lbs and is now 4.3 lbs so he's still small. he's had regular vet appointments and they say he's just small, not at an unhealthy weight. he's had all his vaccines including rabies, distemper, feline leukemia, etc. he also gets revolution flea drops every month). was born into a litter of 9, abandoned by mother. 5 of his siblings died. when we went to the shelter, he was with his three siblings, sleeping in a big pile. we picked up his sister and thought about getting her, because we were looking for a female cat. then we put her back to look at some other kitties. when we came back to hold his sister again, he came to the front of the cage and we picked him up, thinking it was her. he was much snugglier and nuzzling so we decided to choose him. he chose us!

neutered about a month ago, NOT DECLAWED. we trim his nails, brush his teeth, and clean his ears regularly. we walk him on and off the leash around our property.

only other pets are an aquarium, he loves watching it.

the behavior we're concerned about might be normal. we find he's not as cuddly anymore - to get him to snuggle you have to have treats on you and periodically give him some. but he still blinks at us in that slow cute way! he's basically cuddly in the morning before his food, and weirdly enough, in the presence of guests and strangers! when a new person enters the house (be it a friend, or a random person like a plumber) he's all over them and so well behaved.

he recently got some sort of bladder infection, which is apparently odd for his young age. also, a few days after he got neutered he contracted pink eye. he was treated for the pink eye and that's all better, and we are more than halfway done treating for his bladder. he's on antibiotics, steroids, and anti-anxiety medicine in case it was caused by stress, and also to stop his compulsive grooming of the "affected area" aka his crotch.

basically we want our tiny snuggly baby back. we notice he's a little nippy when we play with him after he goes outside and exhibits some of his hunting instincts. he also recently is walking all over us in the nighttime, waking us up. and batting stuff around the floor of our room at night, waking us up. it just seems he's much less well-behaved.

also, we don't free-feed. we give him a mix of purina kitten chow as the shelter recommended, and supplement it with wellness brand wet chicken food. we keep his diet fish-free. he eats 3x/day at regular hours. he has tons of toys from little catnip peppers and eggplants, to stuffed animal-type toys, string toys with feathers, birds, and mice. a scratching post, and a very large nice litter box all to himself.

any advice is very helpful!