My kitty is becoming kinda lazy/sleepy

My 7 month old kitten, Monkey, is usually a very energetic cat during the day. Running around and playing with anything she can find, but the past day or so she has been oddly sleepy. The past few days she has been sleeping ALL day long. She has gotten up and played with my roommate's cat once or twice during the day, but only for a very short time and going right back to sleeping right after.
usually when she sleeps all day, she keeps me up all night long, but the other night she slept the whole night, and woke up with me when my alarm went off. 

She usually greets me at the door when I get home form class with meows and purrs, yesterday and today, I get home and she is sleeping. She got up to say hello with a big stretch and a yawn, but after she curlled back up and went to sleep.

I'm not too worried, it has only been about 3 days max that she has been behaving like this. But I would like to get some Insight. Is she Just sleepy cuz shes growing? could she be getting sick? Am I not feeding her enough, or a poor quality food??

I feed her a hand full(1-1 1/2 cup) of the Costco Brand kitten food twice a day. I usually do feed her Iams kitten food, but befor I left for College this summer, my mother bought me a big bag of this Costco brand. I read the bag and it seemed exactly like the other stuff I was feeding her, but idk. 

I'm still relatively new to this cat raising stuff (the last cats I had was 8+ years ago).

My usually playful Monkey is just very sleepy and if I could bring her back to normal I would love that lol 

let me know what you all think.

My cat Peanut reacts badly to his shots. If he doesn't get meds to counteract it before he acts just like that. He sleeps all the time and he has a fever. I think the fever is why he sleeps.

Is your cat eating the same? It just sounds to me like she is sick. I'd take her temperature or bring her to the vet to check if she is that tired.

Is anything else different? Her litterbox habbits/amounts? Drinking or eating?

Everything else has been normal, from her litter she seems to be drinking plenty of water and she eats all her food like normal, I see her eat and drink (I give her fresh water every day and she sill perfers the toilet.. lol) She has been a little more vocal the past few days than normal, but I thought that just may be a development thing. could she be telling me she isnt feeling well?

This evening I got her to chase the laser (quite foroushily) for a good 10 minutes. which is usually normal, but with her sleepyness she has been quitting after just a few minutes.

I have been thinking about taking her to the vet, but sence I am at school I will have to find a new one in my budget, with quality care. And at the same time I dont want to be over reacting over nothing, I'm quite the Hypocondract. Some Vets around here charge a crazy visit fee, and if she is just in a growth peirod or her food just isnt giving her enough good nutrients, I'd rather try that first.

I'm sure you know.. College makes you poor, and I want to do everything and anything for my fur-child, but I just can't afford everything.

It does sound like she is sick.  i haven't noticed that 'growth periods' mean sleep like this, but certainly we are clued to illness by this behaviour from our two active ones.  I know it is a hard balance to decide when a vet check is necessary.  Three days sounds long to me, but if there are zero other symptoms/behaviours you can note, maybe you could wait longer??  (We tend to visit a bit as we worry/are quick off the mark, whereas I know other cats who have pretty much zero vet care and live long).

Regardless of this present possible illness, I would start her on some wet food.  It is just so much healthier for them and with far more nutrients than kibble will ever be.  And kibble is associated with a rise in a lot of cat illnesses. While I understand financially a full wet switch might not yet be possible, getting some part of her diet to be wet will do her favours - and certainly you can introduce slowly and avoid the 'cold turkey' type of switch! 

Sorry, I don't know about the amount of food, as I don't feed any kibble - my 8 month kitten has quite a lot to eat though, about 80g of canned food, 80-100g of a boney rabbit chunk, plus 120g of various cubed meat (I'm still working on the liver to balance it, but just giving you an idea of how much food she gets through each day - she also gets liver based 'treats' as I work on her palate and digestive adaptation to include this element).

I hope your kitty bounces back to her normal self soon 

Is is possible for a human cold to transfer to a cat? My roommate's mother came over a few weeks ago and she had a cold (i never even saw her and i wound up being sick for a few days). Could she have gotten the same cold or a similar one? 

sence sleepyness is her only symptom at the moment, I plan on waiting until I see more potential symptoms befor i take her to the vet. 

I have read a bunch on here about wet food, so i do plan on starting to incorporate it into her diet. not 100% but it will be a regular thing for now on.

As far as I know - and I asked the same question to my vet a while back - no, human and cat colds are not the same thing and are non-transmissable across the species boundary.  Which is just awesome when you are sick and humans shouldnt be around you...cause you still get cat love!

Does she eat all her food? If so I would try adding a 3rd meal. Kittens often eat more often until around 1 year. That would tell you if she is getting enough food. How long has she been eating the Costco brand? Since school started or just recently? If you recently opened the bag maybe this is a sign the food doesn't agree with her.

She has been eating this brand for a little over a month now. Most days she doesn't finish the food I give her in the morning, until the evening when I feed her again, this usually continues reguralary. I don't think I have ever see her eat every last drop either, there is always a tiny bit left when I feed her again. 

That used to make me think that I over feed her, but she is such a tiny kitty. I know I'm not starving her cuz she never goes crazy for food, and she never eats it all at once. 
But I've been beginning  to think that this generic brand may not be enough for her, with the more I read here and elsewhere I may need to get a better food. 
I just don't know what to get that will fit my budget and be a healthy option.

 

Here are a few photos of my Monkey from a few weeks ago playing with me, she is a tiny bit bigger from these (I tried to find good photos to show she size, but its difficult). 

She is usually very active and Borderline ADD. So far today she has been a bit more active than the past few days. she woke me up a few times last night (which she would normally do when/if she slept all day). 
but for a 6 month old (will be 7 months on the 2nd) kitten, does she look the right size? when getting her shots my vet didn't mention anything about her size or anything. They are usually very busy and only address you about the things you ask about or if it is obvious that your pet isn't healthy/fit. They have no problem telling me that My dog (pug) is overweight, so I do trust them to tell me if my kitty is malnourished.

For feline nutrition information, I really like http://www.catinfo.org/. Written by a vet, it explains what feeding a species-appropriate diet means and compares most of the commonly available wet foods in the US here. http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Is there any way possible that she could be pregnant?

NOOO... lol The humane society from my town will not let you bring home your new fur-children until they have been spayed/neutered. So there is no way she is pregnant, and she has never been around any Un-altered cats as well.
Though that would be my first thought in any other situation.. lol

Well that's good! We're narrowing it down ;-) I forget if you said, but does she have a buddy? She's still so young and could really benefit from the addition of another young kitty. But since you are in school and everything, that is probably not an option. I really do think that she is bored or lonely so just make sure she gets lots of attention, toys and windows to perch in.

My roommate has a 1 year old cat, but he is verry verry shy. We have been living together for over a month now and her cat still isnt comfortable around me. 
But Monkie and Rufio (roommates cat) have finally bcome freinds about a week ago. they play a little but she is still very new to him and he does not adjust well, so he spends most of his time in his mamma's room.

We do let them have free range of the apartment when we are out, and we have a padio with a big glass door she trys to catch bugs threw.

Last night and this morning I did give her a little extra food then normal, she didn't eat all of her food like usual.. but she does seem a little more active. 
She just decovered the top shelf in my closit with all the blankets lol

I'm glad she has a friend. I'm sure they will become closer, it will just take time. IME, it takes cats at least a couple months to truly begin accepting new cats. It seems like all my cats decided to be friends within three months after I introduced them. It sounds like she has a pretty fun life. Since we have ruled out most of the obvious things, it might just be that she needs more adjustment time and/or this is just her purrsonality :-)

It seems some cats are genetically prone to be laid back and lazier than others.  My newer cat, Dexter, is 16 months old - got him at one year - he's mellowed out and sleeps more than when I first got him.  I think he sleeps more than my 12 year old, who was always a high energy cat; even though she's slowed a bit.  I never would have guessed that my 12 year old would be spending more time awake and causing trouble, but she's got more Siamese in her than Dexter does.  Maybe that is what is happening here?  Maybe your kitten is going to be one of those lazy types that would balloon into a spotted/striped bowling ball due to inactivity!  It does seem that whenever I see a grossly obese cat, its a tabby - but that might just be me.

With regards to finances and paying for the vet: I have met some very experienced shelter volunteers that are nearly as good as a vet in terms of pinpointing possible problems.  Not that I would suggest you replace a vet visit with such a person, but you might want to strike up a friendship with a person like this (maybe volunteer some time in summer?).  They are great resources and brains to pick for all things cat, as they have had exposure to so many types of cats with various issues.  As you stated, you are relatively new to cats so thought I'd toss that out there.

Also, I wonder if growth spurts cause a kitten to sleep more?  We repair and build our bodies when we sleep...maybe cats too?  It makes me think of how teenagers play hard...then sleep hard. 

Good luck and I hope its nothing.  Cute kitty - really like her very striking coat pattern.

I do love Lazy cats, I had a Ragdoll mix growing up as a kid and she was just a great cuddlier.. lol
She has not given me any other signs of her being sick or anything, so maybe she is just growing into a more mellowed out cat, When I first brought her home from the shelter at 12 weeks old, she was more of a cuddly laid back kitten, but a few weeks into owning her she was constantly stalking and hunting everything and everyone. My mom says that she is always looking for trouble to cause. 
So maybe she is just naturally a mellow lazy cat?? 

My roommate has a friend that is a Pre-veterinary student, so if I ever see her I'll ask her opinion on things.  
 

Hi Cynbarrie, mellow cats are nice.  BUT, when your kitty has a certain personality (borderline ADD as you described), and an abrupt change happens in energy, this is a large alarm bell.  At 7 months, she is no-way near being done with being a kitten.  Obviously, I can't speak for all cats, but with a lot of energetic ones, they really don't slow down until 3-4yrs  (certainly that is slightly true for ours - slightly because they will keep their energy throughout life given the breed characteristics).

I would still keep and eye on her...and if she wasn't picking up, and staying stable, I'd be tempted still for a vet visit.

Here's an interesting post about how to tell if they are sick, given that they really try to hide it: http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/tell-if-the-cat-is-sick/211

You asked about your cat being malnourished. Some cats are just smaller than others. I have two adult cats and their sizes are very different. It's her fat that really matters. You need to check a body conditioning chart for that. Like this one.
http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/body-condition-scoring-chart
From the pictures she doesn't look malnourished. How is she doing today?

She is actually doing much better today! she's been very vocal this morning wanting me to play with her before I left for class, she also woke me up before my alarm went off. 
Though I do have another problem now :/ 
She is behaving much like normal, playful and energetic, but I think she may have eaten a couple of my earrings yesterday (just 2 studs nothing big and fancy)....  I did post in the health section about it, I am going to check her poo later today when I get home (though I am hoping that I will find them elsewhere before I do that). 
I am going to be watching her very closely until I either find them, or until she gives me a sign that something is going wrong in her tummy... :/

I'm Starting to think that my original post was just me being a worried, paranoid  mother. But now I really do have a bit of a problem...