Friend's 5 month old cat eating less than usual

[Salociin]

So, I've been doing some research and trying to get information for my friend who's worried about her kitten's behavior. He's 5 months old, and she's said that he's been eating less often than usual and hasn't been as active as typical. He normally eats a lot and is extremely active, but has lately been eating "about half" of the amount he used to and hasn't been playing as often or been as hyper as she's used to. He still eats daily and doesn't seem to have a problem eating, it's just been less often. He's also still getting some activity and still plays and roams around, just not quite as often.

My thought is it may just be he's getting older and maturing and doesn't need as much food as he used to, but I'm not 100% sure. I've never had a kitten or a cat that young before, I've only ever owned adult cats, so I'm not entirely sure what we should expect and I feel bad I can't be of more help. Does it sound like it could just be part of his growing up, or is there reason to potentially be concerned?

From everything she's said, he still seems to be fairly happy and doesn't seem to be in any kind of noticeable pain or discomfort at all, but she said cats are very good at hiding when they're sick and it can be incredibly hard to tell.

Not sure if it's relevant or not but he hasn't been neutered yet, the vet scheduled an appointment for next month to have it done.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is possible that he is going through puberty and that might affect how much interest he has in eating and playing. It could be related to a change in food being fed to him, or even a change in the contents of the same food - as it seems a lot of companies are making changes to their cat food. If he is only being fed dry food, try some kitten wet food and see if he likes it better.

Is he peeing and pooping as normal? Has he recently had any vaccinations? That can sometimes cause a bit of a temporary change in behavior as well.

If the less eating and playing continue to get worse, or other worrisome signs appear, then a vet visit is needed. If this has only been a few days of this behavior, it probably wouldn't hurt to wait a day or so and see if he goes back to eating and playing more. But, at this age, I wouldn't want to wait much longer. He is still pretty young.

Wish I could be more help. Hopefully, some other members will come along and see your post and have some other ideas to offer.