Cats never actually grow up. They live their whole life playfully and curiously. Just try and wave a piece of string in front of an adult cat, and you’ll see that he will jump on that string like a little kitten. When a kitten reaches 5 months, they are still very young.
You will often find them climbing on your curtains, clawing your furniture and relieving themselves outside of their litter box. There is really not much you can do to remove those traits completely, but you can definitely do some things to keep them under control.
Let’s talk about what to expect from your 5 month old kitten.
Also Related:
5 Month Old Cat Size
The size of your 5 month old cat can vary depending on the breed. Some, like the Maine Coon, can reach a weight of 6 or 7 pounds at 5-months-old, but others, such as Cornish Rex, may only weigh approximately 3 or 4 pounds.
On average, a 5 month old kitten will weigh around 5 or 6 pounds, but you should not worry if your kitten appears to be bigger or smaller than this as long as they are healthy. If you are worried that your kitten is severely larger or smaller, it is best to seek the advice of a veterinarian who can examine them.
How Much Should You Feed a 5 Month Old Cat?
Similar to a human infant, a 5 month old cat will continue to grow rapidly, so it is important to focus on the appropriate amount of food to feed them in order to support this growth. As your cat grows, it may feel as though it is always hungry yet doesn’t gain weight. You may feel that it keeps wanting to try different types of foods, including the food that is on your dinner plate.
You may find yourself wanting to give in to what your little kitten wants by giving them some extra treats, but this is not recommended. It is best to continue to feed them the correct portions according to the packaging of the food you are feeding them and keep those treats to only 10% or lower of their daily calorie intake.
When it comes to nutrition, you can’t go wrong with regular kitten food, and there are lots of different available flavors and options available. There are some great kitten formulas available on the market as well; just make sure that they are filled with proteins, and vitamins, and that the food is easily chewable.
Best Dry Food & Wet Food for Kittens
Also, if your kitten is 5 months old, you can expect that he will frequently be hungry and demand food. You can feed him a couple of times throughout the day just make sure you don’t overfeed him.
Can I Feed my Kitten Cat Food?
Your kitten needs to eat enough of the right nutrients to grow healthily. Many of these nutrients are found in the foods that are formulated to help growing kittens. This is what kitten food is designed to do.
The different types of nutrients that will help your kitten grow into a healthy cat are specially formulated in kitten food, while cat food can lack these nutrients, which can be detrimental to your kitten’s growth. It is best that your kitten continues to eat kitten food until it has reached around 12 months old, when it has reached its full adult weight.
So, remember, even though your kitten may look big and act like an older cat, stick to the kitten food, so they can receive the necessary vitamins, minerals, and calories they need to support their growth.
How to Discipline a 5 month old Kitten
Before you jump straight into punishing your kitten, understand that some issues may be medical.
For example:
- Your kitten might have Pica. It’s a medical term for trying to eat things that are inedible! If your kitten keeps eating weird things like cardboard, there may be a medical reason.
- Your kitten might have Dementia which can make it feel confused and lost.
Sometimes, your kitten isn’t actually misbehaving. Just because it starts scratching things doesn’t mean it’s deliberately acting out. Sometimes, it’s just ordinary cat behavior. Don’t jump straight into punishing but think about better ideas to cater to it. For example, buy some scratching posts for your kitten instead.
Nutrition and Health
It is important that you take good care of your kitten. Taking good care doesn’t just mean that you should pet him and play with him every day. It means that you should keep an eye on what your kitten eats and if there are any changes in behavior or physique.
Also, be prepared to visit your vet more often. If you don’t want any new kittens, you should discuss the options of neutering or spaying with your vet while visiting. This procedure is often recommended for owners who don’t wish to have more cats.
Also, spaying or neutering prevents various diseases from attacking your cat later in life since it generally improves the health of your cat.
Benefits of spaying:
- Lower risk of mammary cancer
- Lower risk of uterine cancer
- Lower risk of ovarian cancer
Benefits of neutering:
- Lower risk of testicular cancer
- Reduced chances of spraying
Side Note: Some people are promoting the trend of declawing. Declawing is a procedure where a veterinarian removes the last bone in each toe. After that, your cat will be clawless.
I strongly oppose that procedure because it leaves your cat without his main tool for survival and self-defense. You can trim your cat’s nails if he’s clawing your furniture, and it won’t leave him disfigured.
Expected Changes in Behavior: Increased Aggression?
Your 5 month old kitten may be showing some worrying signs that it has begun its more aggressive stage. You may think this aggression is a result of your kitten being defiant or not liking you, but do not worry, as this is not the case.
At this stage, your kitten may be experiencing different changes that they do not know how to handle, and they may not completely understand what is happening to them, similar to a human teenager.
Some reasons that your kitten may show some aggression toward you are:
- You are in a territory that they are trying to establish as their own.
- They feel as though you have been ignoring them or just simply not giving them enough attention.
- They feel they do not have the ability to burn-off the pent-up energy that they have stored.
In order to remedy this, it is best to play with your kitten, ensure that they have plenty of toys to play with, and it may be a good idea to get a scratching post or two to help alleviate some of that pent-up energy.
Also, understand that when your kitten reaches 5 months, it will soon become a teenager. If you don’t spay or neuter your cat, you will probably deal with some problems.
Once the hormones start rushing in, if you have a male cat he will become more aggressive toward any other males, and he will engage in fights for territory and females, and he will spray urine on things to mark his territory.
Trust me, you don’t want that kind of behavior. Especially if you live in an apartment or if you have another cat in the household. It’s always better to spay and neuter.
Also, if your notice that your kitten is suddenly changing their behavior and becoming aggressive for no apparent reason, try taking them to the vet. Kittens can get a bit crazy if they are in pain or if they sense something is wrong.
Training
If your kitten scratches you or your furniture, it’s usually not a big deal because they aren’t really capable of doing much damage. However, if you let that kind of behavior slip by, you will soon deal with an adult cat with razor sharp nails clawing everything you own.
That is why it is important to get your kitten some heavy-duty scratching posts and teach him to do his thing there.
Clawing is a natural behavior. Your kitten does it to mark his territory, sharpen his nails, and stretch his back. Also, trimming your kitten’s nails once in a while will go a long way. Just remember to play with him whenever you can!
When it comes to litter training, cats naturally tend to relieve themselves in sand, dirt, leaves, etc. So, pretty much anywhere they can bury whatever they did. It is usually enough just to show them where the litter box is placed and put them inside to feel the sand under their feet.
If your kitten decides to do his job somewhere else, pick up after him and place ‘it’ inside a litter box. Sooner or later, he will figure out where he is supposed to do his business.
When Do Kittens Start Using the Litter Box?
Can You Leave Your 5 Month Old Kitten Alone?
Before walking out the door and leaving your 5 month old kitten home alone, it is best to examine the behavior your kitten is exerting before making your decision on whether to leave them home alone or not.
If you leave your kitten home alone, it is best to ensure that anything that may be considered dangerous or breakable is out of reach of your kitten and to shut the doors of any room where there are items that are breakable or dangerous.
While it may be hard to leave your kitten home alone, it is important to remember that kittens and cats do not mind being left alone. As long as they have ample food and water available for them, you do not have to worry too much about the precious baby kitten left at home. There is a good chance your kitten will be sleeping throughout most of the day anyway.
Conclusion
Having a kitten means never a dull moment. You will have your ups and downs, but at the end of a day, you will always have someone to cuddle with. Just make sure that you love your kitten, take good care of him, and that you train or discipline him. Cats may be independent creatures, but they sure need us as much as we need them.
My 5 month old kitten, bites me on the shoulder every morning or sometime on my leg . What’s up with that.
My cat is 5 months old and likes to “hang out” in her litter box. Idk what to do about that. Also, i live on a 3rd floor apartment in a city. She has been VERY curious lately about going outside. I used to pet her roam around on our small, lone hallway outside the door. But she has been creeping down the stairs a little more every time and now i cant even let her out at all in fear of her getting outside. I wouldn’t mind her being outside sometimes but idk if thats a good idea in a city. Im also worried about her getting lost, shes still rather young.
We need more info like normal size of a 5 old month kitten cos mine weighs 8.8 pounds and is 53cm long without tail lol
Probably hungry!
Is it usually in need of food/water at those times? My cat comes and bites me on my neck when hes hungry
He/she is probably hungry my kitten plays with my hair to wake me up for breakfast