Numerous adorable kittens are born each spring, all looking for a loving home. Chances are that some of you animal lovers will adopt one of those cute kitties in the next months. If you want to know what the first weeks and months of your kitten’s life will be like, read on!
Day 1: Kitty is born! It is tiny, tiny, weighting around 3-4 oz. It has blue eyes, as all kittens are born with blue eyes. They are however still closed, and so are its ears. It does not have any teeth yet. It is completely dependent of its mother’s care.
Week 2: Kitty’s eyes and ears begin to open. Soon, it will be able to explore the world a little bit. It is growing fast and its weight has doubled in the last two weeks. It is however still very tiny at 6-8 oz. Its baby teeth emerge, and its suckling reflex becomes stronger.
Week 4: Kitty is now able to crawl! It can begin its quest to explore the world. It has discovered that playing is a lot of fun, and it spends a lot of time playing with its sisters and brothers. One of its other new occupations is self-grooming. It also can now eliminate on its own, and its taste buds are receptive to other things than mom’s milk.
Week 6: Kitty can now stand on its legs, making its exploration quest easier. It is now better aware of its surroundings: it is receptive to noises and sights. It is also in a learning phase, it is therefore a critical period to socialize with humans so that it can become a good pet. It can also learn other things such as litter training. It now weights one pound.
Week 8: Kitty’s baby teeth are all out! Some people adopt kitten as young as 8 weeks old. It is however better to be more patient and wait four more weeks. Kitty still has a lot to learn from his family.
Week 10: Kitty now weighs 2 pounds, it has again doubled his weight in just two weeks. That shows how critical and busy those growth weeks are! It has now begun losing its mom’s shared immunity, making it more fragile to infections until it builds his own immunity.
Week 12: Kitty is ready for adoption! Its neurological development has reached a mature level, and its adult eye color has also emerged. You are ready to fall for its pretty eyes. :)
Week 20: Good news: Kitty’s suckling reflex begins to subside. It is still growing very fast!
Week 24: Now Kitty’s growth is finally going to slow down. That’s a good thing, otherwise it is a tiger size cat that you would be petting in a couple of weeks!
Week 32: At 8-12 pounds, Kitty is now probably at its adult size. “Probably”, as some breeds can grow until they are 52 weeks old.
Week 36: Sexual maturity has been reached! If your cat has been sterilised, no big changes are expected in its behavior.
Week 52: Kitty is no longer a kitten! At one year old, kitty is a teenager, the equivalent of a 16 years old in human years. Welcome to teenagehood!
Kitties grow up so fast! They need a lot of love, and proper nutrition to meet their demanding nutritional needs. It is therefore important to give them high-quality food especially designed for kitten such as Oven-Baked Tradition’s kitten formula. Enjoy this precious time. :D
