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 are like, read on!
Day 1: Kitty is born! He is tiny, tiny, weighting around 3-4 oz. He has blue eyes, as all kittens are born with blue eyes; they are however still closed, and so are his ears. He does not have any teeth yet. He is completely dependent of his mother’s care.
Week 2: Kitty’s eyes and ears begin to open. Soon, he will be able to explore the world a little bit. He is growing fast; his weight has doubled in the last two weeks. He is however still very tiny at 6-8 oz. His baby teeth emerge, and his suckling reflex becomes stronger.
Week 4: Kitty is now able to crawl! He can begin his quest to explore the world. He has discovered that playing is a lot of fun, and he spends a lot of time playing with his sisters and brothers. One of his other new occupations is self-grooming. He also can now eliminate on his own, and his taste buds are receptive to other things than mom’s milk.
Week 6: Kitty can now stand on his legs, making his exploration quest easier. He is now better aware of his surroundings: he is receptive to noises and sights. He is also in a learning phase; it is therefore a critical period to socialize with humans so that he can become a good pet. He can also learn other things such as litter training. He 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; he has again doubled his weight in just two weeks. That shows how critical and busy those growth weeks are! He has now begun losing his mom cat’s immunity, making him more fragile to infections until he builds his own immunity.
Week 12: Kitty is ready for adoption! His neurological development has reached a mature level, and his adult color eye has also emerged. You are ready to fall for his pretty eyes :).
Week 20: Good news: Kitty’s suckling reflex begins to subside. He 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 his 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 his 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.
