All you need to know about the first 8 weeks of a kitten’s life <\/p>
They\u2019re playful, inquisitive, and undeniably cute, but there\u2019s more to kittens than\u00a0just\u00a0fluff and fun. <\/strong><\/p> As Cats Protection<\/a> Central Veterinary Officer Sarah Elliott explains,\u00a0a kitten\u2019s first few weeks\u00a0are packed with important developmental milestones\u00a0which\u00a0will influence their entire lives.\u00a0<\/p> After a pregnancy of around nine weeks<\/a>, a female cat will give birth to a litter containing anything from one to nine kittens \u2013\u00a0most commonly four to six.\u00a0<\/p> Healthy kittens should start to suckle almost immediately,\u00a0and it\u2019s important they\u00a0take in the \u2018first milk\u2019 \u2013 known as colostrum \u2013 as this contains vital\u00a0antibodies to help fight disease. <\/p> Newborn kittens are vulnerable to cold, so they\u00a0will\u00a0keep\u00a0warm by snuggling closely to their mum and litter mates.\u00a0<\/p> Their\u00a0eyes will remain tightly closed until they\u2019re around ten days old. <\/p> All kittens start off with blue-grey eyes.\u00a0<\/p> By week two,\u00a0healthy\u00a0kittens should be feeding well \u2013 about every two hours \u2013 and will be\u00a0growing fast.\u00a0From an ideal initial weight of between 90g-110g, kittens should gain around 10-15g a day, doubling their\u00a0birth weight by two weeks old. <\/p> Two weeks is a particularly important milestone as it marks the start of the \u2018socialisation\u00a0period\u2019 that runs until kittens are around\u00a0seven\u00a0weeks old.\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s during this time that kittens will learn what is normal\u00a0and is vital to them becoming confident\u00a0pets.<\/p> If kittens have lots of positive experiences with\u00a0different\u00a0people, sights, sounds,\u00a0and other animals, they\u2019re\u00a0likely to thrive in a domestic home. <\/p> On the\u00a0flip side, they\u2019ll grow up to be scared of anything they\u00a0didn\u2019t come across, or which was a bad experience, during\u00a0these early weeks.\u00a0Kittens that have been born to feral or stray mums \u2013 and have had no positive human interactions during this socialisation period \u2013 will grow up to be feral and\u00a0cannot be tamed in later life.<\/p> After starting to crawl, at around 14 days, kittens should be able to walk at three weeks old. <\/p> As kittens start to walk they\u2019ll be getting stronger and all that growing means\u00a0they\u2019ll still need lots of sleep<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p> As energy levels\u00a0increase, they\u2019ll soon be ready to start weaning onto solid food. It\u2019s a gradual process which will take a few weeks,\u00a0and kittens will still need\u00a0their mother\u2019s milk for a few more weeks.\u00a0<\/p>How many kittens can a cat have?<\/h2>
When do kittens start to suckle?<\/h2>
When do kittens open their eyes? <\/h2>
How often should kittens be feeding?<\/h2>
When can kittens socialise?<\/h2>
When do kittens start walking?<\/h2>
When do kittens stop drinking milk from their mothers?<\/h2>
When do kittens start to play?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>