Your Pet Guide

The development of a kitten can be quite a rapid one with them going through many different stages within a matter of weeks from birth.

By recognising these stages, we as cat owners will be able to provide for their needs and help them forward in their physical and emotional growth.


Kittens are born both blind and deaf, but do posses a very strong sense of smell, thus enabling them to recognise their mother straight away, which will help guide them toward the nipples for their first feed. During the first week the kittens will do not much else but sleep and feed and by he end of the first week their body weight will have doubled from their birth weight, which is usually around three and half ounces.

By the end of the first week the kittens will start to open their eyes and will be able to hear and will start to move around a little but normally just to jostle for position at the nipple bar and will begin to knead at their mothers stomach to help stimulate the production of milk.

This stage of life will last for about one month when they will start to produce their first teeth and will start to be encouraged by their mother to eat solid food. Kittens need very high quality food that is rich in nutrients to aid their fast growth and will need to be fed lots of small meals through out the day.

The first seven weeks of a cats life is called the "sensitive period" as this is the time when they are most open to new experiences and are likely to learn from them. They also have no fear during these first weeks and so can be exposed to many new experiences without causing any stress to the kitten.

It is during this seven-week window that it is important that they are socialised to humans and other pets, and are exposed to many different noises and experiences. This will produce a kitten which will grow up to be a very confident and friendly cat and will fit in very well in today’s hectic modern family.

Socialisation should include plenty of handling by at least four different people of all sexes and ages. Coming into contact with children at this early stage is very important if they are to live in a family situation consisting of many children. Positive experiences and gentle handling will remove any apprehension later on in their development.

Also contact with other animals like the family dog should be encouraged but always supervised, in case Fido thinks this ball of fur is a new toy to play with. Again this early introduction will help bond the animals and remove any aggression during future encounters.

During the second and third month of life, play hunting and fighting is the main order of the day, with the mother cat supervising and showing the way. Kittens will learn many valuable lessons from their mothers during this time and certain boundaries will be taught which will also help their relationship with humans. For instance the mother cat will teach kittens the difference between play and hunting, by admonishing rough play.

The mother cat will also begin to bring live prey to her kittens to teach them hunting and predatory skills. However, even if a kitten is not taught to hunt they will still develop the skills later on as it is one of the strongest instincts in cats and so can never be untaught by us disapproving humans.

Between the third and six month a kitten’s development starts to really move forward at a rate of knots. They will stop feeding from their mothers completely and will become totally reliant on solid food. They will loose their milk teeth and begin to explore their new world more earnestly. Scenting their new territory starts to become an issue as they move into sexual maturity. A cat can become pregnant from as young as six months old and so it is important that owners arrange to have their kittens neutered around this time.

At six months old the kitten is totally self-reliant and will not look towards their mother for any support. In fact in some cases especially if the other cat is pregnant again she will begin to act aggressively towards her kittens to push them away and encourage them to find new territory. The kitten will continue to grow until they are about a year old at which time their food should be changed from the kitten variety to an adult formula, as they will need different balance of nutrients to maintain good health. Feeding should now be reduced to two or three meals a day to prevent weight gain.

Because of several diverse scenarios it would be essential for us to acquire the position of the mother cat and become the individual health care provider of a newborn kitty or even the whole litter of kittens.

This might be due to the mother cat being ill and consequently unable to give care for the kitties. Or the mother cat could have died while delivery of the litter of kitties. The young kitty might be sick and the mother cat, also known as the queen could abandon the ill kitten. It has also been recognized the mother cat could leave the litter like she was overwhelmed and had to some newborns to take care of by herself.



Only the lowest event is the newborn kitten was dumped off by the owner of the parent cat. This is real sad but it manages to take place rather often. This is as well a real critical time for the newborn.

It is really fundamental for the newborn kitten to be in a dry and warm place. A chilled or wet kitty could die real rapidly. If you discover an abandoned kitty, the action of just containing it draw near to one's body would help to warm it. A cardboard package or almost any container with some unsoiled rags would work. If you have a heat pad or a heat lamp, utilize precaution. The kitty might overheat as well.

A low setting with the kitty having plenty space to be able to move off from the heating is very important. To ward off metabolic shock the temperature of the kitten should not drop less then then approximately 94 degrees F.

Afterwards when the kitty is dry and warm, take a couple of minutes to apply the kitty a quick look over. Checkout the eyes. Are they open or do they possess pus in them or matted closed. How does the ears look?

Are they unsoiled or encrusted in fleas or have wax in them? Is the kitten agile and active? Is it been active around and maybe crying out a little and becoming vocal? If the kitten is real still and non vocal, this could be a signal of distress or illness. Any of these signs would establish the kitten to require of a veterinarian.

Perhaps this is not your kitten and you do not desire to assume duty of the maintenance of the newborn kitty, please make the time to call your localized shelter or perhaps the police. They would help to get someone to come and acquire the abandoned kitten. They would verify that the kitten care is taken care of or if it's needed, and the kitty is too sick, the kitty would be put out of their misery.

If this is your kitty or if you resolve to take care of the kitty, you will need to hydrate the kitten. Some pedialyte, the same as given to humans could hydrate the kitty and preserve it from passing into shock. From the pet shops, you could buy several substitute milk or K.M.R., or it's equivalent. This is substitute milk highly-developed for newborn kitties.

Don't use cow or several other type of milk. The utilization of a may help. The kitty will involve to be feed around the clock, exactly like a newborn infant. Be responsible to observe the instructions on the alternate milk. Verify with the pet storehouse or your veterinarian, they could have a guidebook for kitten care that might be very helpful.

It is essential to recognize the newborn kitten will not eliminate urine or feces waste materials on their own. The really affectionate licking of the mother cat assists another different service for the overall newborn kitten health as well. It stimulates the perineal area and the urogenital reflex. The usage of a warmed cloth or cotton ball may be utilized to achieve these. Also don't forget to utilize a warm cloth to wipe off the whole the kitten to help to keep it unsoiled. Remember that you are immediately the kitties mom.

There are various animals that people love to adopt and one of the animals that are wanted is kittens. These cute little mischievous kittens are considered as being suitable for adoption. When you look at kittens for adoption purposes there are various breeds that you will find as being suited for your lifestyle.


The many breeds of kittens for adoption are ones like tortoiseshell kittens, Siamese kittens, Persian kittens, and other varieties. When you are considering adopting a kitten you should first see what the requirements that kittens need for their care are. These various care requirements include a place for your kitten to sleep in the night and one for the day. The foods that kittens need should be seen to before you make any decisions about adopting any type of kitten.

You can ask pet shelter staff and your vet about the various needs of the kittens for adoption that you will see in these places. These needs will include some toys that you can fix in your rooms for the kitten to play with. Some of these toys will need to be impregnated with catnip as kittens and cats go wild about catnip. There should be a scratching post so that your kitten will have place to run their claws over.

Besides seeing to their physical activity level, kittens for adoption need to have a schedule that they can become familiar with. This means that when you take your potential new family member home you should let the kitten become familiar with your home and garden. Let the kitten see you go about your ordinary routine.

For instance the times that you get out of bed maybe leisurely or they may be hurried. In these moments you will have a small amount of time to look after the needs of your kitten. When both you and your kitten are familiar with your routine and there are no real problems developing from the kittens for adoption trial period, you will be able to fill out the forms that will allow you to become the actual owner of these mischievous little bundles of fur.


As there are so many facts to be considered before you become the owner of a kitten you may want some time to think about all of these facts. Once you have made your decisions about looking for kittens for adoption you can see the various ones that are just waiting at animal shelters