Your cat gave birth to kittens! What could be better? Just watch them grow and learn more about their development. How they will turn from small blind kittens into big beautiful cats, how they explore a big beautiful world. But when? When it will be?! When do kittens open their eyes, when do they start walking, eating, playing on their own? These are the questions most frequently asked by novice cat owners. And to answer them, you need to study in detail the development of kittens.
A cat or cat is considered a newborn kitten until the 8th week of life inclusive, i.e. up to 2 months. By the way, after this period they can be sold, because at this time they are fully developed. So, what happens to kittens at certain stages of development? Below is a table in which I will describe in detail the entire development of the kitten.
| Weeks of life | development description |
| 1st | He himself cannot control the temperature of his body; he needs the attention of his mother. 7-10 days is the period when kittens open their eyes. May find food by smell. |
| 2nd | The kitten develops hearing, the baby intensively gaining weight. Kittens 2 weeks look like this: |
| 3rd | Kittens become curious and restless, seek to know the world. |
| 4th | The eyes of kittens change color, the hair also changes color. Toddlers develop movement and motor skills. The percentage of weight gain increases even more. From this week you can start feeding them. At this age, it's time to accustom the kids to the tray. |
| 5th | The vision of the kittens is fully developed, they can be weaned (start feeding solid food). |
| 6th | It is time to get vaccinated, depending on the lifestyle the character of the kitten is finally taking shape. |
| 7th | Kittens develop an adult sleep pattern, daily they are awake for 3-4 additional hours. |
| 8th | Kittens are completely weaned from the mother’s breast and finally switched to solid food. It becomes possible to determine the gender of the kitten. Kids are noisy and playful. |
Perhaps, while reading the description of the fourth week, you noticed the phrase "the eyes of the kitten change color." No, I was not mistaken, it really is. When kittens open their eyes, they are always blue. Over time, they change color with a kaleidoscope. For a while, they can be each in its own shade, or several colors can be present immediately on one eye, for example, a green eye with yellow dots. But this is not scary, over time, each of them will get the same even shade.
It will be appropriate to add a couple of notes to the table about the role of the owner in the development of feline offspring. When kittens cut their teeth, it is advisable to buy them a toy that would play a double role for them: entertaining and as a simulator for new teeth. Such toys are sold at any pet store. They look something like this:
If you want your furniture to be safe and sound, I highly recommend buying a clawclaw, because kittens grow claws, which at first will disturb them. Claw claws are also very common in pet stores:
And this is the developmental phase of kittens only up to 2 months. But life goes on, and everything in their body continues to grow up. At 3 months, the eyes of the kittens acquire a constant color, and at 5, the baby’s milk teeth fall out and change to permanent. From the sixth month, puberty begins. Young cats can start marking their territory, and cats can ride on the floor with estrus. From the eighth month, particularly heartless owners can take their "young and early" to the veterinarian for castration or sterilization.
That's the whole description of the kitten’s physical development. Now you know the answers to questions about when kittens open their eyes and how many weeks after birth, the kitten begins to hear the sounds surrounding it, as well as to many others.