Caring for a Kitten from Birth to the first six weeks

Most Important Weeks in a Cat's Life

The all-important first six weeks in a cat's life will do much in determining his personality and character for the rest of his life. Healthwise, this period is also extremely important to the developing kitten, as very young kittens are susceptible to a number of threats, such as fleas and URIs. Kittens will probably never grow again at the remarkable rate they accomplish during this period, and seeing the changes in their development from week to week is an incredible experience. We'll start off by recapping the first week, and move on from there.

Week 1: Tiny Food Processing Factories

The newborn kitten weighs just ounces, and easily fits into the palm of your hand. Her umbilical cord will fall off within two or three days, but her eyes and ear canals will not be open yet.

Kittens are very helpless at this age, but the mother cat instinctively knows their needs. She feeds them, keeps them close by for warmth, bathes them with her rough tongue, which also stimulates their digestion and helps them urinate and defecate. Mother cats are very protective of their little ones, and will move them to another location if humans intrude too much into the nest.

Provided the mother has been vaccinated, or has natural immunity, the kittens will receive this same immunity for the first 24-48 hours through her colustrum, and it will last until they are old enough to get their "kitten shots."

Newborns will weigh an average of 3.5 ounces at birth and may double their weight by the end of the first week. They are simply little food processing factories at this point, and their only activities are nursing, sleeping, and passing waste. There is very little social interaction at this age, other than competing for their favorite nipple, where they will suckle while kneading with their tiny paws.

Week 2: Growing and Developing

• Your kitten is continuing his growth at an astonishing rate, by at least 10 grams per day. The mother cat should be fed a quality kitten food to help replenish the nutrients she will lose through nursing.
• His eyes will start to open and will be completely open at 9 to 14 days old. All kittens' eyes are blue, and will remain so for several weeks. Their vision will be blurred at first, and their pupils don't dilate and contract readily, so they should be kept from bright lights.
• The kitten's sense of smell is developing, and he will seek out his favorite teat by scent. He will even hiss at unfamiliar odors, as the photo depicts.
• He will become more aware of his littermates as his senses develop.

Week 3: Awareness is Developing

• Ear canals will be completely open, and his sense of hearing is still developing, however the kitten may startle at loud sounds. The ears may be fully erect by this age.
• Their eye color may start to change, from the blue shared by all kittens, to the adult hue.
• Kittens' sense of smell will be well developed.
• Kittens can voluntarily eliminate now, as their digestive system is developing. The mother cat will continue to clean them, until they learn grooming skills.
• Don't be surprised to hear a kitten start to purr at this young age.
• Baby teeth will start to come in now, and the mother cat will start thinking about weaning.

Week 4: Standing and Wobbling

Kittens will start to stand sometime between the third and fourth weeks, and will try to walk, although their first movements will be very wobbly. Their bodies are out of proportion to their eventual adult state. Little tails are very short and "stick-like" and their heads are disproportionately large for their bodies and legs. This will all change, though, as they get their "sea legs" and start moving around.

Don't be surprised to see kittens escaping from their nesting area, as they seek to expand their horizons. They will also interact more with their littermates, even to the point of forming "alliances" which may or may not be gender-based.

Kittens will continue to nurse regularly. It is important to continue feeding the mother a good quality kitten food, as long as she is nursing kittens.

Week 5: Starting the Weaning Process

Kittens will be walking around freely at this time and starting to play with their siblings. They will be developing a new sense of independence, although they may not stray far from their mother or their littermates.

This will be a very good time for their beginning to socialize with humans

• Kittens may be introduced to canned food at this time. Select a quality brand of kitten food with a named meat source as the first ingredient (chicken is good). Ideally, they should be given the same kitten food given the mother cat, as the kittens will quickly accommodate to eating mom's food. Use a shallow plate and expect their first experiences to be messy.

  Although the mother cat will try to wean the kittens, they still need the nursing experience to satisfy their suckling needs, at least until they are eight or ten weeks old, by which time the mother cat will have gradually weaned them.

• Kittens can also learn litter box basics now. They need a smaller, separate box, one that will be easy to access and exit, with only an inch or two of litter. A shallow plastic storage box or lid to a shoe box might work for starters. As human babies experiment by tasting everything, so will kittens. Avoid their ingestion of harmful substances by using a natural litter such as one made from corn cobs, paper, or wood chips - NEVER clumping clay.

Week 6: Socialization in Full Swing

Socialization skills continue, and there is no doubt that these are lively, active, kittens who will grow up all too soon to be adult cats. They can run, pounce, and leap, and can entertain themselves and their human observers endlessly. Just as quickly they can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, (growing up is hard work), so take care not to let them tire.

Kittens will follow their mother cat's lead in socializing with humans. If she has a comfortable relationship with the humans in her life, so will her kittens. However, if kittens are not accustomed to human handling by six weeks, it will be a long, slow, process to train them later, and such a cat may never be a "lap cat."

Socializing Tip:

Kittens should learn at this age that hands are not for playing - hands are for holding, petting, and feeding. One of the best "toys" for teaching this lesson is a plastic drinking straw. You can drag it across the floor and watch the kitten chase it, then wiggle it a bit and allow him to pounce on it and "capture" it. The baby may proudly strut with his prize before settling down to bite on it. The plastic is nice and crunchy, and makes a good aid for teething.

Time to Go Home

Well-socialized and completely weaned kittens may be ready for their new forever homes in just a couple of weeks from now. If you've been waiting for your kittens to be old enough to adopt, you'll probably be pretty excited by this time.