National Kitten Day is July 10th. We’re all in on this celebration! While all baby animals are cute, kittens have a special charm that can really just melt our hearts. A local Town N Country vet offers some basic info about little Fluffy in this article.
Welcome To The World
Kittens are all born with blue eyes, though they may change color over time. Of course, you won’t see little Fluffy’s eyes right away: it will take about a week for them to open. During this early stage, kittens are extremely helpless and vulnerable. They can’t regulate their body temperatures at all, and must be stimulated to pass waste. They need to stay very close to their mamas at this stage.
Week 2
Little Fluffy will open her eyes at around 7 to 10 days. Her vision won’t be fully developed at this point: she won’t be able to focus well until she’s about 10 weeks old. While kittens are very weak and wobbly at first, once they get those little legs working, they start progressing pretty quickly. It won’t take long at all for your little buddy to morph into a tiny ball of mischief.
Toddlerhood
Now we’re coming to that ridiculously cute stage of little Fluffy’s life. From about week 3 on, your tiny ball of fur is going to be trying to sort out how all those claws and teeth work, figuring out the rules of being a cat, and, of course, melting the hearts of every human around. Your little pal will also spend a lot of time playing and snuggling with her siblings. Interestingly, cats focus on interacting with other felines for the first few months of their lives. After about five months, they turn their attention to their humans.
Growing Up Fast
Cats are technically able to reproduce at just four months old. Spay/neuter surgery can be done at 9 weeks, though many veterinarians prefer to wait a little longer. Talk to your vet, and get that appointment on the books.
Over that first year, you’ll want to instill some rules of proper etiquette into your feline pal. Discourage things like biting and scratching, and teach her to use a scratching post. Fluffy’s kittenhood won’t last long, but she’ll never stop being cute.
Do you have questions about kitten care? Contact us, your local Town N Country pet clinic, today!
