by Currie Jean

Created on: July 29, 2008   Last Updated: August 20, 2008

The first two months of a cat's life are paramount to development. At the start, a kitten is unable to even use its own senses; after two months, it will likely be ready to be separated from its mother and enter a new home. These six to eight weeks play an indellible role in shaping a kitten's personality, with effects lasting the rest of its life.

If you've found yourself in a position requiring you to tend to a litter of kittens with or without their mother, or are adopting a young kitten yourself, it's important to clearly understand a kitten's early development stages. This way, the health of the litter, the individual kittens, and their mother can be properly guarded.

Week One

At birth, a kitten is little more than a miniature pink ball of consumption. Its eyes and ears are sealed shut, rendering it unable to see or hear, and its legs are too weak to allow it to walk. The most movement you can expect to see is the occasional lifting of a wobbly head, a tendency to suckle non-stop while kneading with the forepaws, and occasional high-pitched mewling.

The mother is incredibly protective at this point. She bathes, warms, and stimulates the digestion of her young ones with her tongue, and if she is vaccinated, her vaccination rubs off on the kittens for the first day or two of their lives. The new family will benefit from a human's watchful eye, but too much interference can lead to stress, or even cause the mother to move her kittens to a new location. Human caregivers should only give assistance in an emergency, and avoid handling the kittens.

Week Two

In the second week, kittens gain weight at a rate of nine to twelve grams per day. The mother cat's body works hard to generate a steady supply of nutritional milk, so she needs high-quality food (avoid food with ash filler if possible), and a constant supply of fresh water near the nest.

From the middle to the end of week two, the kittens' eyes should start to open. All kittens start out with bright blue eyes. They won't be able to focus perfectly at first, and will be sensitive to light, so make sure they stay in a shaded place. The sense of smell starts to function as well, so kittens will be able to find their favourite spot to feed by smell. They may also react to new smells, sometimes by hissing, and become aware of one another.

Week Three

By week three, the ears open, stand up, and start out a little sensitive - kittens will likely be startled by new, loud sounds. Eye color starts to change from blue to each

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