Kitten FAQ: 15 Questions about kittens answered

Yes, it is common for kitten’s eyes to change color as they get older. Kittens are born with intense, blue eyes, but more often than not, this eye color is temporary. Often, kittens’ eyes will start to change color from blue to grey, green or yellow eyes around the 4-week mark.  
This might come as a surprise to many new cat owners, as they thought the baby-blue eye color would stick around throughout their cat’s life. Actually, eye color is linked with a kitten’s coat, meaning that cats with a certain coat will always develop one out of a certain set of eye colors.

Usually, this process begins in the 4th week and continues until around the 10-week mark. This varies though, as some cats will keep their original eye color for slightly longer. 
My cat started transitioning his eye color when he was about 5.5 weeks old. We do not know for sure why some cats transition their eye color later than average, but most likely it is to do with how fast they develop. their coat color, and how different the final eye color they will develop is from their original blue.

Kittens’ eyes usually begin to open when they are about 8-12 days old. This process is slow, though, and they won’t be fully open until about 2 weeks after birth. NEVER try to open their eyes by pulling their eyelids, as this can be harmful. Let your kitten develop at its own pace, and do your best to interfere as little as possible.
However, if you believe your cat is having problems opening its eyes, I recommend consulting your vet. If the process is taking too long, or their eyes are filled with gunk, it might need some assistance. Do not go at this yourself, though, as that could cause even more problems. Leave it to a professional. This is rare, though, and your cat will probably get through this phase on its own.

It might be tempting to let your cat go outside on its own shortly after you adopt it. I would recommend that you wait at least until your kitten is 4 months old, though, to ensure it is capable of handling the threats and challenges that the outside world holds. Let your kitten develop safely inside the safe walls of your home during its first time on earth.
However, it is fine to let a young cat follow you outside the home, as long as you keep it supervised. I started using a cat harness to let my kitten safely explore the outside when it was 2 months old. 

Isn’t it tempting to try to estimate how big a kitten will get when it grows up? At least I thought so, and I remember scouring the web for the best way to do this. While I never found a generally agreed-upon process of doing this, I tried a few different ways. The best way I found came pretty close to the final weight. 
The best way to calculate how big a kitten will get is by taking the kitten’s weight at 16 weeks old and doubling that. This will usually come pretty close, but remember there is some variance, and you should take this as an estimation.
As I said, this isn’t an exact science, though, and the final weight will depend on many factors. For example, how much you feed it, how active it is, and its DNA. 

This completely depends on how old the kitten is. A newborn kitten will spend about 18 hours of the day sleeping. When a kitten ages, it will require less and less sleep, and you can expect a 6-month-old cat to spend about 16-18 hours asleep, i.e the normal amount of sleep for an adult cat.
Does this mind-boggling quantity of sleep come as a surprise to you? That is understandable, and it did to me too! Remember that cats are a bit more efficient than humans in this regard, as they can fall asleep much faster. Basically, any time your cat is laying down with its eyes closed, it is probably engaging in some level of sleep. Either deep sleep, or a lighter variety, but regardless, your cat is resting. They are great at finding these big or small opportunities to rest, compared to humans who have relatively set sleeping times.

A young cat is considered to be a cat at about 12 months old. Until then, it should be fed kitten-specific food. A kitten might look like an adult cat already at 6 months old though, but looks don’t tell the whole story. It takes longer for a kitten to fully develop into an adult cat in terms of internals, behavior, and nutritional needs.

I recall seeing very little growth after the 6 months mark and probably thought of my (then kitten) as a fully grown cat. Obviously, this was a mistake though, and I am happy that I turned to my vet for important questions like food to buy and how to treat it. Even at 6 months, a cat’s personality is developing, so don’t stop raising it. The behavior you teach it now, will still influence how it acts during its remaining time as a pet.

A cat keeps on growing until it is about 12 months old. Of course, the growth slows down the older a cat gets, and most of the growth happens during its first weeks and months. Already at 6 months old, a kitten can look like an adult cat, but the growth rarely stops this early.

During the first weeks, a cat will develop quickly, opening its eyes, learning to walk, and experiencing fast physical growth. As the cat gets older, physical growth becomes slower, but personality development continues at an equally fast pace. 

12-week old kittens should pee a few times a day. As a rule of thumb, kittens often urinate about once every 3-5 hours, and this is considered normal. Some kittens pee less often, though, and this does not have to be cause for concern. 

How often a kitten will pee depends on many factors, such as how much it has eaten and drank, how active it is, the humidity, and also differs between cats. Some kittens need to urinate much more frequently than others.

I remember my own kitten was quite normal in this regard. He used to pee about 4-5 times per day, and often after eating or drinking water. I never had any problems with this, except one time when he basically stopped peeing altogether. It turned out he had some sort of internal blocking, preventing the natural passing of urine. Luckily I paid enough attention to notice this quickly, and we could resolve it before it caused too many problems. 

Generally, you should feed a 5-moth old kitten about 1/2 to 1 cup of dry kitten food 4 times per day. This guideline applies to all kittens between 3 and 6 months, so once your kitten is 5 months, I would lean closer to 1 whole cup than 1/2 cup per serving.

The amount of food a 5-month old kitten needs varies, largely depending on the size of the kitten. If you notice your cat rarely eats all of the food, it is probably an indication that you can safely lower the food per serving.

Yes, hissing can be a good way of disciplining your kitten. It is one of the sounds cats understand the best, since their mothers hiss at them from when they are young. Hissing at your cat is a good way of signaling what behavior is acceptable, and what is not.

A hissing cat is usually trying to warn before attacking since they typically avoid fighting. Sometimes, it is much more harmless: maybe it is just trying to ask you to calm down when you play together.

Click here if you want to read my post on the subject, providing much more depth.

Yes, blankets are generally safe for your young cat. You might worry if your cat will be able to breathe from under the blanket, but this is rarely a problem. Cats are great at avoiding dangers, and should they not be able to breathe, they will get out of there quickly. Further, air will be able to pass through the fabric of almost every blanket.

Read my full article on the subject here, if you want to learn more.

Unfortunately, they don’t even remember them. As sad of a thought this is, kittens quickly forget their mothers when they leave their family and move in with you. This is good in a way, though, since you don’t need to feel bad about adopting a kitten and separating it from its parents. It would have sucked to see your cat feel down about this!

They actually rarely remember their mothers if they meet them again a few years after they are separated. I told a personal story on the subject that was really shocking to me in this post. 

On average, they live for about 14-15 years. So if you’ve just adopted a kitten, you can be confident that it will probably stick around for a long time. Of course, how well you take care of your kitten will heavily influence how long it lives, so do your best to read up on the best practices!

Is your kitten scared or stressed out? Then you need to do your best to comfort it to make it feel calmer. There are multiple ways to do this, and naturally, some work better than others. Here are our best tips:

1. Keep your pet close to you, preferably holding it firmly in your arms. They love feeling your heartbeat, so try holding it close to your chest. This might be hard if your kitten is too wound up, and then you need to start slow. Carefully approach him or her, calmly speaking to it. Cats usually feel safer hearing you speak, as they recognize your voice. 
2. Use a heating pad! These pads can be heated up in the oven or microwave, providing comforting warmth to your kitten. Since kittens can’t regulate their own body temperature, this can be really useful. These are used mainly for young kittens, but older kittens can benefit from these a well. 
3. Speak, speak, speak! Cat’s love hearing your familiar voice and this is a great way of comforting them. I usually speak to my kitten as soon as we are in the same room, and I imagine that he would feel weird if I stopped. Use a calm voice and speak slowly, as this usually yields the best results.
4. Use a fur blanket. These remind them of their mother’s fur, causing a familiar sense of familiarity. Most fur blankets, and even rugs will do the trick. I kept one of these on my sofa, and used to wrap my kitten in it when I noticed he needed some comfort.
5. Try a comb. I always used to comb my kitten, and I always felt like he loved this. After combing my own hair, I used to give him a piece of the action. Not only did it make his fur even more beautiful, but he also calmed down.
6. Wrap him or her in a blanket! This will make your kitten feel safe and mimics the warmth of the mother’s safe presence. While your kitten is wrapped up, speak calmly and pet the back of its head and back.