How to determine the age of a kitten: useful tips

If you have a kitten in your house, you must determine its age. The care of the animal and its nutrition depends on this. It will not be possible to determine the baby’s age exactly, however, some signs will help to give the kitten at least an approximate date of birth. This is necessary if you picked up a kitten on the street. If you took an animal from the shelter, you can try to find out about its age from the workers - they usually enter information about the cat in her passport. A more accurate age can be determined by a veterinarian. If the trip to the doctor is postponed, it is important to be able to independently determine the age of the kitten. To do this, just watch him.

How to determine the age of a kitten in appearance

1. Eyes. From the eyes you can quite accurately determine the age of the kitten, if he is several weeks old. In the first 10 days, the baby's eyes are closed or just beginning to open. If your kitten has a narrow eye section, this means that they have not yet fully opened, the baby is not even a month old. Eye color also matters. When the eyes only open, they have a light blue color. And only then, by the second month of life, do they change color to the one that they will wear all their life. However, be careful, some breeds of cats (for example, Siamese) have blue eyes, regardless of age.
2. The ears. In very small kittens, the ears are pressed to the back and are not straightened. Only in the second or third week of life, the ears straighten and become “adults”.
3. Teeth. This is another important indicator that will help more accurately determine the age of the baby. The first two weeks the kitten grows toothless. The first teeth come out in 2-3 weeks of age. Even if you don’t see the teeth, try to gently feel the gum. If the teeth are ready, it will be felt. The incisors are the first to come out, usually they are already by the age of four weeks. By six weeks lateral teeth come out, and by eight weeks of life fangs appear. In total, the kitten has 26 milk teeth. By the age of six months, the animal grows molars, and after a year the milk teeth change to permanent.
4. Weight. Determining the exact age of the baby by weight is quite problematic, because weight can depend on heredity, nutrition and even the sex of the kitten. Usually at birth, the weight of the animal is about 100 grams and in the first weeks of life, 70 grams is added (with sufficient nutrition). As it grows, weight gains more and more slowly. When weighing, it is worth considering that males weigh more than females. Here is an approximate monthly kitten weight. In two weeks, the kitten weighs 160 grams, in 4 weeks - 200 grams and 700 grams in 8 weeks. At three months, the animal will weigh about 1.4 kg, and at 4 - 1.7 kg. The weight of an adult animal is 3-5 kg.
5. The size. This is a fairly accurate indicator of the age of the animal. A newborn kitten is 10-12 cm in length, excluding the tail. If the length of your baby is 13-15 cm, then it means about a month. Two-month-old kittens are 16-18 cm long. At three months, its length is 19-20 cm. And at five months the length of the animal will be about 23-25 ​​cm. Keep in mind that these males are 3-5 cm longer from the second week. of life.

Experienced breeders can determine the age of the kitten by eye. If you got a newborn kitten a few days old, he will see a navel. Usually babies in their first weeks of life have a disproportionately large head, small ears and paws. In a month, the kitten becomes like an adult animal, its body is proportional to the head, but the ears are still quite small. And only in half a year does it become absolutely similar to an adult animal, only in a reduced size.

Kitten behavior

A kitten, like a human child, grows and develops.Different periods of his life correspond to his different behavior.

If the baby got into the house with his cat mom, you can pay attention to whether she feeds her brood with milk. Usually the period of breastfeeding in a cat is 5-6 weeks. By 8 weeks, she stops feeding her kittens, no matter how much they ask. Pay attention to the behavior of the kids. If they lie down near a cat and want to suck, but she gets up and does not allow it - probably babies are about 6-8 weeks old. And closer to 9 weeks, they themselves stop tormenting the cat and spend more time separately, away from their mother.

You can pay attention to how the baby walks. In the first two weeks, kittens spend around their mother, they practically do not walk. If they need to move closer to their mother, they just crawl on the belly. In two weeks, babies begin to master the difficult walking skill. Up to three weeks they walk awkwardly and hesitantly, staggering. Closer to a month, kittens acquire one of their most interesting skills - to roll over in the air and land on their paws. At this time, the kids already have a decent supply of curiosity, begin to play and often move around. By the age of one and a half months, kittens learn to run, their coordination improves, they become bold and mobile.

At an older age, you can determine the age of a kitten by the level of its maturity. At 6 months, the kitten begins to produce hormones. He meows at night and wants to leave the house. By the age of 7-9 months, hormonal restructuring is in full swing - males can start marking the territory, looking for a female. In the female, the first estrus may begin during this period. If you want to sterilize the female, you need to do this before the first estrus. However, this method of determining the age of a kitten is not very effective, because the animal can mature early - at 6 months. When a cat becomes a fully mature animal, it grows in size and even changes the appearance of its muzzle.

Determining the age of the animal is very important. If you know how many weeks or months a kitten will have, you will be able to accurately select food for him, ensure proper care and hygiene. Now you do not need the help of a veterinarian - you can determine the age of the kitten yourself.