Felinoterapie, NCHK

Kittenhood can be defined as the period between birth and the first year of life. During this period, there is a very rapid growth of the body and brain, intensive learning, during which the neural pathways in the brain are formed, which decide the further development of the animal's psyche.

Kittens are born after 58 - 67 days of pregnancy of the mother cat, they are blind, deaf, cannot regulate their body temperature and cannot defecate without the help of the mother. They are therefore completely dependent on their mother. 

Around day 10 after birth, their eyes begin to open. The period between the 2nd and 9th week is known as the imprinting period. This is a critical period in the kitten's development, when it is decided whether the kitten will grow up to be an inquisitive, fearless creature that seeks out human companionship, or a timid, wary cat that considers humans to be a dangerous predator. This period is absolutely crucial for socialization, as already mentioned, it is this period, in which the greatest growth of the brain occurs and as a result, the formation of new, permanent neural pathways. Unless the kitten receives an adequate amount of stimulus during this period and is exposed to a variety of situations and encounters other species, including humans, it is very difficult to reverse the development in later life.

During this period, the kittens grow milk teeth and in the latter part of this period the kittens are already trying to catch prey in play. They can also already retract their claws. Kittens also learn by reading and observing the behaviour of their mother and siblings.
At about 6 weeks of age, kittens are less dependent on their mother and play more intensively with their siblings.This is also a very good time to start playing more intensively with the kittens and to start training - but we should always clean up the toys after playing. This is because the toys remain attractive to the kitten and safety considerations also play a role. Kittens at this age can only concentrate for a very short time - approximately 1 - 2 minutes. This is also why play or training with them should be short and broken up into several units during the day, with sufficient rest breaks in between. We should help the kitten to set a daily rhythm - i.e. : hunting - catching prey - "killing prey" - eating - grooming and cuddling - sleeping (HCKEGS). Cats go hunting at dusk - in the morning at dawn or after sunset. This is when they have the most energy stored up to hunt. In kittens, due to the fact that they sleep up to 20 hours. this cycle is not yet established. They have the most energy when they wake up, of course. Play should therefore stimulate hunting behaviour and play should be followed by food.

At this time - approximately between the 4th and 6th week - we can also start to feed the kittens and get them used to a meat diet. Kittens should already be used to regular feeding at this age and not to free access to food throughout the day, which is not natural for a cat.

Between 10 and 14 weeks of age, there is a further detachment from the mother. Shortly before this time (from about 8 weeks of age) or at this time, kittens receive their first vaccination. They are already mature enough and able to climb, so this is a good period to get acquainted with vertical space, with scratching posts and shelves.
At approximately 14 weeks of age, kittens are already partially self-sufficient. This is also the age when, even by law, kittens can be handed over to new owners. With the exception of orphaned kittens placed in foster care, it is not permitted under animal cruelty laws to give away kittens under 13 weeks of age.

We refer to a kitten between 6 - 12 months as a teenager. Depending on the breed or domestic cat, the cat may be pregnant at this time - so it is advisable to arrange for neutering with your vet if you are not an early neutering advocate. It can be debated how early neutering can affect brain maturation at a sensitive time due to the lack of sufficient sex hormones. Early neutering has been introduced as a method of preventing the birth of unwanted kittens in American shelters. They have saved millions of lives because in many American shelters, cats are euthanized after the legal deadline for their owners to claim them or for them to be adopted. Scientific studies have shown that the effect of neutering in terms of growth of body organs (not brain) is the same when compared to neutering done at 3 months of age and neutering done at 6 months of age.

In organised breeding or home breeding, it is advisable to consult a veterinarian and possibly wait until between 6 and 12 months of age.

The period of adolescence is challenging due to emotional unsteadiness and rapid but also erratic intellectual maturation - see Cohabitation with teenage cats for more information.