Cats are loved as pets not just for their cuteness but for their low maintenance as well. Cats, unlike dogs, don’t demand any regular walking, training, or companionship.
However, they do require care and affection. Nothing can beat the excitement of having a newly born kitten at home. You can follow the kitten cat growth chart in this article below guide for you to know more.
Pet owners show great concerns about their growth and if it is going as expected. We will take a deep dive into the kitten growth process and the other things that relate to it.
You can find many things regarding the checkpoints of kitten growth, so here is a detailed account of things you may need to understand and explore after going through the chart.
Quick Table of Contents
- How Long Before A Kitten Is Full-grown?
- How Do You Tell If A Kitten Will Be A Lap Cat?
- Things To Check In 1 Day Old Kitten
- Checking Growth of 5 Days Old Kitten
- The Growth Points of 10 Days Old Kitten
- How to know if your 2 Weeks Old Kitten is healthy and growing
- The Activity and Feeding Needs of A 3 Weeks Old Kitten
- Milestones To Check For A 4 Weeks Old Kitten
- What A 6 Weeks Old Kitten Can Do or Eat?
- Things To Do For Your 8 Weeks Old Kitten
- The Growth Checks of A 12 Weeks Old Kitten
- The Features and Growth Milestones of A 6 Month to 1-Year-Old Kitten.
- Frequently asked questions (F.A.Qs)
How Long Before A Kitten Is Full-grown?
Irrespective of the breed of the cat, the growth rate is generally quite fast for the first 6 months, and then onwards, it gets a bit slower. At 6 months of age, they had already transitioned from a kitten to an adult cat. But, this doesn’t mean that they have reached their maximum size. It is believed that the majority of the cats who are in the 9 to 12 months range have grown to their maximum size potential.
How Do You Tell If A Kitten Will Be A Lap Cat?
Generally, speaking cats are all quite affectionate. If you have a kitten and your relationship is quite new then there are a few signs that you can look for to know that your kitten will be a lap cat or not. First and foremost, give affection to your cat and get it back as well. On top of that, some definite signs to look in your kitten are bunting, which is when the animal rubs her head against you.
Another act of affection is nuzzling when the kitten rubs her nose or cheeks. And, when it meows, take this as a call of fiving attention or help. On the flip side, some worrying signs of your kitten not being a lap cat could be associated with health. If she is not feeling well then rebuttal is obvious.
Things To Check In 1 Day Old Kitten
The behavioral pattern of kittens from their birth to the next 7 days remains constant and not many changes are expected. The tongue and gums of the kitten can give the best indication of the health of the newborn. They must both be bright pink and you should keep on monitoring for the next few days. The size of the 1-day old kitten should be good enough to fit over your palm.
You must also check if the kitten can crawl on its belly which she does for the sake of having her food. You need to be very careful with feeding on day 1 until she is 4-week old. There are chances for cats to catch a cold at such a young age. If that is the case then you may skip some feedings as it could lead to some serious health consequences.
Checking Growth of 5 Days Old Kitten
A kitten that is 5 days old should weigh around 3-ounce on average. This weight may vary from kitten to kitten but anything less than 3 pounds would warrant a vet visit. You need to make sure that your 5-day old kitten is having 6 feedings per day.
This count of feedings per day gradually decreases once the cat age. Make sure that all the tools and utensils that you use for your kitten are properly sterilized. Anything unhygienic may result in certain health conditions which for newborns can be severe.
Milk is what that your kitten’s diet should be from the mother cat unless the vet suggests something more due to any health issue. You should also be well informed about the quantity of diet at this point. Your kitten should have 8ml of milk per pound of weight.
So a 3-ounce kitten should drink 24ml of milk in total which should be divided into 6 feedings with 4ml each for a 5-day old kitten. This is something that you should continue in the future as well.
The Growth Points of 10 Days Old Kitten
A kitten that is 10 days old should weigh around 4 to 5 pounds on average. If you are constantly monitoring the growth since birth and having 5-ounce of weight after day 10 then these are good healthy signs. By this time, you should be giving 5 feedings per day to your kitten for healthy growth. Make sure that at this tender age, you must not overfeed your kitten as it may trigger diarrhea and other health complications.
How To Know if your 2 Weeks Old Kitten is Healthy and Growing
If a 2-week old kitten weighs around 7 to 8 pounds then this is an encouraging growth sign. The per-day feeding should drop to 4 times from now on.
At this age, you must also check whether your kitten’s diet intake is proper o not or it is taking the suggested number of feedings per day or not. The lack of appetite at this age may indicate anemia in cats. If the diet is not good then consult the vet. He would suggest some vitamin or mineral supplements rebuild its system and stimulate diet.
The Activity and Feeding Needs of A 3 Weeks Old Kitten
When your kitten gets 4-week old then it will be showing some considerable physical activities and would also reciprocate to a lot of things that you demand from her. As far as the diet at this age is concerned, you need to feed your kitten 3 feedings a day. The ideal weight of your furry friend at this age should be 10 to 11 ounces on average. The kitten should still be fed milk from her own or foster mother’s cat.
Milestones To Check For A 4 Weeks Old Kitten
For the first few weeks to a few months, you must be constantly weighing your kitten to ensure expected growth. This will be an indicator of any health condition if it is weighing less than what is expected at a certain age.
As soon as your cat turns 4-week and you put her on a weighing machine, then the outcome should ideally be 13 to 14 pounds. You can still put your cat on 3 feedings per day.
What A 6 Weeks Old Kitten Can Do or Eat?
If everything goes well from birth to the time your kitten gets to 6-week of age, then she should weigh between 1 to 1.5 pounds. This is also the time when you should plan for giving some solid food to your kitten.
As a good practice, you must add some kittle kibble in her diet which should be mixed with wet food, such as milk. Once the kitten gets comfortable with eating kibble then you may separate kibble from milk and offer it on its own. This should be done very gradually so that your furry animal does not develop any sort of digestive problem. The diet at this age should be given 2 to 3 times a day.
The kitten at this age starts to socialize quite well. You must introduce it to different parts of the house and make her familiar with different objects, other pets, and people in the house. It is good to play with your kitten for a couple of hours a day so that it becomes a lap cat soon. Kittens at this age love to play with toys and you must encourage that.
Things To Do For Your 8 Weeks Old Kitten
8-week is a milestone age for your kitten and they ideally should weigh around 2 pounds by this age. Exclusive solid food should be incorporated into their diet. A lot of activities will carry on that you or your kitten started when she turned 6-week old.
Familiarize your cat with the litter box to develop bathroom habits. Your kitten by this time will be quite confident on her own and will be ready to jump and run. With every passing day from now, you will find some new skills and adventures added to her activities. At this point of age, the growth rate of kittens becomes slower.
The Growth Checks of A 12 Weeks Old Kitten
A 12-week old kitten is generally very active and social. It might not sleep a lot which she might be doing at an earlier age. Still, you will find her finding a cozy place in front of the fireplace taking nap for half of the day.
The kitten will also become much more active o play with its littermates and thoroughly explore its surroundings. This is high time to help your cat differentiate between right and wrong. If you miss this now then your kitten will struggle a lot as an adult. Moreover, they might also become aggressive if their social skills are not polished at their 12-week age or so.
The Features and Growth Milestones of A 6 Month to 1-Year-Old Kitten.
A 6-month-old kitten might give a hint of a little adult cat but it is still far from its adult size. A healthy average cat is expected to gain 1 pound every month and at 6 months, your cat should weigh around 6 pounds. You will also see good progress with the legs growing until 1 year of age.
You should have completed the vaccination course of your cat by 6 months, and you must plan about its neuter or spay at this age. Indeed, they are not that mature at 6 months, but this is the right age for their sexual growth.
Some vets also recommend extracting any baby teeth of your kitten that are still left in the mouth when it gets neutered or spayed. By 8 months of age, your cat will be very confident on its own and will be at her best social skills. A healthy cat at 9 months is almost fully grown.
You need to monitor your cat’s chewing behavior. If it gets aggressive then you need to train well at this age to make it affectionate. Adult food could be given to 10 months old kitten. You may add meat-based cat food very gradually to their diet. At 12 months, your furry friend is a fully grown cat now but physically and mentally.
Kitten Cat Growth Chart Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Qs)
How long does it take a kitten to fully grow into a cat?
It takes a kitten anywhere between 10 to 12 months on average to become a fully grown cat. Some haired breeds, such as Maine Coon cats may take 15 to 18 months to reach their maximum growth potential.
What age do kittens tend to calm down?
Kittens are quite energetic and playful in their early months. However, they gradually calm down and become less crazy when they reach 8 months of age.
At what age I should consider changing to keep my cat on kitten food?
Milk or kitten formula should be given to cats for up to 1 year. You may then switch to cat food that includes meat-based diets as well when it turns 1 year old.
At what age should I look to trim the nails of my kitten for the first time?
Once your kitten gets 4-week old then you can consider regular nail trimming. You must avoid the cruel declawing tactics here.
A newly born kitten demands a lot of care and affection in its early days. As a responsible kitten owner, you should keep a good eye on the growth of your furry friend until it matures into an adult cat.
Timely weight should be taken at specific ages, which is usually more frequent and on days on weekly basis for the first three months at least. This will give you an indication of healthy cat growth.
You must also look after their diet which usually is wet food or mil in for the first few weeks and then you can switch to kibble gradually when it turns 6-week.
Resource Article
- How to Get Rid of Worms In Cats for Their Healthy and Happy Living
- Facts About Cats With Big Eyes and How To Take Care of Small Cats Breeds
- The Cat Breed And Small Cats Breed With Their Characteristics
- Everything You Need To Know About What Is A Tabby Cat