Your kitten’s first year is their most important one! Your new little bundle of joy is learning everything about the world and finding their place in it right now, as well as going through a lot of physical changes as they grow big and strong. During your first few weeks together, you and your kitten will form a bond that will set the pace for all future interactions. We want to have the best relationship possible with our cats, but if you’ve chosen a kitten, you must be the one to help kitten lay the bricks when building their personality. A keen understanding of why kittens do certain things will help you keep your kitten on the right track to be a confident, well-adjusted cat, so let’s read on!
This is the time when your kitten is developing their social skills. Kittens figure out what’s right and wrong by observing their mother, through play with other cats, or by interacting with their human families. In a one-cat household, your new kitten will not have the option to test boundaries, play, and observe other cats to learn these essential skills, so it’s on you! This is a really fun, exciting time to own a cat – kittens are little goofballs who want to jump, pounce, run, and stalk anything that moves. Kittens at this age enjoy games of hide and seek, so get out your paper bags and boxes, a few wand toys, and get to work! Your kitten is developing their motor skills right now, so lots of interactive playtime where they get to catch “prey” will be a wonderful lesson indeed.
Somewhere around four months, your kitten may start losing their baby teeth as their adult teeth develop. Their gums may be painful, so this would be an excellent time to start a dental care routine. Plastic drinking straws are a proven teething aid and make for great interactive play with your kitten. Kittens will start establishing their place in the “social ranking order” of your house during this time. It is not unusual to see a kitten challenge the alpha cat, which usually will earn the hapless youngster a scratch on the nose. Other cats, depending on their own social position and personalities, may defer to the kitten. Your kitten is still growing during this time, and it is not unusual to see a previously plump fluff of a kitten suddenly grow long and lanky before filling out again. Kittens should continue to eat kitten food during this phase of growth – they need the additional nutrients for strong bones, healthy teeth and supple muscles.
By now, your kitten is starting to show the physical and social traits of a fully-grown cat. By the age of 12 months, they will have attained the equivalent physical growth as a 15-year-old human teenager and will undoubtedly start showing some of the same personality attributes of that age. Don’t take it personally if your kitten doesn’t
seem as responsive to you as they did when they were teeny. Like a human teenager, they are testing the waters of adulthood to see what it feels like. They’re also playing a “dominance” game with you, just as they might with another cat or kitten. Be patient with them and give your kitten all the affection and love they will take – on their terms, not yours! They’ll come around after they’re out of this awkward middle stage! Your feline youngster will continue to grow and develop for another year before blossoming into an adorable little adult.
