What skills do kittens need to learn as they grow? Cat skill training!

Mar 16,2024
7Min

Cats

What skills should kittens learn as they grow up? Cat skill training! As kittens grow up, they will learn some lifelong skills with their mother and brothers and sisters. This usually exists in young wildcats. The hunting skills of young wildcats also start to be learned at this time, and will benefit them throughout their lives.

1. The growth pattern of kittens

The weight of kittens is about one hundred grams when they are born, and their weight will increase after about two weeks. Double. Kittens under two weeks old have a normal heartbeat of more than 200 times per minute and a breathing rate of about 15 to 35 times per minute. The body temperature of newborn kittens is relatively low, about 35-36°C, and will slowly rise within 1-2 weeks after birth, until it reaches about 37.7°C when they are four weeks old.

Kittens can feel pain when they are born, but the neuromuscular reflexes related to pain will not be fully developed until they are 7 days old. The eyes will open between 5 and 14 days after birth. At this time, the iris appears grey-blue, which is the so-called grey-blue eyeball. In the next few weeks, the eyes will slowly change to the color that the adult cat will have, but kittens will not have enough normal vision until about 3 to 4 weeks old. From the 7th to 14th day of age, the baby will slowly start to crawl. On the 16th day, it will begin to waddle and learn to walk. By the 21st day, the steps will become more mature and steady.

Cats usually cannot walk steadily until the third week. Before that, they can only rely on the mother cat to move. Cats will have their first set of teeth when they are 2 weeks old, and by three weeks they can basically go to the toilet on their own. Cats at this time will also start to play. Cats that are four weeks old will bite and play with each other, and they will also learn how not to hurt each other. In the fifth week, kittens begin to wean, begin to eat solid food, and become independent. At this time, the cat's sense of balance has been fully developed and it also knows how to groom. This period is a learning stage for cats, where they must learn to understand themselves and other animals.

After a cat is two months old, its muscles are fully developed, but it still needs a lot of exercise to accurately judge distance, height and speed. The skills of hunting were also learned during this period. Generally speaking, it is best for kittens to leave their mothers after they are three months old, because when they are three months old, cats have a sense of territory and a good sense of direction.

2. What skills should kittens learn as they grow?

1. Learn to hunt

When kittens grow up At 3 weeks, the mother cat, who was allowed outside by her owner, began to bring the prey back to the nest. At first, the mother cat brought the dead prey back and ate it in front of the kittens. Later, it will leave the dead prey for its children to eat. Eventually, it will bring back the live prey and let the kittens kill it. It does not directly teach the kitten how to kill its prey, but stays with the kitten to prevent the unlucky victim from escaping. If kittens are to fend for themselves in the future, they must learn to hunt and how to handle prey. Interestingly, whether they are aggressive or friendly kittens, they are born from their own mothers.Cats learn faster through the demonstration of their own parents than by observing other adult cats who are not related to them.

2. Learn to play

Like other young carnivores, kittens also like to play. Play plays a substantial role in helping kittens learn how to live independently when they grow up. Kittens practice attack and defense, and train techniques such as attack, pursuit, ambush, and killing, but they never carry things too far or cause harm to their companions. When kittens play, there is an air of exaggeration, excitement and courage. This clearly shows that they think the game itself is fun. Games also help kittens develop group awareness. Kittens who cannot play with other partners during their growth and development stages will become withdrawn cats as adults, and sometimes become cats that are not interested in the opposite sex.

3. Learn to play

If your kitten seems to be at war, don’t panic. Usually it's just a joke. In fact, this kind of simulated battle is very meaningful, because kittens can learn how to attack and how to defend themselves.

3. Owners should prepare toys for kittens

1. Kitten toys

Although pet stores do sell toys specially designed for kittens It is a toy designed by cats, but kittens are very curious and will quickly find that items in the home, such as a ball of wool, are also very interesting.

2. Provide a safe environment

Kittens like to climb into baskets, boxes and other things with holes to explore. Things to climb in are well placed.

If a cat is brought home and raised when he is very young, he usually will not have some hunting skills, because this is a learning process, not instinctive, so not all cats They will all learn hunting skills.

Previous article:Precautions for internal and external deworming of cats
Next article:What does it mean when a cat lies belly up?
Related articles