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Mentor Interview: Dr. Debbie Horwitz Talks About Kitten Development
Purina® Cat Chow® brand Cat Food Mentor Dr. Debbie Horwitz received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and holds specialty board certification from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. She is the president-elect of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and serves on the advisory board of Veterinary Forum magazine. A frequent lecturer about pet behavior, she is also a contributor to a variety of veterinary journals, books and forums. Below, she discusses the specific nutritional and developmental needs of kittens. |
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Purina® Cat Chow® brand Cat Food (PCC): How do you define "kitten"?
Dr. Debbie Horwitz (DH): There are probably several different ways to define kittenhood. In the early developmental stages, when a cat's eyes aren't open, she doesn't walk very well and is very small, and still nursing from her mother, that's clearly kittenhood. And, of course, when people first get them at 7-9 weeks they are still considered kittens.
Many people still regard a young cat as a kitten until she reaches the juvenile stage, which occurs around six to eight months. But for the most part, if we take in all the parameters that might be used to define kittenhood, cats probably are not considered adults until they're around 12 months of age. That's when skeletal growth and muscle growth is pretty much finished. And even though their behavioral patterns are beginning to approach those of adult cats, kittens don't really reach social maturity until between two and three years of age.
PCC: So there seem to be definite stages of kittenhood. Are there particular ways of naming or defining these stages?
DH: The stages of kittenhood have not been definitively labeled in the same way the developmental stages have been labeled for puppies. But we can use some of that same terminology to describe the phases that kittens go through.
The first phase is often called the neonatal phase because that occurs right after birth, when kittens are quite helpless. Their eyes and their ears are not yet opened, and they really can't walk. They can smell, and they rely on their sense of smell to find the milk source.
A kitten's eyes and ears usually open in the second to third week—that's often called the transitional phase in puppies. At that time you will see an increase in motor skills. Kittens will begin to move around and be able to actually get up and walk. During the first three weeks, they depend entirely on their mothers for nutrition and to stimulate elimination.
At about four weeks of age, mothers who are in free-ranging conditions will begin to bring their kittens live prey. Kittens raised in household situations, however, can begin to eat solid food moistened with water after about three to four weeks on mother's milk. So the weaning of household kittens may actually begin at around three to four weeks.
Between five and six weeks, kittens will begin to eliminate voluntarily, and if provided with litter material, they may begin to use it.
By six to eight weeks of age, they've begun to show adult responses to their environment, and the socialization period has really begun. The socialization period in cats begins much earlier than for dogs. It's thought to begin at about three weeks and to end at about nine weeks.
That's a very important time frame for kittens. That's the time when they learn how to get along with other cats and the world they live in. In other words, they learn that they actually are cats and they learn appropriate social behavior. They also learn how to interact with other species, such as humans and dogs. The experiences they have during that time can be extremely important in shaping their future behavior.
After nine weeks of age, there still is a lot of development that goes on. Next would come the juvenile stage, which is thought to occur when kittens reach puberty.
PCC: How do you recognize that they've progressed from the juvenile stage to the adult stage?
DH: You'll see some behavioral changes as kittens become adults, but it depends what markers you're using to qualify adulthood.
If you're using growth markers such as stature, and bone and muscle growth, those aren't complete in most cats until they're around 12 months of age.
If you're looking at behavioral changes over time, then kittens are not going to show adult social patterns—they won't care about the same things adult cats might care about—until they're between two and three years of age. These things include territory, space and social relationships with other cats. Adult behavioral patterns may not be fully formed until cats are between two and three years of age, and a cat may continue to change during that time.
PCC: Why do kittens play so much?
DH: The function of play has been debated back and forth among ethologists, the people who study behavior. Play appears to be an integral part of development in young animals. Kittens generally will play for nearly an hour a day when they're about nine weeks of age. Play behavior can encompass many forms, including social play and predatory play. It's speculated that play is likely to help in the development of both motor and social skills in young cats.
Play is also an important component in the human/cat relationship. If you encourage play, many cats will continue to play well into adulthood. It appears that in young kittens, play is a method of learning adult skills. It's practice.
PCC: How do the nutritional needs of kittens differ from those of adult cats?
DH: Growing kittens have a very high energy requirement due to their rapid growth and their metabolic needs for maintenance and temperature regulation. These needs are much greater than in adult cats. Protein requirements are also usually quite high at weaning. As kittens grow, these requirements gradually decline to adult levels.
Kittens also need more fat in their diet than adult cats. But a high fat content can lead to obesity, which is undesirable. It is important to feed your kitten to ideal body condition throughout her growth stage and into adulthood. Fat content is important as a component of healthy growth in young animals.
Kittens should be fed either free-choice, unless they're overweight or obese, or at least three to four meals a day until they're about six months of age. By six months of age, most kittens can be fed twice daily like adult cats, but their energy needs are great and their growth is quite rapid, and you must be sure that you provide for those nutritional needs.
PCC: How would you help a weaning kitten make the transition from mother's milk?
DH: Weaning generally begins at about three to four weeks of age and is usually completed between six and 10 weeks of age. At that age, kittens can have solid food, but they usually will still obtain about 95 percent of their caloric intake from their mothers. At six weeks of age, this declines to about 70 percent.
Weaning is usually initiated by the queen—or mother—who gradually refuses to nurse her kittens, or in some cases by a breeder who separates them in order to accelerate the process.
Because the stomach capacity of a weaning kitten is small, it's very important to feed her a high-energy diet. Therefore, the quality of that diet is extremely important. The food provided to kittens can be moistened with water to make it easier for them to eat. (Use no more than one part warm (not hot) liquid to three parts Purina® Kitten Chow® Nurturing Formula, changing frequently to ensure freshness.) At first, they'll lap it up. But by six to eight weeks, most kittens will be able to pick up and eat solid, unmoistened food.
During the weaning process, kittens should have water and food available at all times. The queen's presence can be helpful in some situations, because often the queen will regulate the amount of nursing each kitten receives and at the same time prevent malnutrition, because the kittens will have some food source available to them.
PCC: Can nutrition play a role in kitten behavior?
DH: Absolutely. There is evidence that kittens from undernourished mothers can develop a variety of behavioral and growth abnormalities. Kittens that were from undernourished mothers can also show poor learning skills, increased emotional response and high levels of fear and aggression. Even with nutritional rehabilitation, some of these traits may last into the next generation of offspring. Excellent nutrition is certainly important for behavioral health in kittens.
PCC: Is there a generally accepted standard for how often a healthy kitten should visit the veterinarian? What should the kitten owner and veterinarian discuss during these visits?
DH: The initial visit should be right after the kitten is weaned, if she is still with the breeder, or once the kitten goes to her new home, so the veterinarian can assess the health of the animal and begin any vaccinations that might be necessary. The veterinarian will also want to examine a fecal sample for any intestinal parasites and to get a baseline view. Subsequent visits can be determined by vaccination needs. The kitten can be neutered at about six months of age.
Owners should talk to their veterinarians about health issues like vaccinations, diseases, how to keep a kitten's coat healthy, the ears, the eyes, and teeth. They should also discuss diet to make sure they're providing a diet appropriate to the kitten's life stage. They can talk about behavior, the need for play and exploration, and the environment that they're bringing their kitten up in so that they can get some advice on the best way to raise not only a medically healthy, but a behaviorally healthy, pet.
PCC: What exercise or play tips would you give to the owner of a kitten who wants her pet to grow up healthy and active?
DH: In some respects, animals are no different than us. If there's nothing going on, they may be inactive. And certainly if we compare a house cat to a free-ranging cat, one of the major differences is that free-ranging cats need to spend a lot of time every day foraging for food, and so they're very active. But our house cats don't have to amble any farther than the kitchen to get what they need. So it's up to us to make sure we have daily play sessions with our kittens and our cats and that we enrich their environment in many different ways with different toys that we rotate.
It's common for people to tell me, "Oh, I play for five minutes with my cat and then he's bored." Well, yeah, in a way that's true. The cat doesn't find that toy enticing anymore. That probably goes back to the fact that most of her play is predatory in nature, and if she hasn't caught it [prey] after about five minutes, she's probably not going to, right?
It's not enough to throw out 10-12 different toys. There is some research that shows that after five or seven minutes of play with a certain toy, a cat will no longer be interested in it, yet if you give her a two- to five-minute rest period and then bring back another toy, she'll play again.
So if you take that toy away, wait a few minutes and bring back another toy, your cat may play again. Rotating the toys, changing the play items, offering different things to climb on, places to look out the window, even having multiple food bowls around the house and rotating which one you use every day can go a long way toward keeping your cat physically and mentally healthy.
PCC: Can you share some tips for kitten proofing a home?
DH: First of all, I think it is a good idea to create a safe area for your kitten where you can confine her until she is more reliable. What I mean by that is, when you bring your kitten home, create a safe space with her food, her water, her litter box, her sleeping area, so that when you can't supervise her, there is some safe place where there aren't any electrical cords, there aren't small spots to get wedged into, there are no poisonous items around or toys that are so small they can be ingested by your kitten. Use that spot when you're sleeping or when you're not home, because young kittens are very inquisitive and may get into things that are dangerous for them.
You'll also want to keep electrical cords covered or out of the way. You want to make sure the litter box is very accessible to your kitten, not only in a place where your kitten can easily find it, but with low enough sides that your kitten can get inside. Remember to keep the litter box very clean and change it frequently.
Kittens do like to play, but it is important to make sure the toys are not so small that they can be swallowed. Be extremely careful about the fact that kittens love to play with string, which can be easily ingested. That is very dangerous and could lead to intestinal blockage. String and ribbon are not good choices for kittens. Rather, choose small things that your kitten can bat with her feet and pick up in her mouth but not swallow.
PCC: Do you have cats of your own? And can you tell us a little about them?
DH: I have owned cats my entire life and presently have a 15-year-old Himalayan named Mia. She is a tiny, but very beautiful, cat with seal point markings and blue eyes. Mia is somewhat shy and rarely meows but is quite friendly and loving with family members. She likes to sit quietly and help me when I work on the computer — either sleeping nearby on the floor or purring contentedly on my lap. Although she is older, she still enjoys playtime and grooming, and her favorite toy is actually a tennis ball! At night she gets up on the bed and sits nearby and purrs for a few minutes as her final "goodnight," and she is right there again in the morning to start my day.
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| Cats groom themselves to maintain healthy hair and skin, but did you know grooming serves other functions as well? Feline saliva has antibacterial properties to help decontaminate wounds. Maternal licking of young kittens helps protect against infection, and stimulates urination and defecation. |
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