How Old And When Do Kittens Open Their Eyes

There is nothing as precious as a newborn kitten, his high-pitched crying, clumsiness and sense of curiosity. In his first days of life, his eyelids are closed and stuck, but do not worry, when do kittens open their eyes? This is normal. After several days, her tiny eyes slowly begin to open by themselves.

Purpose.

Tiny kittens have their eyes closed, unable to open them, as a protective measure. The sealed lids protect the eyes growing in the uterus as well as in the real world. When the eyes are closed, they are less likely to incur injuries littermates that still do not really know how to work their teeth and claws. It also reduces the risk of bacteria and infections in the orbit of the delicate eye during childbirth.

Timeframe.

Each cat is different. Sometimes his eyes open quickly, sometimes it takes a while, and occasionally an eye opens before the other. Your little fluffy brood eyes will open sometime between 2 and 16 days after birth. Usually, the eyes open between the seventh and tenth days.

Vision development.

During the first few weeks of life, newborn kittens use their sense of smell and hearing to hear the caterwauling of his mother and littermates. After having his eyes open, the vision begins to develop. These tiny cats begin relying more on their vision to guide you around.

Management of newborns.

As much as you want to grab and kiss, you have to resist the urge. During his first week of life, the helpless little kittens should stay with their mother. The management of kittens when they are too young and susceptible may disturb the breast. She may end up moving her litter to a new location if you feel uncomfortable with the handling of their offspring. Wait for touching newborn kittens until after the initial period of seven days. However, if you suspect an injury to the eye, or something abnormal, you may need to pick them up before.

Concerns.

Whether your little ones have their eyes sealed, or your eyes are beginning to open, you have to be careful with eye problems. Kittens should not have any form of discharge or crust around the eyes. The hard particles can scratch and damage the eye. Once your eyes are opened, should be clear, your eyes should be white and the pupils should be similar in size. If you see redness or thick drainage in the face, you may have to take the little cat and take it to the vet as a security measure.

how old are kittens when they open their eyes


After all the care of our cat pregnancy kittens arrive as expected. Hatchlings initially totally dependent on the mother. It is important if we want to have control of the situation that we seek the cat a warm and quiet place to have kittens. In addition, we must be prepared, because the female eats, at least, three times the average.


The days they are born hatchlings cannot hear or see, so do not separate from the mother. From the week of life are opening eyes. Still, they remain highly vulnerable and sleep huddled for warm and feel safer.

The view is improved fairly quickly and usually the second week and to be able to locate and recognize his mother. At first, at his temporary blindness must be careful but at 15 days and begin to avoid obstacles. At three weeks old, the kittens already have independent mobility and can start eating solids.

However, not using their vision to perfection until after 12 weeks. A curious fact is that these animals are all born with blue eyes. It is in this 12-week period when it will define its final color.