3 days old

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11 days old

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The kitten uses its sense of smell to find its mother's teat.  A kitten finds its own particular teat on the mother's breast that it uses until it is weaned.   Each teat has its own characteristic scent that the kitten can recognize. 

The mother has to lick  the kitten's bottom to stimulate it to eliminate. 

A newborn kitten cannot regulate its own body temperature and it is extremely sensitive to cold.  A newborn kitten that gets separated from the mother and its siblings can die quickly of hypothermia. 

Hearing develops at about day 4, but the ear canals are not open completely until the end of the 2nd week. 

3 weeks old

At 2 1/2 weeks the kitten begins to crawl and starts to stand. 

At 3 weeks the kitten is steadier on his feet.  His sense of smell is mature.  His sight is still poor but he can interpret visual information sufficiently in order to locate his mother.  Milk teeth begin to develop.  He can eliminate without the aid of his mother. 

At 4 weeks the kitten's sight has improved enough so that he can negotiate obstacles, he will not be fully sighted until 2 months of age.

5 weeks old

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By 8 weeks, a kitten will have a full set of teeth and should be fully weaned.  Of course, he will still nurse if the mother will let him.  Socialization with humans and other animals is very important during this time period. 

From 9 to 12 weeks the kitten undergoes a very rapid growth period at may eat a lot. 

By 16 weeks, kittens lose their milk teeth and permanent teeth start coming in.  The Persian kitten may look gangly and their ear-set may look large in proportion to the rest of the body.  This is the "awkward teenager" stage. 

Persian cats can not be shown as adults in the Cat Fancier's Association until they reach 8 months of age.