The discoveries of a first time kitten owner


We let Levi adopt a 2 month-old kitten from the Humane Society for his birthday. We’ve all fallen in love with him! But I have to say that I’ve made an amazing amount of discoveries about life with a kitten in that brief time. Technically, we’re not truly first time kitten owners. We have a 4 year-old cat. But she came to us as an older kitten. Plus, she was born and raised outdoors so we’ve always allowed her to come in or go out as she chooses. Unless it’s cold, she chooses out most of the time. So she wasn’t an accurate test run of the kitten raising process.

Here are just a few things I’ve learned in the three-and-a-half weeks we’ve had Sunny …

1. Kittens grow extremely rapidly! Sunny nearly doubled his weight - from 2.2 lbs. to 4.0 lbs. - in exactly three weeks.
2. Number 1 is probably due to the fact that a kitten can eat the equivalent of his own body weight in food on a daily basis.
3. Number 2 probably contributes to the fact that a kitten can poop the equivalent of his own body weight on a daily basis.
4. Kitten poop really stinks. I mean REALLY. Worse that grown-up cat poop. (I haven’t figured this one out, unless it’s the rich kitten food as opposed to grown-up cat food.)
5. Kittens have an amazing amount of energy and love to play.
6. A kitten’s favorite play time is 3 a.m.
7. Playing kittens love to use teeth and claws.
8. Kitten claws most closely resemble tiny needles. Kitten teeth most closely resemble slightly larger needles.
9. Kittens are not afraid of anything. Not big, fat 15 pound cats that growl and hiss when they come near. Not 15 pound dogs who think they might be a snack. Not scolding from their owners when they scratch furniture.
10. Kittens will eschew carpet-covered cat houses and specially purchased scratching posts in favor of scratching furniture.
11. Kittens will eschew specially purchased kitten toys in favor of the dog’s toys.
12. Kittens don’t have quite the balance that adult cats do.
13. Kittens, while playing on the back of the sofa, will occasionally fall off.
14. Kittens think they’re very sneaky. If they crouch down behind a peanut, they think you can’t see them.
15. Kittens are every bit as snoopy as cats. They just can’t get into/onto all the places cats can yet.
16. Kittens will occasionally puff up their tails to four times their original size and run sideways for no apparent reason.
17. A sideways-running kitten with a puffed-up tail is a fairly ridiculous looking thing.
18. Kittens will tolerate approximately 4.5 seconds of petting and loving before they decide those stroking fingers look like something fun to play with. (See number 7.)
19. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping kitten.
20. Sleeping kittens should be avoided at all costs. They are extremely light sleepers and, upon awakening, think it’s play time.


And all of this in just three-and-a-half weeks. Just think what all there is left for us to learn!