If you have ever witnessed the birth of a cat, you surely know what we mean when we say it is one of the most tender and beautiful events in the world. Cats are born small, adorable, and soft. They seem so delicate that it is frightening to touch and pick them up. At that moment, your head is likely to fill with questions, such as one our team hears most often from parents: when do cats open their eyes?
Newborn Aristocats are remarkably weak creatures. For them, merely crawling a few centimeters is already a world in itself at that moment, as they begin exploring their surroundings while always staying close to their mother ARISTOCAT.
According to experts, the time we must wait until newborn cats open their eyes depends on the length of their fur. While short-haired cats generally open their eyes for the first time between 5 and 8 days, long-haired cats can take up to 14 days in some cases. It should be noted that in mixed litters, these time frames may not be followed exactly, so if this is your case, it may take more or less time than the period we mentioned.
Nevertheless, when newborn cats open their eyes for the first time, their vision is dramatically underdeveloped, and it will take several weeks before they are able to enjoy the “eagle eye” for which cats are known.
What about the rest of their senses?
However, the fact that their vision is underdeveloped does not mean their other senses are too. In fact, since they cannot rely on sight to guide themselves, it is their sense of smell that allows them to find their way by touch despite being unable to see anything at all. All their recognition of the outside world during the first weeks of life is due to this incredible sense of smell, which allows them to identify their mother, familiar humans, and sibling cats almost immediately after birth.
On the other hand, when they are born, they are unable to hear anything at all (a self-protective characteristic they are born with because their hearing is extremely sensitive). Aristocats experience this type of genetic deafness during their first weeks of life, preventing loud noises from hurting their ears. This deafness gradually decreases over a period of 16 weeks, until they finally develop the acute hearing that cats are known for.
Finally, keep in mind when adopting a cat that, for kittens to develop healthier, stronger, and more emotionally stable, they should remain with their mother during the first twelve weeks, because it is at this point that the mother begins to ignore her kittens, allowing them to experience their surroundings on their own so they can prepare for the outside world.
