In the beginning, innate behavior predominates: kittens are born blind and deaf. Right from the start, however, they react very sensitively to touches such as cleaning their mother. When a kitten is separated from the litter or hungry, it emits a special call that the mother can distinguish from that of unfamiliar kittens.
The little ones’ sense of smell is already well developed at birth, because every young cat recognizes its own teat from its mother’s specific smell. This natural regulation enables peace in feeding, because the behavior to defend one’s own claims is already very pronounced in newborn cats. The sense of touch is already functioning at birth, while the eye and ear canals are closed for the time being. After about ten days, the eyes and ear canal open.
At the age of five weeks, the cat’s extraordinarily good senses (senses of smell, hearing, taste, sight and touch), which determine its future (survival) life, are fully developed.
For healthy and social development, the newborn cats must have contact with their mother and siblings for at least eight weeks. The litter represents a close social structure until they are weaned. With an adequate supply of food, a family group can also live together without any problems.
The socialization of the kitten takes place from the second to the seventh (sometimes up to the tenth) week of life. During this time the young animal should have many experiences. These experiences are also extremely important for healthy brain development. If, on the other hand, the cat hardly gets to know anything, it will not be able to process many stimuli later on either and will therefore not be able to cope with its environment as well throughout its life.