Your kitten – what to expect from 8 weeks to 8 months of age

21st June 2018

Between the ages of 8 weeks and 8 months a kitten will need specific care at certain times. We’ve outlined what you can expect.

8-9 weeks old

Kittens are often rehomed when they are eight weeks old. At this age they are fully weaned. It’s a good idea to introduce them to different food textures and flavours so that they are not too picky when they are older. Avoid a rapid change in diet though as this could cause an upset stomach. New food should be introduced over the course of about a week.

Kittens will usually get their first vaccination when they are 8-9 weeks old, and boosters are then every 3-4 weeks until the kitten is older than 16 weeks.

They should have already had some deworming treatment and at eight weeks old they will be dewormed again.

10-12 weeks old

Your kitten should be dewormed at this age. Now is a good time to start considering pet insurance for your kitten so that they are covered in case of accident or injury.

16 weeks old

Your kitten’s course of vaccinations and boosters will now be complete. After 16 weeks of age, any boosters will happen annually. 16 weeks is a great time to consider getting your kitten microchipped.

4-6 months old

Your kitten should be neutered when they are 4-6 months old. Once they have been neutered you can give them unsupervised access to the outdoors. Up to that point, you should accompany them into the garden when you let them outside and start training them to use a cat flap so that when the time comes they can let themselves out whenever they want to.

By six months of age the kitten will have its permanent canines with teething being complete by eight months of age.