When Do Kittens Stop Growing Uk
Although cats can reach adulthood at 12 months they are still not considered fully developed.
When do kittens stop growing uk. Castration helps to prevent unwanted sexual behaviours avoid unwanted litters and remove some potential health and safety risks too such as testicular cancer in later life or injuries that can be caused from roaming and fighting with other male cats. If you own a male cat or kitten that you do not intend to breed from it is important to have them castrated when they are old enough. It is widely agreed upon by most feline experts that kittens stop being kittens at around the 1 year mark. This answer varies in different cat breeds but it is normally between 10 to 15 days.
At around 12 to 14 months most cats stop growing. After the 1 year mark most cats continue to grow at a much slower rate until at least 18 months of age. The last growth spurt usually occurs when your kitten is between four and six months of age. Time to spay or neuter a kitten.
After month six your kitten will keep growing but it will be at a slower and slower rate. The first 2 months the initial 7 8 weeks are the most important in your kitten s life. Let s take a look at 5 of the largest breeds in the world. Saying a cat will stop growing somewhere between 6 months and 4 years is a very wide age range to be working with but you never know when it comes to your specific cat if he or she will fall into the average or the outliers category.
The major developmental milestones may have already passed by six months but that doesn t mean your kitten is done growing physically or mentally. Kittens quickly become cats during the last half of their first year of life and there are some notable changes that occur. In general a kitten is considered an adult cat when it reaches 1 year of age but your cat may not actually be fully grown at this point. From birth to 7 8 weeks we are not being over the top or dramatic when we say that the most important period of time in your cat s life is the first 7 to 8 weeks after they are born.
However some of the larger breeds only stop growing between 4 and 5 years. Again this is true of many cats but certainly not all. Let s take a closer look at each of the stages above. While the question itself is pretty straightforward the answer to when does a kitten stop growing isn t as simple.
Kittens typically reach a length and weight close to their full grown size by 9 to 12 months of age. Every moment that your cat is refusing to take food or water must be taken seriously. Most experts agree that the answer to when do cats stop being kittens is about one year. Let s break each phase down.
You cannot gamble with your cat s life. This doesn t necessarily mean that cats over a year old will stop growing altogether. Kittens grow rapidly until 6 months old. Between 6 months to 12 months is when kittens stop growing in size.