The first weeks: senses and wobbling movement
A newborn kitten starts life with eyes and ears closed, finding warmth and milk by smell and touch. Over the opening weeks the eyes open, the ears unfold, and crawling turns into unsteady standing and a few tottering steps. Note when you first see each change, but do not worry if a littermate is a day or two ahead; what matters is steady forward progress rather than a race. Keep handling brief and gentle in this stage, support the whole body, and let sleep dominate, because very young kittens tire quickly and chill easily when they are away from the nest for long.
Weeks of first teeth, first steps and first play
As the first month gives way to the next, walking becomes purposeful, baby teeth begin to appear, and kittens start batting at each other and at dangling objects. This is when many kittens show interest in a low-sided litter tray placed close by and begin lapping at soft food offered alongside milk. Record first successful tray uses, the move from lapping to chewing, and how play changes from swatting to chasing and pouncing. Short notes beat long essays here: a date, the new skill, and one line about appetite or energy gives a veterinarian a far clearer picture than a general impression that things seem fine.
The confident stage before three months
By the later part of the first three months, most kittens are climbing, grooming themselves and each other, sleeping in longer stretches between active bursts, and eating solid food as their main diet. Social learning is rapid now: kittens rehearse boundaries with littermates, learn that biting too hard ends play, and begin to show individual temperaments, with one kitten always first to investigate and another preferring to watch. Note behaviour changes as carefully as physical ones, including how your kitten responds to new people, household sounds and being handled, because a sudden retreat from normal activity is as meaningful as a missed physical milestone.
Weigh, photograph and question the gaps
A weekly weigh-in, taken at the same time of day, turns vague impressions about growth into a simple rising line. Photograph things words handle badly, such as how the coat is coming in, how the kitten stands, or a wobbly gait you want to ask about. If a whole week passes with no gain, if eyes have not opened when littermates' eyes are wide, or if a kitten who was progressing seems to slip backwards in strength or appetite, book a veterinary check and bring your dated notes rather than waiting for the next routine visit to raise it.
One record that grows with the kitten
A week-by-week record is most useful when it lives in one place instead of scattered across phone photos, scraps of paper and memory. Keep the weigh-ins, milestone dates and your questions for the veterinarian together, and review the last few entries before each early appointment so nothing small gets forgotten in the room. KinsLe Pet Passport keeps those development notes alongside the rest of your kitten's records in one packet, so the story of her first three months travels with her to every visit, handoff and trip.