AVOIDING The Kitten Fear Period

Young kittens seem fearless.4 As soon as those eyes open and they can get their legs under them, they are off to see the world if their mama and humans let them.

- Lucy Drury

Nothing seems to faze them. Flashing cameras, loud noises, new people – none of it seems to matter to them. Mama cat might not be thrilled, but the kittens don’t seem to care. A few weeks later, those same kittens may cower in fear of someone just walking towards them or a new sound or smell. Why?

Well…

A four-month-old kitten goes to its first show. This little one doesn’t seem to notice the crowds and happily plays with the judge’s toy. Two months later, that same six-month-old kitten shrinks in fear and tucks itself into a ball on the judge’s table, unwilling to even look at the judge. What’s up with this? There were no negative instances that you noticed at the last show – this behavior just seemed to come out of the blue.

What you may be experiencing is loosely referred to as the “fear period.” It follows a period of rapid brain development in the kitten that begins at about two weeks of age, begins to taper off at about seven weeks, and is finished at around 14 weeks. By 14 weeks, the kitten’s brain has nearly reached adulthood, unlike its body. If a kitten is not properly socialized prior to reaching the age of 14 weeks, its new owner may find it much more difficult to integrate their new furball into their home.

Avoiding the Fear Period

Early socialization is key to avoiding this fear period. A kitten’s socialization period, also known as the sensitive period, begins at two weeks of age and ends between seven and ten weeks. It begins with self-play and batting objects, with social play beginning at around three weeks. Social play continues to increase until about the age of 12 weeks, then begins to wane in favor of object play. Object play dominates until about the age of four months, then it too begins to wane.