2 October 2026 · 2 min read
Nube's first year: a kitten's life, month by month
Meet Nube. She is a white Turkish Van kitten with an auburn cap, a ringed auburn tail and, eventually, one blue eye and one amber one. She is also completely made up: we drew her so we could show you a kitten's first year in about a minute and a half.
Each age in the film gets its own art style, from cave painting to stained glass. The style is the joke. The facts underneath are real.
Ages are typical ranges. Every kitten is different, so ask your vet about yours.
About 1 month: the first hunt
Around four weeks, kittens start weaning onto solid food and learn to use the litter tray. They also start "hunting" anything that moves, and plenty of things that don't. In Nube's case, a sock.
6 weeks: sleeping it off
Young kittens sleep most of the day, and that is when a lot of the growing happens. If your kitten is asleep on the towel you need, the towel is no longer yours.
8 weeks: new eyes, first vet visit
All kittens are born with blue eyes, and their adult eye colour develops over the following weeks. Nube's left eye stays blue and her right one turns amber. Around eight weeks is also the usual time for the first vet check, deworming and first vaccines.
3 months: 3 a.m. zoomies
Sudden sprints at night are normal. Play is hunting practice, so a good play session before bed tires them out (and protects your ankles).
4 months: the case of the chewed charger
Between about three and six months, baby teeth fall out and adult teeth come in. Kittens chew everything they can reach, so offer chew toys and hide the cables.
5–6 months: maintenance
This is the age for the microchip and booster vaccines, and vets often advise spaying or neutering around five to six months.
7 months: a word about Turkish Vans
The Turkish Van pattern is mostly white, with colour on the head and the tail. The breed is also known for something unusual: unlike most cats, Turkish Vans tend to enjoy water. Hence the bathtub wave.
9 months: everything high is hers
Cats love height. Shelves and cat trees give a teenage cat somewhere legal to climb, which is good news for your curtains.
1 year: grown up (mostly)
A one-year-old cat is roughly equivalent to a 15-year-old human. Nube is fully grown and fully in charge, and still a bit of a kitten. Our guide to cat age in human years goes further.
The short version
For phones, and for anyone who wants the 35-second edit:
What a kitten's first year costs us
Every kitten that comes through Mumcat gets the same first year Nube did, minus the stained glass. Spaying or neutering costs us €80–120, a microchip €40, and vaccines about €120 the first time. The full list is on our Help page.