25 Kitten Facts for Kids + Free Printables

Kittens are one of the most adorable creatures on the planet. Well, at least I think so! They are small, soft, and playful, and they always seem to bring a smile to our faces. Whether you’re a cat lover or not, there’s no denying that kittens are pretty special animals. Here are 25 kitten facts for kids that will make you love kitty cats even more! BONUS – You can download and print the facts with a word search too at the bottom of the post.

Interesting Kitten Facts for Kids

A kitten’s eyes are closed at birth. The eyes need to develop fully before their eyelids can open. Newborn kittens can’t see for the first week of their life.

A kitten’s brain is about the size of your pinky finger. By the time a kitten becomes an adult cat, its brain will have grown to the size of a large walnut.

Did you know kittens aren’t born using the litter box? Young kittens learn to pee and poop on a litter box by watching their mother do it.

Kittens love to play! They spend up to 30% of their day playing. A popular toy among kittens is a laser pointer although kittens enjoy climbing and playing with cardboard boxes. If you leave a cardboard box out, chances are you will find your kitten in it a few minutes later.

A kitten’s heart beats at twice the rate of your heartbeat at about 240 beats per minute.

When a kitten is happy, it rubs its cheeks against people or objects. Pet cats may appear clingy sometimes, but their rubbing up against you is actually a way they show their love.

A young cat, or kitten, has around 24 whiskers, which help them sense things like air currents and movement.

All kittens are born with blue eyes, but their eye color will change as the kitten gets older. however, the size of a kitten’s eyes doesn’t ever change. That’s why kittens are born with such big eyes. This is true for humans too!

A kitten can jump up to seven times its own height. For example, a three-month-old kitten measuring around nine inches would be able to jump 63 inches. That’s over five feet!

Kittens have 26 teeth, which they lose when they are about six months of age. These teeth will grow back larger and sharper. Cats also grow four additional sharp teeth by the time they become adult cats.

Most kittens weigh between two and four ounces at birth. Their size and weight will triple after a few weeks of age.

A litter of kittens usually consists of three to five kittens.

A group of kittens is called a “clowder.”

A new kitten will nurse for four to six weeks, and then start to eat solid food at a young age.

Fun Cat Facts for Kids Too!

Domestic cats, also known as pet cats, are descendants of African wildcats.

Cats can see in both light and dark environments because they have powerful night vision. This is because kittens are born with a tapetum lucidum – a layer of cells that reflect light back to the retina, allowing them to see in low light levels.

A cat’s sense of smell is up to 14 times stronger than a human’s sense of smell.

Kittens have excellent hearing. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear that allow it to rotate its ears 180 degrees. This helps kittens pick up on different sounds, such as a predator approaching. Knowing when a predator is approaching is very important in order for a kitten to protect themselves, especially after they have left their mother.

Cats can travel at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. They could beat a slow-moving car.

The average lifespan of a domestic cat is around 13-17 years.

The largest domestic cat breed is the Maine Coon Cat. Currently, the largest Maine Coon Cat lives in Italy. His name is Barivel and he is almost four feet long! Be careful. He might just be taller than you!

Even More Interesting Kitten Facts for Kids!

Kittens usually stay with their mother cat until they are around eight or nine months old. At this point, they will either walk away and become wild cats or they may be adopted by a family and become pet cats.

Pet cats are some of the most popular pets with over 2 million cats being adopted each year! In the United States alone, there are over 86 million cats with at least 30 million cat-owned households. That’s a lot of pet cats!

Have you ever tried giving your kitten a bath? All I can say is good luck! Most cats hate bathing. They don’t like the water because their fur does not insulate them well against wetness. Thankfully, kittens are naturally clean animals. A cat’s tongue is surprisingly clean and kittens will often lick themselves to freshen up.

A female cat can produce up to three litters of kittens per year, with an average of four kittens per litter.

The first cat was domesticated in Egypt about 4000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians would depict cats in clay and on vases. These are some of the oldest evidence of cats we have today. Since then, there have been over 100 million domesticated cats with approximately 370 million pet cats in the world today!

Do You Have a Pet Kitten or Cat?

Do you have a pet cat? How about a pet kitten?

Kittens and cats are very similar yet very different animals.

A cat is just a grown-up kitten, but there are so many changes that occur in the first years of life that make these animals very different from each other.

Which facts fit the most with your cat or kitten? Maybe your kitten has big eyes, but they aren’t blue. Or maybe your pet kitten is still developing their sense of hearing or sense of sight.

Remember, cats can see in the dark. That’s so cool! There are so many other facts that make kittens cool. What fact about kittens do you think is the coolest?

HOW TO ACCESS THE FREE KITTEN WORD SEARCH PUZZLE, COLORING PAGE AND KITTEN FACTS FOR KIDS

1. Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter and other announcements from Growing Play at the bottom of this post. If you already subscribe, just enter your email and you will get access to the freebie too!

2. Download the fun, high-quality printable kitten facts for kids 3-page information sheets, coloring page, and the kitten word search puzzle.

3. Kids can read the facts and complete the word search puzzle!

WANT MORE FUN FACTS FOR KIDS?

Check 100 fun facts for kids here and browse all the other topics at the bottom of the post.

Try this simple origami cat face craft too!

Read all about cat facts for kids here.