when should you handle newborn kittens?

Question

my cat has recently had kittens and they are now 3 days old, i want to hold them so they get used to human contact but am afraid that she'll disown them if they smell like me.

Answer 1

I was unsure of the answer so I went and looked it up for you. I found this:

Dear Simba,
My cat is due to give birth in 3-4 weeks. How long after the birth should I to wait before I can handle the kittens? I've been told that it varies between 1 to 3 weeks! Can you help? Sam

Dear Sam,
The age at which you should handle kittens varies with the condition of the kittens and the mother. Ideally, kittens are cared for by their mother. When momma cat is taking care of things you should not handle the kittens until they are at least 2 weeks old and then only under the mother cat's supervision. If the kittens are orphaned, you are now the mother and you need to care for them and feed them.

As to how to handle the kittens, hold them gently for only a 10-15 minutes at a time, and do so in the company of the mother since her presence reassures the kittens and the mother cat too (see Mother's Behavior for more). Remember that human children or houseold pets should not be left alone with small kittens.

The first 4-8 weeks of a kitten's life are very important. Handling and petting the kittens will make them more sociable creatures. At this age, be sure to leave them plenty of toys for them to play with (rolled tin foil and wads of paper work great). Avoid using your hands, fingers, feet or clothing when you play with them as this only encourages attack games which then leads to aggressive behavior. Keep me posted. Simba

Other Info. about holding a kitten:
How to Properly Take Care of New Kittens




Newborn Kitten Care


Interact with kittens as soon as possible. Studies show that a
litter of kittens born in a location inaccessible to humans will, as
early as two to three weeks, hiss at humans. A litter of kittens from
the same mother, if handled daily, will not react fearfully. Some
research suggests that handling kittens each day during the
first month of their lives may improve their learning ability.


Handling kittens requires general common sense. Just as with human babies,
you should be very careful when holding your little kitten.

You may cause serious harm to your kitten through incorrect handling, so
always pay close attention to how you hold your young cat.


Kittens tend to react more readily to humans when the mother cat is present.

The belief is that she does not send alarming signals to her kittens and her
presence reassures them.

The February 1993 Animal Health Newsletter published by the
Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine reports a study
indicating that handling kittens very early in life accelerates their
development. Siamese kittens handled 20 minutes each day during their
first 30 days of life opened their eyes earlier and emerged from
their nesting box earlier than littermates not handled that way.

However, although you may be tempted to constantly handle your kitten,
do not pick it up too often since this may cause undue stress to both
the mother and kitten. Handling kittens helps in their socialization
to humans, but over handling should be avoided.
Even though a mother cat is able to pick a kitten up by the scruff
of its neck, you should avoid this yourself to keep from harming
the kitten. To safely pick up a kitten place one hand around the
kitten's stomach and the other hand under its hind legs. Support
the kitten's head and neck to prevent injury.

Remember that kittens are not toys and should not be handled roughly.

Though they love to play, kittens have fragile, developing bodies.

Make sure that children in your house know how to correctly hold the
kitten and are supervised in their play with it. Most kittens prefer
not to be carried around the house by their young owners.


Recognize the importance of play as it helps introduce
young kittens to their environment. During this critical play period
when kittens are four to eight weeks of age, socialization to humans
is extremely important. Frequent handling and petting of the young kitten
can make it more responsive to his owner when he becomes an adult cat.

Introducing a young kitten to many people is important in socializing
kittens to humans. This seems to lessen their fear of strangers as
adult cats.

Kittens should also be introduced to children and children should
be shown how to pet them. A kitten not socialized with children may
reject them after it has matured.

If you would like more information about new born kittens and what to do with them go to the sites I have listed below. They are very useful and helpful.
Good luck and have a good day!

Answer 2

When I was younger, I found a cat in labor. She was no more than a year or so old the vet said. The first night she let us handle them. She was also a friendly cat though. Depending on your cat's friendliness depends on when you should hold them. If she does not mind you being around the kittens, go for it. If she is a little uneasy when you're around them, wait a while. Also you could wear plastic gloves or something to help the smell problem. I don't think she will disown them though. Good luck!

Answer 3

Stroke mother cat while she is with them. If she doesn't put up any resistence, you can then try gently stroking one of the kittens while mother cat is still with them. If mother cat is happy with this, make a point of repeating the process on a regular basis for a couple of days, then take it one step further- gently pick up a kitten while mummy cat is there. If she threatens you, leave them alone. Try a few more days of stroking mummy and the kittens before having another go at picking one up. When you do pick them up they will immedietly mewl at you and mummy cat will get edgy, so don't handle them for more than a few seconds at a time to begin with and make sure she sees you putting them back. If she doesn't like you touching her kittens at all, just make do with stroking her, prefereble when she is with the babies, eventually she will let you stroke them, but don't rush her. When she does let you handle her babies, don't handle them more than once a day, and not for too long or mother might get a bit miffed at you. As they get older you will be able to handle them more often (usually around two weeks when the mischief really starts!)

Answer 4

I have raised many cats, and I usually start handling them a few days (3-5) after birth, except for a quick health check just after birth. It's important to start handling them immediately so as to accustom them to the presence of humans.

Answer 5

i have always waited a couple of days i have never waited weeks to start to hold them. the sooner the better just stay there so the mom knows what is going on and that she can see you and the kitten. the longer you wait the more wild they will get and they will bite you too. and then you will not be able to catch them. so start doing this now.

Answer 6

I would not pick them up until their eyes begin to open. You can begin socializing them before that by gently stroking the kittens. Usually a mother cat will not get upset about you touching the kittens as long as you are not picking them up. you can also try petting the mother at this time, as that will reasure her as to your intentions.

Answer 7

Let the new mother be your guide.

My Priscilla had twins in February, and she let me touch them almost immediately. Of course she would grab each one, one at a time and bring them to whatever room I was in, soooo, I had to pick them up to bring them back to their "nest".

I also helped to guide them to her nipples (I probably didn't need to but as an anxious Grandma, I was concerned those helpless lil boys wouldn't find them! lol @ me). She also let Elvis (the daddy) groom them.

The twins were truly part of the family immediately.

I think this is unusual tho, and you need to be guided by the Mom's moods. Sit by her and the kittens and stroke them gently and see how she reacts.

Good luck . . .aren't new born kittens amazing? So teeny . . .

Answer 8

Wait at least one week, and only touch them if their mom allows the contact.

Make sure your hands are absolutely clean before you handle them. And don't let neighbors or anyone else outside of your family come near them until they're at least 5-6 weeks old.

Answer 9

you can hold them now as long as you stay by the mother and let her know that there ok.as you hold the kitten also pet the mother give her love and lots.cats are not like mics if you hold a mouse baby when it's born the mother will kill it but cats and dogs even rats are different.so go ahead pet your pets.

Answer 10

Leave them for about ten days just to be safe the last thing you want is mum neglecting them through human contact