Talking about cats vs. kittens, apart from their age differences, they also show significant differences in personality and behavior. Although, both are adored and loved by human beings for their companionship and sociability.
Many cat lovers adopt cats and kittens according to their suitability and preferences, but what makes them buy a kitten or a cat? Surely these felines possess some distinctive differences that make them favorite among people.
Let’s dive into the key differences between cats and kittens so that you can buy the right one that suits you.
Cats vs. Kittens
The age gap is the main difference between a kitten and a cat. A kitten is a baby, while a cat is a young or adult. Kittens need proper care and attention for growing into an adult, but adult cats only need attention to demand their needs. Cats are carnivores and nocturnal predators with sharp senses, including smelling and hearing.
Within the first few weeks of being born, kittens cannot open their eyes, nor can they balance their weight. Also, unlike cats, kittens cannot manage their temperature and defecate or urinate.
On the other hand, cats are already grown up and have passed all the developmental stages of a kitten, so they need less care and attention than kittens. They can settle and adjust to the environment faster, and they also don’t need a lot of fat in their diet.
Compared to kittens, cats can manage their temperature and urinate by themselves. Moreover, cats are ideally adopted for households more than kittens due to their trained and social capabilities.
What Is a Kitten?
A kitten is a baby cat that is in her developmental phases. They are cute, mesmerizing, and snuggly like a little furball. These little cubs need more attention than a cat. Moreover, from eating to littering, they need to be trained.
Regardless of all this, kittens are appealing as they are energetic and cute creatures. They never stop making blunders with their sharp tiny teeth and small soft claws. They will try little jumps to climb drapes or any available piece of furniture and will chew down your hands if they lose any of their toys. Due to this reason, kittens are often not recommended for families with babies and older people.
As kittens are more energetic than cats, they might irritate older people with their mischievousness. And babies don’t know how to gently treat kittens so they can hurt them. Kittens are friendly, they might easily get involved and interact with your family and friends, but still, they need to be trained in their growing stage.
Keep in mind that if you threaten them, they might respond to you with an attack. Besides that, they get along with other pets quickly because of their energy, activeness, and playful nature. Therefore, kittens’ parents need to watch their babies’ movements keenly.
What Is a Cat?
A cat is a grown-up feline creature that is cute and furry. Cats are obligate carnivores, nocturnal, and the second most popular house pet in US families. They are popular because of their companionship, loyalty, and ability to keep rodents and pests away from the house.
They have sharp senses and can gauge their parent’s mood swings quickly. Moreover, they are strong, quick, and have flexible bodies. There is hardly any place in your house that they cannot reach.
Cats can quickly settle down in any environment. You will also not need to provide a lot of toys to young cats because they are independent and can adopt different things that help get rid of boredom.
While talking about a cat’s diet, cat food already contains a balanced amount of fat, so there is no need for extra food for them because excessive food can lead to obesity once they reach the stop-growing stage.
Moreover, cats are amiable and can make adults and children their friends in no time. They can easily be trained because of their high intelligence and ability to handle high temperatures. It is not a big deal for cat owners to keep an adult cat alone.
Pet cats don’t even mind if you leave them alone at home because they sleep more often and always find ways to keep themselves entertained. Besides that, adult cats are usually trained, and they know when and how to do their business in a litter box and use scratching posts, so there is no harm in letting them go near furniture because they know their limits.
Major Differences Between Cats and Kittens
Nowadays, young cats are the most popular cats among pet owners as they are good companions and very friendly. However, cats and kittens have different needs and behaviors according to their age differences.
It sometimes becomes difficult for cat owners to choose their preferences between a cat and a kitten, despite the fact both creatures can be adopted without further requirement. Let’s see the key differences between a cat and a kitten.
Kittens are baby cats, while cats refer to adult, grown-up, or senior cats.
Kittens are highly energetic, playful, and active, but cats have low activeness.
Kittens go along with other animals, while cats have territorial behavior.
Due to the growing stage, kittens have less sense of smell and hearing, and in comparison, cats have all the sharp senses.
Kittens need more care and attention. On the other hand, cats don’t require much of both.
Kittens need a high-calorie and fat diet, while cats need a low-calorie diet.
Wrapping Up
Cats and kittens are both beautiful creatures and make great pets. Although they seem much the same, in actuality, they are different. From their age to characteristics, personality to activities, everything is a little different between them.
