Maine Coon Kitten Development – 1 Week to 5 Old year
The difference between keeping a kitten and a normal Maine Coon cat is huge. Maine coon kittens need a lot more attention and require more care.
You should know that Maine coon kittens develop and grow rapidly, so you need to make sure you know what to do. Not only that but once your kitten ages you need to buy different food, toys and maybe other accessories to fit their needs.
Maine Coon kittens need special care so they can grow up to be big and strong. Good health for any kitten is important if you want a healthy and good-looking older cat.
In this guide: Maine Coon Kitten Development, I’ll cover with you how to take care of your Maine coon kitten whilst it’s growing. Also the next step you can expect and what you can do to be prepared.
Growth and Development of Maine Coon Kittens
1st week of a Maine Coon Kitten
The first week and especially the first few days you want to be in the house. Your Maine coon newborn kittens need your full attention.
A baby Maine coon is very fragile and that’s why it needs to feel safe. Don’t leave it alone for more than a couple of hours because you don’t know what could happen.
- The average Maine coon kitten will weight around 190-260 grams in week 1.
- Your kitten will be around 10 centimeters or 4 inches at this stage.
- Maine coon kittens in week 1 should just fit in your hand.
You’ll notice that their eyes are completely or slightly closed. The ear canals of your kitten are closed which means that they can’t hear or see anything yet.
What and when should you feed your newborn Maine coon cat?
Every 2-3 hours and preferably the mother’s milk or specialized kitten formula if you bought an orphaned kitten.
In the last case, you will have to feed it by hand. Make sure to use the correct formula for your Maine coon kitten and not that of adult cats because it will make them sick.
Lay the kitten on its stomach and tilt the bottle up to feed it and afterward burp.
Once your cat starts opening its eyes and ears a bit, you can carefully start handling it. This will create a bond and encourage your kitten to be social later on.
No, you can’t play with your kitten yet, but you can still show affection and care.
At one week, your kitten(s) still might feel cold from time to time so make sure they have blankets or something to cover up. You can put a warm bottle in the nest so your kitten can huddle around it.
Make sure to keep enough space between the kittens and the bottle so they don’t get too hot next to it.
2 Week Old Maine Coon Kitten
- Around this time, your kitten should weight around 250-400 grams. It has grown a bit but nowhere near being an adult yet.
- Your kitten will be double the size so around 20-25 centimeters or 7.8 to 9.8 inches long.
- It’ll be harder to fit your Maine Coon kitten in just one hand, but it’s still very small.
What to do if your kitten hasn’t grown yet? Contact the veterinarian, because there might be something wrong and the vet can tell you more about it.
Your kitten’s eyes are probably starting to open but their vision is still blurry. They don’t see a whole lot, but they can smell and hear a bit better than before.
Do you have more than one kitten? Then they’re probably cuddling and being close with each other and their mother. If you have an orphaned kitten than your kitten will need undivided attention to make sure it feels safe and comfortable.
At this stage, your kitten is getting more aware of its environment and trying to take its first steps. Most of the time you’ll find your kitten sleeping so it’s still growing a lot.
They will start to try and knead with their paws, but they can’t retract their claws yet.
Every 4-6 hours you should feed your kitten. If you’re not sure about this, you can always check with your veterinarian.
Your kitten will still be growing and sleeping a lot so you won’t be able to play a lot. However, do stay home with your kitten to take care of it and give it affection.
You can start by slowly picking it up and softly touching it with your fingertips.
3rd Week of a Maine Coon Cat
At week 3 your Maine Coon cat should weigh around 425-560 grams or about 0,85 – 1 pound. In week 3, you will notice that your kitten’s eyes have maybe changed colors. Don’t worry about this, it’s very normal for this to happen.
At the end of this week, your Maine coon kitten’s ears will be straight up and not folded anymore. With this, your kitten might want to start playing and socializing.
You can play with your kitten with toys or simple games, just to get him or her moving. The latter is important because at this time you can determine the gender of your Maine coon cat. The perfect time to start thinking about names.
At this point, they still can’t control their temperature and your kittens mustn’t feel cold. Also, you should keep feeding your Maine coon kitten regularly every 5-6 hours.
This will differ from kitten to kitten and how big it is and developed, you can contact your veterinarian if you’re not sure.
Hold on to 5 hours if 6 is too much for your kitten and you need to feed it more often.
4 Week Old Maine Coon Kitten Development
In the first month, or 4 weeks your Maine coon kitten will weigh around 480grams+ or 1 pound or more. If you think your kitten isn’t growing then you might contact a professional as earlier mentioned.
At this point, your kitten will socialize more and as a baby looks around the room. Make sure, you’ve removed any dangerous items that the kitten might encounter.
What should you feed a 1-month-old Maine Coon kitten?
Try and mix your milk formula for your kitten with wet kitten food. You want to slowly use less and less formula and let the kitten eat more and more wet food.
With this food, you also make sure that your kitten keeps hydrating. You need a water bowl so your cat can always get some water when it wants.
So feed your kitten at least 3 times a day and make sure they’re hydrated.
With all this feeding, socializing and playing with your kitten is still very important.
Last but not least, you should start introducing the litter box and using toys to make sure your kitten leaves its business there.
Your kitten is growing up and is not the helpless little kitten it was in week 1 so make sure to learn it a few things that are mentioned above.
If anything, you can buy some toys to make sure your kitten(s) have enough playtime. You can also set 1-2 hours a day dedicated to playing with the kitten.
2 Month Old Maine Coon
- Your Maine Coon kitten should weigh on average around 2.9 pounds or 1.36kg at 8 weeks or the second month.
- At this point, your kitten is almost double the size of the last month, if not contact a professional to make sure everything is okay.
- If your kitten is growing, and around these numbers then that’s good. These are just averages and your kitten(s)’s weight could be lower or higher.
When should you bring your kitten to the veterinarian? At 8 weeks, it should be a great time to check what vaccinations your Maine Coon kitten will need to go outside.
Also, make sure you’re grooming your cat at this point. You can use a fine brush to brush your Maine coon kitten now and then. This will keep your kitten clean and looking fresh.
Start bathing your kitten very gently so it gets in a habit for taking a bath and in the future, it’ll be a lot easier. Don’t forget the paws, and clip those nails and take care of them so you can introduce your kitten regularly to this grooming ritual.
Now you can also choose whether you want to castrate your kitten or not because at this age you can do that. However, carefully outweigh this decision and you might want to ask for advice.
What should a 2 month old Maine coon kitten eat?
You need to feed it a mixture of wet kitten food and some dry kitten biscuits. Also, make sure your kitten stays hydrated by providing it with a water bowl.
If your kitten isn’t drinking from the water bowl, it might think it’s not interesting enough. You could purchase a water fountain because kittens and cats love moving parts and water. This way it will be more likely to drink more water.
Feed the kitten at least 2-3 times a day and either separate the dry and wet food or keep it together. Slowly try to remove the dry foods from the wet food so it strengthens its teeth.
What about playing with a 2-month-old kitten? Your kitten will be very active and fun probably, you can play with your kitten using toys or just a pluche ball for example.
3 month Old Maine Coon
Your Maine Coon kitten will weigh around 2 pounds for a female and 7-8 pounds for a male. This comes to 0.9kg for females and 3-3.6 kg for males.
There is a big weight and size difference between females and males in Maine Coon kittens so you should be aware of this when weighing your kitten.
This also means you should make sure your kitten is not overweight and on a healthy weight. If you stand over your kitten and it looks like a round ball, then it’s probably a little too heavy.
When your kitten is too heavy, it can have some detrimental health consequences because it will put stress on the internal organs and joints.
Between 3 and 7 months your kitten will gain around 1 pound per month or 0,45kg. This will be spread over these months and one month your kitten will gain 0,5 pounds or 2,5 pounds for example. In the end, it averages out.
4 month Old Maine Coon kitten
How much will your Maine Coon kitten weigh at 4 months? Probably around 2.9 -3.8 kg for males (6.3 -8.4 lbs) or 2.3 – 3.5 kg (5.5-7.7) for females.
You should keep feeding your kitten 3-4 times a day so it keeps growing. But don’t overfeed it, as it could get overweight so check it’s weight regularly.
At 4 months old your kitten is very active and is already jumping around and doing all kinds of stuff to have fun.
Keep using toys to play with your kitten so it has enough excitement in the day and doesn’t get bored or fat.
4 Month-year-old Maine Coon kittens may look like small cats because they’re so big. You might notice your Maine Coon kitten getting more fluffy because their coat is evolving you should keep grooming it regularly.
You can use a shedder to remove any loose hairs of your kitten to keep it neat.
5 month Old Maine Coon kitten
How much should a 5-month-old Maine Coon kitten weigh? Your kitten should weigh anywhere between 3.3- 3.5kg or (7.2 – 12 lbs) depending on gender.
Females will be lighter than males and you can look up the weights for individual gender differences.
Your kitten could’ve gained relatively a lot of weight compared to last month or maybe not. It depends on when your kitten grows because one kitten will be heavier in the fifth month but not gains as much in the sixth month.
You want to keep feeding your kitten more and more dry food and also add wet food whenever you can. Kittens can also eat raw food.
Keep feeding your kitten 2-4 meals a day until it reaches 10 months, at which you will taper down to around 2 meals a day. This will prevent your kitten from getting overweight and unhealthy.
Buy a combination of wet and dry food. Keep those dry biscuits in a separate bowl so your Maine Coon kitten can snack those.
6 month Old Maine Coon kitten
At 6 months how should a Maine Coon kitten weigh? Anywhere between 3.4 and 6 kilograms or 7.5 – 13.2 lbs for a Maine Coon kitten will be a good weight.
As mentioned earlier, the weight difference is in gender and a male is heavier than a female most of the time.
Your kitten will have become a lot fluffier and looks a lot more like a grown cat, even though it isn’t yet. Keep in mind that a Maine Coon kitten doesn’t hit maturity until 4 or 5 years so it’s going to take some time.
Mentally, your Maine Coon is still a kitten but from the outside, it looks like a bigger cat. At this point, the tail is also a lot fluffier and has some size on it.
How often should I feed my 6-month-old Maine Coon kitten?
Well, just keep feeding it 2-4 meals a day should be fine. Just make sure your kitten doesn’t get overweight and enough water.
When will Maine Coon kittens reach sexual maturity?
Between 6 – 8 months, you’ll notice your Maine Coon move around more and meowing because it’s looking for a partner.
Even, if your kitten is an indoor cat, it will display these characteristics.
When a Maine Coon reaches sexual maturity, or whenever you neutered it, it will grow very rapidly afterward. Your kitten will become heavier and also longer.
This could be why your kitten hasn’t grown that much yet, so don’t worry about your cat’s weight or length because there are a lot of factors at play.
7 month old Maine Coon kitten
How much should a 7-month-old Maine Coon kitten weigh? At 7 months your Maine Coon kitten should weigh around 4.0 – 6.5 kg or 9.0 to 14.3lbs. The weight may be a lot less for a female kitten so keep that in mind.
Your female kitten maybe only gets to 7 lbs when it’s fully mature so don’t panic when it doesn’t reach these high weights. Males are most likely going to be a lot heavier than their female counterparts.
If you have any doubts about your kitten’s weight, contact your veterinarian.
At this point, you will feed your kitten 2-4 meals a day and you will slowly diminish the number of meals. Because, when your kitten’s 10 months you want your kitten to eat 2 meals maximum. This keeps the weight of your kitten in check.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is that at 7 months, try and play with your kitten. It might be more distant because it’s acting like a ‘’teenager’’ and maybe not be willing to hug and play.
Your kitten, at this time, wants to find it’s space and feel more mature. However, you can play with a few toys, so your kittens stay in a healthy weight.
8 month old Maine Coon kitten
An 8-month-old Maine Coon kitten should weigh between 4.4 – 6.9 Kg or 9.7 – 15.2 lbs. It’s still not full-grown and it will take some time before it matures.
At 8 months old your Maine Coon kitten will look more like a cat than a kitten and the tail will be fluffier. The ears are already very pointy and it will have enough fur and a big coat.
Currently, your 8-month-old kitten should eat a mix of dry and wet foods. It should have no problem eating dry foods because the teeth have grown a lot since month 3.
Make sure you don’t overfeed your kitten because weight issues could be very problematic for your Maine Coon.
Your kitten will still look very young even though it’s pretty big for a kitten. Keep in mind that Maine Coon kittens tend to get bigger than normal kittens and also have a longer time before they mature.
9 Month Old Maine Coon kitten
How much should a Maine Coon kitten weight at 9 months old? Somewhere between 4kg to 5.5 kg or 9 and 12 pounds for females. Females will weigh less than males.
Your male 9-month-old Maine Coon kitten should weigh around 5.8kg to 7.3kg or 13 and 18 pounds.
At 9 months old your Maine Coon will start filling out more its coat, tail and ears. Now it will look fluffier than ever but remember, it’s still not fully matured. It will mature around age 4 or 5.
How often should you feed your Maine Coon kitten?
Anywhere from 2-4 meals a day but leaning more to 2-3 meals because they won’t be growing as much anymore.
At 10 months old you want to feed your Maine Coon no more than 2 meals a day, if possible to limit the risk of it becoming overweight. Maine Coons are supposed to be big kittens and cats in general but a healthy weight is very important.
Feed your kitten a mix of raw, dry and wet food with the right nutrients for a 9-month-old Maine Coon kitten. They won’t be needing the same food as 3 months ago or another cat breed at 9 months old. Make sure you buy the right kind of food for your kitten.
10 Month Old Maine Coon kitten
How much should your 10-month-old Maine Coon kitten weigh? Anywhere between 5.0 – 7.8kg or 11 – 17 lbs is a healthy range for a Maine Coon kitten at the age of 10 months.
Males, at 10 months old will look very big and you need to check if he’s not overweight. Make sure to have regular check-ups at veterinarians that specialize or know a lot about Maine Coons because they’re a different breed than normal kittens.
How often should you feed your 10-month-old Maine Coon kitten?
2 Meals a day is the rule for a 10-month-old Maine Coon because it’s starting to mature. Your kitten will grow still, but not as much as in the earlier months.
At 10 months old your Maine Coon cat’s tail will become fluffier and the ears will start pointing out more.
11 Month Old Maine Coon kitten
Your Maine Coon kitten is almost a year old. It already looks like a real mature cat but still isn’t. How much should an 11 month Maine Coon weigh? Your Maine Coon kitten should weigh around 5.5kg – 8kg or 12lbs – 17.6 lbs for males.
Your female Maine Coon kitten should weigh around 4.3kg – 6kg or 9.4lbs – 13.2 lbs at 11 months.
At 11 months your Maine Coon kitten will be around 11 inches or 30 centimeters depending on the gender. Anywhere between 10-16 inches will be a normal range for any Maine Coon cat or kitten.
11 Month old Maine Coon cats are very active and take some naps now and then. Females will be almost grown and won’t grow very much after the first year. Males can still put some weight and grow further and get very big.
The latter could be a concern, and that’s why you should monitor your cat’s weight with a weight chart that you can keep in an Excel file.
1 year old maine coon
How much should a Maine Coon kitten weigh at 1 year old?
Between 5.8kg – 9kg or 12.7lbs – 19.8lbs for males, but this can vary widely.
For females it will be between 4.5kg – 6.5kg or 9.9lbs – 14.3lbs because most of the time females will weigh a lot less than their male counterparts.
At this point, your kitten has grown to a pretty big ‘’kitten’’ so to say. Maine Coon kittens don’t fully mature until 4-5 years so it still feels like a kitten mentally.
After year one you shouldn’t feed your kitten more than 2 meals a day and make sure it exercises enough. Use toys to play with your Maine Coon and make sure it doesn’t get overweight.
The upcoming months are very stable and there won’t be drastic changes from year 1 to the months between years 1 and 2.
Maine Coons are big-boned so your kitten will look bigger than other cat breeds. You shouldn’t confuse this with being overweight.
2 Year Old Maine Coon cat
A 2-year-old Maine Coon cat will weigh between 6kg – 10kg or 13.lbs – 22lbs for males.
A 2-year-old female Maine Coon kitten will weigh around 4.5kg – 7.3kg or 14.3lbs – 16 lbs.
The differences between male and female weight in Maine Coon cats will only get bigger by age. Males keep growing and get pretty heavy. Females tend to weigh less and be somewhat smaller.
Female Maine Coon kittens are still bigger than most cats.
How often should you feed a 2-year-old Maine Coon cat?
Just keep feeding it 2 meals a day, as from 11 months there won’t be a lot of changes regarding feeding schedules.
Keep weighing your Maine Coon cat regularly and weigh it with the same scale for consistent and accurate results.
You can buy a scratch pole and toys to make your house perfect for your Maine Coon cat. Also, it’s important to keep a regular grooming schedule for the cat’s coat and nails. This will make sure your Maine Coon looks its best.
If you’ve neutered your Maine Coon than you’ve noticed it grow rapidly after that. Maine Coon cats tend to look for partners around 6 – 8 months which makes them very active.
3 Year Old Maine Coon cat
How much should a 3-year-old Maine Coon cat weigh? At 3 years old your Maine Coon cat will weigh around 6.8kg – 10kg for males.
3 Year old female Maine Coon kittens will weigh between 4.5kg – 7.5kg or 9.9lbs – 16.5lbs. As you can see, females don’t have a big weight difference from year 1 to 3. However, males can very much be bigger than they were 1 or 2 years ago.
What about feeding a 3-year-old Maine Coon? You can keep feeding it 2 meals a day as long as you keep weighing your cat now and then maybe every day.
You can keep a weight chart so you can see how much your Maine Coon is growing.
5 Year Old Maine Coon cat
How much does a 5-year-old Maine Coon cat weigh? A Maine Coon cat will weigh around 6.8kg – 11.3kg when it’s a male or 15lbs – 25 lbs.
A female Maine Coon will weigh between 4.8kg – 9.1kg or 10.6lbs – 20 pounds.
At year 5 your Maine Coon will be matured and it won’t grow any further.
5 Year old Maine Coon cats will be anywhere from 15-40 inches long. This will vary from gender and breed mixtures.
A mature Maine Coon won’t as much attention compared to a kitten. You can have a lot of fun with your mature cat and it probably has a lot of energy for a cat at that age.
Maine Coons are very big and fluffy so they’re great to hold in your hands. However, they do require a good grooming routine so you will need some items for that.
For mature Maine Coon cats, you want to have big cat houses or space where they can sit and play. This cat breed is a lot bigger and won’t fit in most normal cat houses or cat trees.
You could buy some extra items like a scratch pole for your Maine Coon to scratch so it doesn’t scratch any of your furniture.
What is the average lifespan of Maine Coon cat?
Maine Coon cats have a relatively long lifespan and live 10 to 13 years. Your cat will be at the half-point of its life when 5 years old.
You can buy extra toys to play with your Maine Coon and have the most fun with it. Maine Coons will still be very active at this age, even though they’re bigger than most cats.
Now you can follow your Maine coon kitten development during its growth stages so that your cat enjoys a good health throughout its life and will not encounter any problems during its development stages. Especially the problems related to overweight
