It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
them as adults. Kittens are allowed to take all sorts of liberties
with adults that other adults are not.
I had a couple of incidents last night that point to one or more of
the seven month-old Walsungs being adult. The first was when Siegmund
tried to cuddle up to Spooky and was rejected ... strongly rejected
and actually driven off. The second occurred after I went to bed: one
of the kittens jumped onto the bed and landed more or less on top of
Millie - Millie went ballistic. After the brief fight, both jumped
down and Millie faced down the Walsung (by then I had found my
flashlight) who was cowering beside a basket.

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AZ Nomad - 19 Nov 2006 02:32 GMT
>It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
>think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
>them as adults. Kittens are allowed to take all sorts of liberties
>with adults that other adults are not.
It happens when the felines pass puberty and get a sex drive. Male cats
spraying, female cats going into heat and all that. And it happens by one year
of age.
Ted Davis - 19 Nov 2006 16:59 GMT
>>It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
>>think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>spraying, female cats going into heat and all that. And it happens by one year
>of age.
It can happen anytime after about 4-5 months ... unless they are
spayed/neutered as mine are - then it doesn't happen at all.
These 'kittens' are already well up into the adult size range (about 9
pounds or 4 kg), look like adults, and mostly act like adults - and
are being treated as adults by the other cats. I doubt if any human
or cat would, on first meeting, consider them to be kittens - they are
just too big and too well developed (even their faces look adult), as
well as acting too much like adults.

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Kreisleriana - 20 Nov 2006 19:23 GMT
>>>It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
>>>think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>just too big and too well developed (even their faces look adult), as
>well as acting too much like adults.
WEN IS A KITTN A CAT??? WEN HE STOPS TYPPIN IN ALL CAPS!!! SO NOT ME
YET!!! YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAA!!
LUV DANTE
Theresa
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Make Levees, Not War
Jo Firey - 19 Nov 2006 05:45 GMT
> It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
> think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> down and Millie faced down the Walsung (by then I had found my
> flashlight) who was cowering beside a basket.
Sounds to me more like they are being treated like teenagers.
Jo
Lois - 19 Nov 2006 08:39 GMT
> It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
> think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
> them as adults. Kittens are allowed to take all sorts of liberties
> with adults that other adults are not.
A kitten becomes an adult cat at nine months of age (officially) but then
some kittens never grow up!! In some breeds a female can mature as young as
4/6 months and would mate given the chance BUT they are still kittens
themselves, a very good reason to make sure they are desexed.
Lois

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glsummer@neptunelink.com - 23 Nov 2006 20:47 GMT
>It's usually said that kittens become adults at one year of age, but I
>think that wrong. I think it happens when other cats start treating
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>down and Millie faced down the Walsung (by then I had found my
>flashlight) who was cowering beside a basket.
I think kittens are cats when they decide they want to be!
My Jack is over a year old, and there is no doubt he is still a
kitten. In fact, his most recent nickname is "WMD" -- weapon of mass
destruction! His sister Kate, on the other hand, seem to be starting
to become a Cat. So go figure!
Ginger-lyn
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