Very stoopid question about the cuteness of kittens

[nightshadea]

@MEBuckner

I would agree with what others have said, that very young kittens aren’t the absolute cutest, but they’re still cute. If you showed me a group of newly-hatched maggots, my reaction would be “Oh, gross!” whereas the very young kittens in the picture elfkin477 linked to may not be as overwhelmingly cute as these guys, but the elfkin477 kittens still activate my “Ooh, kittens!” response, not my “Oh, gross!” response. (And according to the photo captions, these little guys are only five days old, and IMHO they already look awfully cute.)

what he said ….

[snfaulkner]

Dammit! I polled before I read the OP. They definitely need eyes open before cute.

[DinoR]

I’m in the creepy molerat group.

[Guinastasia]

@Beckdawrek

I voted ‘cute’, but really, all newborns look like spider monkeys to me. Which means, so ugly it seems cute.

Exactly – they’re “ugly-cute”.

You really have to watch handling them though – if the mother cat thinks someone’s messing with her kittens too much, from what I’ve read, she’ll try and hide them.

[monstro]

I don’t gaga over kittens. Newborn kittens are not cute at all. I concede that older kittens are cute, but their cuteness does nothing for me.

I turn into Elmira when I see grown cats, though.

[AHunter3]

I like human newbies when they’re redfaced and still have umbilical cord stumps and stuff, too.

[Rhiannon8404]

I’m not a fan of the newborns or super tiny kittens…but they’re not like, the total worst or anything. I have spent time with a lot of kittens ranging from hours to days to weeks old. I am friends with the Kitten Foster Coordinator at the shelter where I volunteer, and she will shove one into my hands the minute I enter her office. I think they don’t really get cute until they are several weeks old. While not “cute”, the tiny ones are very sweet and carrying one around tucked into the front of your shirt is fun.

[Enola_Gay]

Newborn anything is cute in my book (except for newborn maggots). There’s an intangible beauty in new life and a helpless newborn kitten or a helpless newborn baby is just all kinds of awesome in my opinion. Sure they get cuter the more they can interact, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t cute from the start.

[kopek]

In the interest of full disclosure I consider myself more a dog person but I find adult cats cuter than kittens and I like them a lot better. But then again, I am not a fan of human babies very much either. So you may hate for for a multitude of reasons.

[Scougs]

I voted cute, but I will concede that they get a whole lot cuter.

[WOOKINPANUB]

@AHunter3

Microkittens! With squee!

Oy, I’m kvelling.They’re like the world’s cutest squeaky toys.

[Postariti]

I think baby animal are cute when their eyes aren’t open. I also like the really tiny paws.

I do agree that kittens are even cuter when they’re a few weeks old. I love their funny little tails.

This thread is giving me a cute overdose, by the way.

[Infovore]

I love kittens, but I definitely think they need to ripen a bit before they achieve peak cute (around 3-4 weeks old).

[Spoons]

@Guinastasia

Exactly – they’re “ugly-cute”.

You really have to watch handling them though – if the mother cat thinks someone’s messing with her kittens too much, from what I’ve read, she’ll try and hide them.

Or she will ignore them, or at worst, reject them.

That’s how I got one of my cats, who was born to Momma Barn Cat. We scared a predator carrying a kitten off, but we had handled the kitten. Momma didn’t want the kitten back; the kitten smelled of us and the predator (a fox, as I recall). It was up to me to foster a ten-day-old kitten–which I did, with help and supplies from my vet. The kitten grew and thrived, and grew into a fine cat, and she is still with me today, 17 years later.

I’ll agree with the others who say that baby kittens are cute–but 3-4 week old kittens are cuter.

[Derleth]

Cute little fuzzbeans.

[DesertDog]

When we had a wobbly-stage kitten, more than once it managed to get onto the back of a sofa and make his way along it until he got to DesertRoomie’s shoulder where it would promptly fell asleep. This led to the temporary name Hairy Wart and those soft-paws on you ankles were wartbushes.

[Tzigone]

@Spoons

Or she will ignore them, or at worst, reject them.

That’s how I got one of my cats, who was born to Momma Barn Cat. We scared a predator carrying a kitten off, but we had handled the kitten. Momma didn’t want the kitten back; the kitten smelled of us and the predator (a fox, as I recall). It was up to me to foster a ten-day-old kitten–which I did, with help and supplies from my vet. The kitten grew and thrived, and grew into a fine cat, and she is still with me today, 17 years later.

Maybe because she was a barn cat? Because from what I’ve read (and my own experience), all the Mama House Cats I had were fine with me playing with them or handling their kittens. But the Mama House Cats were petted and sat in laps and such themselves. Which matches my understanding that if Mama is fine with people, she’s fine with her baby smelling like people.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

Newborn kittens have cute potential, but aren’t there yet. At about 2 weeks old, after their eyes open and they start stumbling around, they start to be cute. At about 4 weeks old, when they all seem to be perpetually worried about something, then the cuteness really hits. Mostly, they have to be mobile enough and big enough for me to interact with them, beyond running a finger over them or holding one.

[Spoons]

@Tzigone

Maybe because she was a barn cat? Because from what I’ve read (and my own experience), all the Mama House Cats I had were fine with me playing with them or handling their kittens. But the Mama House Cats were petted and sat in laps and such themselves. Which matches my understanding that if Mama is fine with people, she’s fine with her baby smelling like people.

That may be it. The barn cats didn’t like people much–they would run away as we walked through, and worked in, the barn. They were great mousers, and kept all kind of vermin out, but they didn’t like us much.

The farmhouse cats were a different story. They genuinely liked us, and had no fear. Same for my cats today–though they are all fixed, I have no doubt that, if one had kittens, she would be anxious to show them off to me.

[Omega_Glory]

Newborns aren’t cute. Whether it’s people, kittens or puppies. They all need a good 3-4 weeks before they turn cute.