When Do Newborn Kittens Open Their Eyes?

Video Transcript

"Let's talk about, when do newborn kittens open their eyes? When kittens are born, their eyes are actually sealed shut, so that is a normal thing. The reason for that, is essentially unknown, but those eyes are still developing. The brain is still developing, and so those eyes are closed and sealed on purpose, so the first thing to know, is when does that happen naturally? so about ten to twelve days, give or take a little bit of time, those eyes should start to basically split open a little bit, and you're going to see kind of a bluish looking cornea on both eyes, and that's normal. Now, kittens, sometimes can have problems with their eyes that are sealed, that is infection. Now, when that occurs, generally those eyelids are going to be swollen, and sometimes you can see actually a greenish discharge, coming out of a corner of one of those slits. If that's happening, you never want to try to force anything, or force those eyes open. You want to get that kitten to a veterinary clinic, obviously, to figure out if there is an infection under those eyelids. An infection that goes on under an eyelid, can damage that eye, so you have to be very careful, so about ten to twelve days, is typical for most kittens. If it's beyond that, and the kitten has not opened its eyes yet, then there also could be a problem, so check with your veterinary clinic, and make sure there's not some underlying issue first."