We were told that Tesla and Tyax, found alone outdoors, were probably around 8 weeks old, but when I took a close look at them, I saw that their eyes had nearly finished changing from baby blue to their adult colour, and they were able to groom themselves well and eat without getting food all over their faces (young kittens tend to faceplant in the dish and make a mess of themselves). 
Based on their development, I estimated their age at 10-11 weeks despite their small size
They were very frightened when they first arrived, a bit hissy, but not at all violent. Tesla was the bolder of the two, while Tyax was frozen with terror for the first couple of days.
Tesla and Tyax were two of the prettiest kittens we’d ever seen. Tesla had oversized eyes like a little alien, the triangular face and elegant body type of a Siamese, and a silver and peach torbie coat. Tyax was a more classic tabby with beautiful markings and a similarly elegant build.
Both kittens were very bright. They learned to come when called by name within a couple of days, so I never had to worry about where they were if they hadn’t shown themselves for awhile. They were also very quick to learn house rules (such as no cats on the table) and to understand what I was asking of them.
Tesla and Tyax were unusually easy kittens. Because they hadn’t lost their mother until they were a bit older, they weren’t weaned too early, so they didn’t suffer from the digestive issues that typically come with early weaning, and they were far cleaner than kittens that haven’t stayed with their mothers long enough to learn how to take care of themselves properly. Their litterbox habits were excellent (in fact, they would often save us a step by jumping right into the litter garbage can and going on top of the discarded litter).
The kittens were rapidly socialized and soon came to enjoy being petted and picked up and held. They were quick to purr, and loved to be touched and snuggled.
They were still nervous around strangers, but came around quickly when enticed with a wand toy, so they went up on the adoption website after we’d had them for only a couple of weeks, and found their new forever home soon thereafter (all kittens tend to go quickly except for the black ones, which is really sad, as black cats usually have great personalities and excellent cleanliness habits – because of idiotic old prejudices, black cats are the least likely to be adopted, and even black kittens take a long time to find homes).
There isn’t as much to say about Tesla and Tyax as many of the other kittens we’ve fostered because they were so trouble-free compared to the kittens that lost their mothers early. Kittens should always stay with their moms for 8 weeks at the absolute minimum, and ideally 12 to reduce the risk of physical and psychological problems and poor grooming and litterbox habits.
For more foster kitten stories, see the main Foster Kitten Photo Diary page. For articles on cat care, behaviour, psychology, and more, see the main Cats page.
