Research overview: eye opening and early visual development in kittens

Kittens are born with their eyes closed and acquire functional vision gradually over the first weeks of life. This overview surveys the timeline of feline visual development, beginning with the eyes opening around the end of the first to second week and continuing through the maturation of the retina, visual pathways, and acuity. Early vision is blurry and limited, sharpening as the system develops. The survey relates this progression to the broader maturation of the kitten nervous system and to the sensitive period during which visual experience shapes the brain. It discusses how acuity, depth perception, and eyeshine all change as the kitten grows. Understanding eye opening and visual development frames feline vision as something that is built after birth rather than present from the start. It connects to research on critical periods and to the practical reality that very young kittens depend on smell and touch until their eyes mature.