When a kitten is born it is usually very quiet, not active, and its eyes are still closed. It needs to stay close to its mother, sleep a lot and feed regularly. It is also really tiny – typically, it can fit easily into the palm of your hand.

So very young kittens aren't really capable of playing – and while it is a good idea to be around them and let them get used to you, too much handling is not advisable in the early days. About 20 minutes a day is all that some experts would advise.

When their eyes are open – anything from two to ten days after birth – they will also become a bit more active and curious. However, they don't usually play in that typical "cat" way – chasing their tails, pouncing on bits of string etc – until they are three or four weeks. So before this, just let them sniff around you and try to "climb" on you if they want – you can see when a kitten is old enough to play, because it starts chasing things!