What Age Can Kitten Leave Their Mother
The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play.
What age can kitten leave their mother. And those kittens won t stay kittens for long soon they ll be busy with kittens of their own unless they re neutered. 6 8 weeks kittens are now eating 4 small meals a day but still nursing from mum. However because certain conditions may affect when kittens can leave their moms they must be well cared for when they leave their mother earlier than what is ideal. In this animalwised article we re going to explain how soon kittens can leave their mother as well as the reasons behind.
In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. There is considerable debate over what age it is considered to be appropriate to separate a kitten from their mother and allow them to go on to their new homes where they will live for the remainder of their lives. In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again when she will naturally begin to push them away in preparation for raising her new.
While most kittens are weaned by 8 10 weeks most experts recommend leaving kittens with their littermates until 12 13 weeks so they can be properly socialized. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. The mother is the sole nutritional source for kittens until they re about 4 weeks of age although weaning often continues until the cuties are between 8 and 10 weeks according to the aspca. Socialization is the process whereby kittens explore their surroundings and accept what they find as normal.
However before separating a kitten from their mother we must take certain factors into consideration so they can have the best physical and psychological development. They ll be enjoying too much love to care. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. We have collected all the information you need to know about kittens between the time of their birth to the time when they are considered ready to leave their mother for your.
Your cat s chances of being healthy well socialized and properly developed are dramatically increased by allowing it to spend extra time with its mother and littermates. That clever lady mother nature has designed cat mommies to encourage her kittens to leave the nest so that she can get busy with the next lot. 9 12 weeks some kittens may still be nursing at this age but can survive without her milk. But in their forever homes the little ones won t miss her either.
Human care at that early stage may not compare to a feline mother s care but it can go a long way when combined with lots of love and dedication. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.