What Age Do Kittens Leave Their Mum
This is one question that cat lovers often ask.
What age do kittens leave their mum. But when cats are kept as pets this is the. 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. How soon should kittens leave their mothers.
Kittens are usually weaned at about 6 to 8 weeks and by three months 12 weeks the mother will leave them on their own. 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. Discussion in cat chat started by susannenoz may 3. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter.
This process could take from a few months up to a year and would be the natural way for a kitten to be separated from its mother. So when can kittens leave their mothers. Age at which kittens should leave mum. So when should the separation be done and.
When can kittens leave their mother. 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. When is the right time. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good.
6 8 weeks kittens are now eating 4 small meals a day but still nursing from mum. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks. 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.
Many if not all good cat breeders strongly advise that you should not. It is especially common among cat owners with unspayed queens and animal minders in shelters where cat litters are common. And those kittens won t stay kittens for long soon they ll be busy with. 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.
While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. 4 5 weeks kittens begin eating small amounts of food which should be soft such as canned but they are still very much dependent on their mother s milk. At around the fourth week feline mothers will naturally begin to wean their kittens. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.
Other times you may have encountered a feral or stray with her litter nearby and are probably wondering if there is anything you can do to help. I did not know when kittens should leave their mother and neither did my friend really but the rspca have said to her that they will take them at 6 weeks when my friend queried this as being a bit young after doing some research on the matter.