What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mom

When kittens are first born they are completely helpless their eyes are closed their ears are folded and they can t stand keep themselves warm or eat on their own.

What age should kittens leave their mom. The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. They rely on mom for everything. 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 perusal. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old.

Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. Twelve to thirteen weeks of age is the time that is almost universally considered to be the optimum earliest time to remove kittens from their queen and by this age the kittens should be ready to go out into the world and begin the next stage of their learning development.

Why the wait is necessary. Also kittens should receive their first vaccinations prior to leaving their birth home something that cannot be achieved at eight weeks old. The queen mother cat even cleaned up after the infant and by six weeks old weaning has usually only just begun and can last until the kitten is ten weeks old. This is because they will need to stay with their mother to feed on her nutritious milk as well as stay with their siblings to learn valuable social skills.

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. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. While you may want your kitten to stay as long as is needed with the mother the conditions on ground may leave you with no option.

Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother. If their mother returns leave them be. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother.

Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide. Kittens that leave their mother. Learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors. 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.