What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mother

Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age.

What age should kittens leave their mother. Many people prefer to adopt a kitten so they can get used to living in their new home from a young age. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter. At around the 12th week the kittens should begin eating on their own even though the mother still breastfeeds them. When all conditions are favorable for the kittens to leave the mother s side the goal should be to ensure that everyone involved will transition into the new life easily and happily.

And those kittens won t. 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. Ideally it should be 12 16 weeks old. This is also the best time to teach kittens how to use a scratching post and also litter train them.

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. Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or until the mother becomes pregnant again. 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. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.

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. So at what age can kittens be separated from their mother. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. That is the age span when they have already had enough time to learn how to behave themselves yet are still young and flexible to quickly adjust to a new home.

By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. So when can kittens leave their mothers. In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again.

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. 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. 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. But when cats are kept as pets this is the.

If for any reason you can t wait until the kittens are 12 weeks old at the very. That is the mother learns to live without her babies the kittens learn to cope without their mother and fit into their new life seamlessly and the new kitten. At this point you re certain that even if they re finally weaned off they will not suffer deficiencies in nutrition. How old should kittens be before they leave their mother.