When Can A Kitten Stop Nursing
The most common and widespread belief is that the kitten who may now be an older cat was weaned too early from its mother.
When can a kitten stop nursing. Weaning a kitten who still has her mother is quite different from weaning a kitten who has been orphaned. Check their health and keep the brood s nest clean but don t cuddle the kittens excessively especially if you see it upsets the mother. They shouldn t be relying on their mother to this time. The kitten cannot nurse on their mother s milk forever and have to stop nursing at a specific age and transfer to solid foods or milk.
And 8 weeks is a bit early to leave her anyway most experts recommend 10 or even 12 weeks. Kittens can safely stop nursing at around 4 weeks old. When do kittens stop nursing. The start and end time of the weaning period is the most useful and essential information to pet parents.
You can also complete this process in your kitten when it becomes 8 to 10 weeks old. Kittens of 8 weeks should start eating solid kitty food. The best time to start weaning your kitten is when it is 4 weeks i e. This is now the cue for the weaning process to begin.
Constantly bothering mom or her kittens during the first seven days after birth will stress her out something that can cause her to stop nursing them. The kitten should never be fed cow s milk as it has high lactose and this can lead to. All but one of my cats have been nursing until i ve gotten them the one who wasn t was weaned by the mom when the kittens were 13 weeks old. They should be stopped even if it comforts them.
There are slight differences of opinion regarding the exact best weaning age but all groups agree that ideally weaning should take place between 6 12 weeks of age. According to the american society for the prevention of cruelty to animals aspca a mother cat typically stops nursing their kittens when they are around 4 weeks old. However anywhere between the 4 to 6 week mark is acceptable. Kittens usually begin the weaning process around 4 weeks of age according to the general consensus.
Breeders have the recommendations 12 16 weeks which is what cats do in wild. This makes them dependent and cats are independent creatures. The weaning process involves slowly incorporating solid foods into the kitten s diet and it is generally over by the time the kittens are between 8 and 10 weeks old. Kittens sucking on their mother at 9 months old isn t normal in the wild.