What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mother

So when can kittens leave their mothers.

What age should kittens leave their mother. 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. In this animalwised article we re going to explain how soon kittens can leave their mother as well as the reasons behind. 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.

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. Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or 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. 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.

At around the 12th week the kittens should begin eating on their own even though the mother still breastfeeds them. 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. How old should kittens be before they leave their mother. So at what age can kittens be separated from their mother.

6 8 weeks kittens are now eating 4 small meals a day but still nursing from mum. 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. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter. 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. Many people prefer to adopt a kitten so they can get used to living in their new home from a young age. In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again. 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 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. And those kittens won t. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be.

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