When Do Feral Kittens Leave Their Mom

One goes to seek food and never returns.

When do feral kittens leave their mom. Feral kittens that are from the same litter may remain together for a time but they face disease cars predators and starvation that may separate them. Plus the female kitten can be impregnated as young as 4 months old and have several litters a year. When the kittens are 5 6 weeks old and eating steadily the mother is spayed and if feral ear tipped and returned to her site. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks.

During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. As you know by now it s a very labor intensive process to socialize feral kittens and to feed kittens that aren t quite old enough to leave their mother. Why the wait is necessary.

By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. 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. Ideally kittens should be at least eight weeks old before they re weaned off their mother s milk.

The earliest a kitten can leave its mother 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. Please read my pages on cat colonies and feral cats for some more information. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama.