When Do Wild Kittens Leave Their Mother

Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.

When do wild kittens leave their mother. Many mothers however do stay with the offspring. 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. Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or until the mother becomes pregnant again. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done.

Plus the female kitten can be impregnated as young as 4 months old and have several litters a year. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. One goes to seek food and never returns. 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.

Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama. If the queen does not have any further litters or lives as part of a colony of cats the kittens will begin to gradually draw away as they reach sexual maturity and set out in search of mates of their own. In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again when she will naturally begin to push them away in preparation for raising her new litter. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter.

In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. They don t the mother leaves them when she thinks they are old enough anything between 6 to 12 weeks.

However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. 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.