What Age Do Kittens Leave Their Mom
Twelve to thirteen weeks of age is the time that is almost universally considered to be the optimum earliest time to remove kittens from their queen and by this age the kittens should be ready to go out into the world and begin the next stage of their learning development.
What age do kittens leave their mom. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. More specifically there are three main reasons for our 12 14 week recommendation. If you don t see her monitor the kittens from a distance for a few hours. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be.
Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide. The reason for this is that maternal antibodies can affect the effectiveness of a single vaccine. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. From 8 weeks of age a kitten will have three vaccinations spaced 4 weeks apart 6 8 weeks 10 12 weeks 14 16 weeks.
At what age can you take kittens away from their mother. This is why today the accepted age for kittens to leave their mother is around twelve weeks old and generally registered pedigree breeders will not allow their kittens to go on to their new homes before this time. Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age.
She may move her kittens to an area near her favorite hunting grounds or the food dish to make it easier for her little fur babies to have access to solid food. By waiting until the kitten is 12 14 weeks old you will have minimized the risk for health and behavioral issues and maximized the chance for getting a healthy and happy cat. In this article we will look at six of the most important skills that a mother cat teaches her kittens and why these things are. 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.
If their mother returns leave them be. 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. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother.