When Can A Kitten Leave Its Mom
Most kittens are just starting to eat solid foods at 5 6 weeks old and are still nursing during this times.
When can a kitten leave its mom. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. And they are not mentally nor physically ready to leave till they are older.
While most kittens are weaned by 8 10 weeks most experts recommend leaving kittens with their littermates until 12 13 weeks so they can be properly socialized. 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. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good.
First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development. 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. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play.
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. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother. If you keep your kitten its can have behavior and physical problems that would not occur if you took it home at 3 months old.
Why the wait is necessary. 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. How soon can kittens leave their mother. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.
While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks.