When Do Kittens Leave The Mother

Separating kittens from their trusted mother cat definitely is not always the easiest experience.

When do kittens leave the mother. Please read my pages on cat colonies and feral cats for some more information. Plus the female kitten can be impregnated as young as 4 months old and have several litters a year. In general kittens should remain with comforting sweet mommy until at least weaning age. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old.

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. 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. After all the bond between the mother and kittens is a strong one not to mention the deep connection between litter mates. Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama.

This will ensure that mommy cat has a chance to teach them and it will help them to be more stable adult cats. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. 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 time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play.

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. Although kittens are often put up for adoption when they are as young as 6 weeks old it s best if the kittens stay with mom until they are at least 10 weeks. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. If you have discovered feral kittens there are alternatives to leaving them in the wild.

Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. The next month of life is still full of essentials for a growing kitten even if it isn t consuming its mother s milk all of the time. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother.