What Age Can Kittens Leave Their Mother
Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old.
What age can kittens leave their mother. This is because they will need to stay with their mother to feed on her nutritious milk as well as stay with their siblings to learn valuable social skills. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks. How soon can kittens leave their mother. 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. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks.
The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. 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. More specifically there are three main reasons for our 12 14 week recommendation. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave.
Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development. 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. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.
Why the wait is necessary. At what age can you take kittens away from their 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. Also kittens should receive their first vaccinations prior to leaving their birth home something that cannot be achieved at eight weeks old.
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. Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother.