When Can Kittens Leave Their Momma

Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old.

When can kittens leave their momma. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. Feral cat mothers don t actually abandon their kittens. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age.

The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. Eventually mom will leave just long enough to take care of their basic needs potty eating then they return right away to tend the little ones. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. They just stop feeding them and will swat them away when they try to nurse.

Also if they aren t eating much at all but will eat a bit with the milk on their food try a milk egg mixture rather than pure milk. A mother cat wean her babies naturally when kittens are about 2 3 months old by starting to reject her kittens. Your kitten should be ready to leave the mom at 8 5 weeks. 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. Leave it to instinct mama cat knows best kittens can acquire a lot of negative behaviors because of this early separation as well as health deficiencies. 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. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age.

However every cat can be different just like people and the answer will be their own. New mommas brand new usually don t leave their kittens sometimes a few days. 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 perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks.

Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother. If they don t like their kitten food dry add a little milk to soften it up for them. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.

That means they have to learn to get their own food.