When Can Kittens Leave Their Mum
How soon can kittens leave their mother.
When can kittens leave their mum. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother. Timeline for weaning kittens mother cats will typically start to wean their kittens off their milk at one month of age. In fact according to the cat fanciers association one of the ways to tell if a breeder is reputableis that he or she will never sell a kitten younger than 12 weeks old.
Why the wait is necessary. This does not mean that this is the time that the kittens can go home though. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.
In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again when she will naturally begin to push them away in preparation for raising her new litter. 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. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks. 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.
Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama. 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. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks. Curious as to why this is the recommended age span.
In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. The short answer is that kittens should stay with the mother cat until they are 12 16 weeks old.
Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.