What Age Can Kittens Leave Their Mum
9 12 weeks some kittens may still be nursing at this age but can survive without her milk.
What age can kittens leave their mum. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. Laws about how early you can sell kittens vary so check your state s laws. It is very important for kittens to remain with mom until weaning is completed. 6 8 weeks kittens are now eating 4 small meals a day but still nursing from mum.
Even if you re hand raising the kittens no mother is around you should still wait 8 weeks before giving them away. 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. 2 dharma66 may 3 2010.
4 5 weeks kittens begin eating small amounts of food which should be soft such as canned but they are still very much dependent on their mother s milk. 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. This way you ensure they re getting proper medical treatment and socialization. But as you say ideally the kittens shouldn t leave mum until at least 8 weeks.
However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. If you can convince your friend to hold on two them for an extra weeek or two they are likely to end up more well adjusted than if they leave at 7 weeks. However the governing council of the cat fancy gccf recommends that thirteen to fourteen weeks is even better particularly in the case of foreign breeds of cat that are not native to the uk. Most kittens can be taken from their mothers to go to new homes when they are 6 weeks old.
Why the wait is necessary. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. At what age can you take kittens away from their mother.
Your cat s chances of being healthy well socialized and properly developed are dramatically increased by allowing it to spend extra time with its mother and littermates. 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. So if you can leave them. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.
Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. In general try to wait until the kittens are weaned about 8 weeks. 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. More specifically there are three main reasons for our 12 14 week recommendation.