When Can Kittens Leave The Mother Cat
However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.
When can kittens leave the mother cat. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. 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. Why the wait is necessary. During their first few days of life not only are the kittens both blind and deaf but they are dependent on their mom to regulate their body temperatures for food and even for stimulation to be able to potty.
Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. 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. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old 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.
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. During the first week of life mommy cat will leave her babies for only a few brief times each day. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. This process could take from a few months up to a year and would be the natural way for a kitten to be separated from its mother.
By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. We have collected all the information you need to know about kittens between the time of their birth to the time when they are considered ready to leave their mother for your perusal. 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.
Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or until the mother becomes pregnant again. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother.