When Can Kittens Leave Their Mom
So when can kittens leave their mothers.
When can kittens leave their mom. How soon can kittens leave their mother. But at this age they still have valuable skills to learn and they also have to receive their first vaccinations. Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother there are health and social benefits to staying with the mother and siblings. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age.
The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks. So the best time for them to be separated from their mother is at 12 weeks. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old.
Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. 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. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks.
Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. 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. 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. Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or until the mother becomes pregnant again.
Kittens can leave their mother by the eighth week and by this time they would have developed socially physically and emotionally. Why the wait is necessary. 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.
As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good.