When Can Kittens Leave Their Mum

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.

When can kittens leave their mum. 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. So the best time for them to be separated from their mother is at 12 weeks. Kittens can leave their mother by the eighth week and by this time they would have developed socially physically and emotionally. The next month of life is still full of essentials for a growing kitten even if it isn t consuming its mother s milk all of the time.

However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. This first stage is all about basic survival. She will clean them keep them warm and safe and stimulate the bowl movements and bladder to help them urinate and defecate.

They get 100 of all nutrition from her milk. 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. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done.

Until they are about 4 weeks old the kittens are completely dependant on their mother. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. So when can kittens leave their mothers. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play.

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. Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama. This does not mean that this is the time that the kittens can go home though. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good.

Timeline for weaning kittens. But at this age they still have valuable skills to learn and they also have to receive their first vaccinations. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old.