When Can Kittens Leave Their Mom
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.
When can kittens leave their mom. 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. The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. So when can kittens leave their mothers.
But at this age they still have valuable skills to learn and they also have to receive their first vaccinations. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks. How soon can kittens leave their mother. 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.
So the best time for them to be separated from their mother is at 12 weeks. By the way don t worry about mommy being upset when her babies leave. 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. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old.
In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. Kittens in the wild remain with their mother until they reach sexual maturity or until the mother becomes pregnant again. As a way to prepare for her new litter she will start to distance herself from the old litter.
Why the wait is necessary. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. 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. 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.
First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be.