When Should Kittens Leave Their Mums
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 should kittens leave their mums. 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. She will clean them keep them warm and safe and stimulate the bowl movements and bladder to help them urinate and defecate. 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.
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 earliest a kitten can leave its mother. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks. But when cats are kept as pets this is the typical process.
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. At around ten days to two weeks their eyes open although all they can see at that stage are blurry black and white images like me when i wake up in the morning. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. Kittens need to be around their mum or at least their siblings or other adult cats until they re at least 10 weeks to ensure that they don t grow up just a little bit odd socially.
While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. Wrapped in mommy s protective embrace with their brothers and sisters they are safe from all harm. It s not just about food it s about growing up a socially comfortable and normal little beastie too. Once the kittens are fully weaned around 10 to 12 weeks old they are old enough to move away from their mama.
Birth 4 weeks old until they are about 4 weeks old the kittens are completely dependant on their mother. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age.