What Age Do Kittens Have To Be To Leave Their Mother

The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks.

What age do kittens have to be to leave their mother. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. So when can kittens leave their mothers. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. In fact according to the cat fanciers association one of the ways to tell if a breeder is reputable is that he or she will never sell a kitten younger than 12 weeks old.

The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. How soon can kittens leave their mother. Before you do anything remember never separate kittens from their mother cat. Twelve to thirteen weeks of age is the time that is almost universally considered to be the optimum earliest time to remove kittens from their queen and by this age the kittens should be ready to go out into the world and begin the next stage of their learning development.

Learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors. 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. Why the wait is necessary. The short answer is that kittens should stay with the mother cat until they are 12 16 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. Curious as to why this is the recommended age span. 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. If you don t see her monitor the kittens from a distance for a few hours.

If their mother returns leave them be. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. 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. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development.

8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide.