What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mum
Unlike puppies most kittens are unlikely to overeat and they won t get the bone and joint problems that fat puppies can develop.
What age should kittens leave their mum. Until kittens are a year old give them as much as they want to eat. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age.
There are two main considerations for deciding on the right age for a kitten to leave its mother 1. Kittens have an easier time adjusting to a new environment and new people when they are younger. 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.
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. By waiting until the kitten is 12 14 weeks old you will have minimized the risk for health and behavioral issues and maximized the chance for getting a healthy and happy cat. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.
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. Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother. More specifically there are three main reasons for our 12 14 week recommendation. At what age can you take kittens away from their mother.
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 time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. 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. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks.
Their brains are more flexible and it is easier for them to deal with changes. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. However the governing council of the cat fancy gccf recommends that thirteen to fourteen weeks is even better particularly in the case of foreign breeds of cat that are not native to the uk. The kitten should be young enough to be able to easily adjust to its new home.
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. They don t have that many memories.