What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mom

However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.

What age should kittens leave their mom. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. Also kittens should receive their first vaccinations prior to leaving their birth home something that cannot be achieved at eight weeks old. 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. 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. 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. The queen mother cat even cleaned up after the infant and by six weeks old weaning has usually only just begun and can last until the kitten is ten weeks old. 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.

The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. Kittens rely on their mother s milk for proper growth and development. At what age can you take kittens away from their mother. Benefits of staying with the mother and siblings.

Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. The earliest a kitten can leave its mother. Kittens that leave their mother. Why the wait is necessary.

In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. 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. The mother is the sole nutritional source for kittens until they re about 4 weeks of age although weaning often continues until the cuties are between 8 and 10 weeks according to the aspca. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old.

A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks.