How Long Before Kittens Can Leave Their Mother

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.

How long before kittens can leave their mother. Despite this however you should ensure that the earliest your kitten leaves its mother is 4 weeks old. The perfect age seems to be between eight and twelve weeks. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. Why the wait is necessary.

The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age. Typical kitten development from birth to two weeks of age those little fuzz balls are in the neonatal stage. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good.

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. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. 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.

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. By the time they hit three weeks of age those tiny balls of fur open their eyes ears and taste buds to the outside world. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.

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.