How Old Until Kittens Can Leave Their Mom

Why the wait is necessary.

How old until kittens can leave their mom. 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. The ideal age to adopt a kitten ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. 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. At the end of the first week darling is starting to become more aware of his surroundings.

This first stage is all about basic survival. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. Unable to do much more than roll around they rely on their mother for everything from meals to baths. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.

She will clean them keep them warm and safe and stimulate the bowl movements and bladder to help them urinate and defecate. While it is technically acceptable to remove a puppy from the dam once they are eight weeks old it is infinitely preferable to wait that additional month and keep them with the dam and littermates until they are twelve weeks old. Denby is just a day old. Until they are about 4 weeks old the kittens are completely dependant on their mother.

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. From birth to two weeks of age those little fuzz balls are in the neonatal stage. In general it is safe to allow kittens to separate from the mother cat at this specific age but usually no younger than that. Tweed is only three days old.

They get 100 of all nutrition from her milk. The best time to separate a kitten from their mother and siblings is when they are 12 13 weeks old. 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. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be.

The organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in age.