What Age Should Kittens Leave Their Mum

While caring for neonatal kittens can seem daunting it is completely do able and incredibly rewarding.

What age should kittens leave their mum. 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. First of all there is no set age on when the separation should be done. However a kitten is typically ready to leave his mother at about 8 to 12 weeks of age.

The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. If mom hasn t returned for 12 hours and the kittens appear healthy it s time to step in and be their hero. In many cases kittens begin eating strictly solid foods at around 8 weeks and then may be ready to leave their mothers for good. 8 weeks the organization cats international recommends keeping kittens with their fellow litter mates and mothers until about 8 weeks in 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. How soon should kittens leave their mothers. Ideally kittens should go to their new home around 12 weeks of age. A kitten should stay with his mother until a minimum of 10 weeks but preferably 12 weeks.

Even though kittens are relatively independent by 8 10 weeks and can survive without their mother there are health and social benefits to staying with the mother and siblings. You can care for the kittens yourself right from the comfort of your home. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. While you probably don t want to bring an older cat home if you are looking for a long term pet you also do not want to bring home a kitten too early as this can do more harm than good to the cat.

Kittens need to be around their mum or at least their siblings or other adult cats until they re at least 10 weeks to ensure that they don t grow up just a little bit odd socially. While some kittens can go home earlier the closer you wait until 12 or 13 weeks the better off the kitten will be. It s not just about food it s about growing up a socially comfortable and normal little beastie too.