When Are Kittens Weaned From Their Mother

When should a kitten born to a feral mother cat be weaned.

When are kittens weaned from their mother. 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. When the kittens reach four weeks old you can place them in a separate area for a few hours at a time to reduce their dependency on mother s milk and her overall presence. These formulas have the higher levels of calories protein and calcium that growing kittens need. The kittens are fully weaned from their mother but their continued development and growth together is important enough to put off adoption for another couple of weeks.

The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. Want to learn more about kittens and how to care about them in the eigth week. When you are weaning a kitten onto solid food it s important to use a food formulated specifically for kittens.

The liquid kitten food should gradually get thicker until it is a watered down canned kitten food or a moistened kitten kibble. How long do kittens need to have their mother s milk. The kitten is able to spend more time alone without the mother if it becomes independent. I john foxx stockbyte getty images.

If you are caring for a mother cat and her litter it s okay for the mom cat to eat the same kitten food while she s nursing. She ll do the weaning herself while you provide the kitten s next feeding stage. It is not recommended to separate the kitten from its mother before 4 weeks. So it is quite difficult for you to match the mother cat s weaning method.

Socialization is the process whereby kittens explore their surroundings and accept what they find as normal. Do not begin the weaning process until the kittens are ready. Whenever possible kittens should remain with their mother during the weaning process as she will inherently know what to do. If you are unaware of a kitten s age a good indicator is that the kitten s eyes are open and capable of focusing and it can stand steady on its feet.

Visit our kitten guide. Generally the queen s method of feeding the kitten is different from yours. Unless something happens to the mother weaning should be a gradual process. Kittens grow from helpless little lumps of fur totally dependent on their mothers to balls of feline energy in just a few short weeks.