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Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old. While most kittens are weaned by weeks, most experts recommend leaving kittens with their littermates until weeks, so they can be properly socialized.
A well-socialized kitten is bold, confident and friendly. Separating a kitten from its mother too early, on the other hand, may lead to poor learning skills and aggressive behavior. The implication of this is that a kitten will benefit greatly from learning from its mother until 12 weeks of age.
However, if re-homing is delayed too long after that, the kitten is much more likely to be fearful and hide from the new owner. Be sure the kitten has learned to use the litter pan before removing her from her mother. Kittens learn to use the litter pan at different rates, but most will have learned by 12 weeks. Be sure the kitten has learned this crucial skill from her mother before she is adopted out. Kittens learn a lot about their environment by scent. They recognize their mother, littermates, and nest by smell.
Do this by: Having the new owner provide an old T-shirt that smells like the person. When the kitten moves to the home, she will already be familiar with one of the scents so she will feel safer.
This will start to diffuse potential tension between the two animals. Method 2. The mother cat will wean her kittens on her own, usually by weeks. If you are adopting a kitten before then, you will need to accelerate the weaning process: [3] X Trustworthy Source American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty Go to source.
Separate the kitten from the mother. At 4 weeks, you can start putting the kitten by herself for a few hours at a time.
Put her in a space with her own litter box, food, and water bowl. Teach the kitten to lap milk using kitten milk replacer in a shallow bowl. Put your finger just below the surface of a bowl of milk. The kitten will attempt to suckle your finger, but will then find it instinctively easier to lap at your finger, rather than suck. Introduce solid food. Once the kitten can lap up milk, it is time to introduce moist solid foods.
Each day, gradually decrease the amount of milk replace until by week 6, the food is only lightly moistened. Sometime between weeks 8 and 10, the kitten should be eating dry food. Method 3. Do not separate the kittens from the mother all at once. If you take all her kittens away at once, her mammary glands may become painfully engorged. The lingering scent of her kittens can remind the mother cat that she needs to check on them, and she may appear to wander around the house looking for them.
Once the kittens have gone to their new homes, it is best to remove anything marked with their scent and give the mother clean bedding. As their scent gradually fades from the environment so will her instinct to search and she will settle into her normal routine again. Know that the queen cat will recover quickly from the separation.
Nature programs the mother to make her kittens independent in order to survive, and as part of this process, she starts to distance herself from kittens in order to make them stand on their own paws. By this stage, they have developed enough to deal with the anesthetic.
They may still charge around, play games, and indulge in other kitten-like behavior, but one-year-olds are adult cats, physiologically, at least.
The cat may not display its adult personality until it reaches 24 months of age, however. If they are taken away too soon, it can lead to an increased chance of illness. It could lead to your cat being sicker and physically smaller. Kittens also learn behavioral patterns, actions, and reactions, as well as social interactions, from their mother. If they are taken away too soon, you could end up with a grumpy cat that has not learned how to behave properly. This lack of social interaction and social cues from mom can also lead to an insecure and scared kitten, so yours may be jumpier than they would be if they had been left with mom for two more weeks.
Another important skill that a kitten learns from its mother is how to use a litter tray. It is possible to teach a kitten how to use a tray, but its own mother would have better results and would teach the process naturally.
Christian Adams. Related posts. The category. Cats are known to be self-sufficient survivors that are able to look after themselves quite well. If the kittens are still in their nest with no signs of the mother after your 2nd return visit on the following day, you may choose to intervene by offering them food and calling your local animal shelter for further instruction.
DO NOT try to bathe the kittens, as they may still be too young to regulate their body temperatures. If you choose to take the kittens in, make sure you are fully equipped to give them the extra care and attention they will need.
If you are unable, it is best to take them to a shelter or rescue facility where they can receive the care they need. Be sure to research the shelters in your area, and contact a reputable one that you feel will give the kittens the best chance at survival and adoption. This should be your last resort, as the kittens will always have their best chance at survival with the mother. Yes No. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Close Font Resize.
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Highlight Links. See also: Care of newborn kittens. Flea and worming treatments - may be recommended for kittens as young as two days old, depending on the risk to the kittens and any treatment the queen had during pregnancy. Vaccinations - The protection provided by the queen's colostrum fades when the kittens are eight to nine weeks old, leaving them vulnerable to disease.
So ask your vet when the kittens can start a course of vaccinations. Neutering - The queen can be neutered while she is still with or feeding the kittens as long as the surgical wound will not be affected by enlarged mammary glands. Fortunately the spay wound will normally be on her side. You do not need to wait until her milk has dried up, though it is usually best to wait until the kittens are no longer dependent on her and neuter her when the kittens are around eight weeks old.
The queen can get pregnant again as early as one or two weeks after giving birth, so it is sensible to get her neutered promptly. The kittens should be neutered when they're around four months old. If neutering is not carried out by then, you should separate males from females and the queen to prevent in-breeding.
Ask your vet if you need help sexing the kittens. Rehoming - Ask your vet when is the right time to rehome the kittens. This will depend on their behavioural development as well as the risk of disease.
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