What Age Do Feral Kittens Leave Their Mother

If left with her much longer they will start imitating her shy attitude.

What age do feral kittens leave their mother. There is considerable debate over what age it is considered to be appropriate to separate a kitten from their mother and allow them to go on to their new homes where they will live for the remainder of their lives. If you don t see her monitor the kittens from a distance for a few hours. The optimal time to quickly tame feral kittens is between four and eight weeks their natural weaning period. The liquid kitten food should gradually get thicker until it is a watered down canned kitten food or a moistened kitten kibble.

Feral cats will often form large social groups usually consisting of mom and her numerous kittens as well as any offspring they may have had. There are many biological reasons that make kittens emotionally predisposed to accepting humans so readily at this age. These usually only include female cats since the males will leave the nest and form large territories of their own. During this time kittens begin the transition from complete dependence on their mother to complete independence.

In the wild kittens will usually stay with their mother until the mother becomes pregnant again when she will naturally begin to push them away in preparation for raising her new. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. Kittens begin to nibble at wet food at 4 weeks of age and are fully capable of eating on their own at 6 weeks. It is easy to wean them now and they are just the right age for handling and intensive bonding with humans.

Hint for determining the age of nursing kittens. The time varies from one kitten to another since several factors come to play. If we do not find the kittens until they are at least 4 5 weeks old or older we raise them without their mother. These large social groups work together to raise any new litters of kittens.

Ideally mother and kittens should be provide with a shelter in a safe environment. Before you do anything remember never separate kittens from their mother cat. Some have likened the impact of this stage to the. A garage outdoor cat house or bathroom if the person is able to bring.

The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. If their mother returns leave them be. If they are nursing and their eyes haven t opened they are under 2 weeks. Learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors.

Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide.