When To Wean Kittens From Mother

But when the queen has trouble producing milk or when a litter of kittens is orphaned we need to intervene.

When to wean kittens from mother. Socialization is the process whereby kittens explore their surroundings and accept what they find as normal. However if the kitten in your care has been separated from his mother or if you are fostering a litter or a pregnant cat about to give birth seeing the young ones through a successful weaning process may be up to you. Weaning simply means a baby no longer nurses from its mother and receives nutrition from a non maternal source. Here are some tips for smooth and successful kitten weaning.

Separating a cat from its mother. Weaning can begin earlier in the case of orphaned or hand fed kittens. As said earlier feline moms naturally begin to wean their kittens off at around the fourth week. For kittens the process starts as early as 4 weeks of age completed by the time they re 2 to 3 months old.

It happens when kittens move from mother s milk to solid food. The weaning kittens should start to nibble on the kibble slightly moistened with water. Just as important it s a time when a kitten moves from depending on her mother s care to becoming a more socially independent cat. Expect to separate the kittens from their mother when they are around 12 weeks old.

Weaning is a big step in a kitten s young life. It s not a good idea to let kittens go to a new home before the age of 8 weeks. Give wet or moistened dry food mixed with formula to form a slush. Before beginning the weaning process.

By cristina vulpe phd. When it s at all possible kittens should be exposed to some mother s milk especially within the first 12 to 24 hours of life. The liquid kitten food should gradually get thicker until it is a watered down canned kitten food or a moistened kitten kibble. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age.

Weaning is the process that a kitten goes through to switch from mother s milk to solid food. During weaning kittens gradually progress from dependence on a mother s care to social independence. The process generally begins when a kitten is around four weeks old and should be complete by eight to ten weeks. How to wean kittens.

Ideally weaning is handled entirely by the mother cat. By now the kitten weaning process is complete and they should be eating all solid food by week seven. Weaning kittens from mother s milk to eating solid foods. Weaning refers to the process by which a kitten goes from mother s milk to solid food.

At this stage you too can start playing your role to encourage the feline to wean. 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.