When To Wean Kittens Off Mom
However it is also common for kittens to finish weaning at around 10 weeks as well.
When to wean kittens off mom. When you first start weaning your kitten off of its mother s milk you ll want to buy milk replacer. It s not a good idea to let kittens go to a new home before the age of 8 weeks. Remember all kittens and mother cats are different. The best time to start weaning your kitten is when it is 4 weeks i e.
Weaning a kitten is the process of transitioning the kitten from mother s milk to with mom they ll start to try to eat her food and she ll push them away from her. This will mean that the food has a higher percentage of protein which growing cats need to be. A good rule of thumb is to see if a meat is listed first on its ingredients. But if you re weaning a kitten that has been orphaned you can start a little earlier between three and four weeks.
After all a mother cat is not only her kittens. It is designed to replicate the nutritional value and to a degree the taste of its mother s milk. When to wean kittens normally the kitten weaning process begins at about four weeks of age. In fact taking a kitten away from her mother too suddenly can negatively affect her health and socialization skills.
You ll also want to be sure to purchase high quality cat food which will be introduced to the kitten gradually. Follow these simple steps and your care of kittens will aid in good health for them. You can however start weaning the kittens at three weeks if you sense they are ready. How to wean kittens off mom.
The start and end time of the weaning period is the most useful and essential information to pet parents. For kittens the process starts as early as 4 weeks of age completed by the time they re 2 to 3 months old. Weaning simply means a baby no longer nurses from its mother and receives nutrition from a non maternal source. Serve kitten milk replacer in a shallow bowl.
When you first start weaning your kitten off of its mother s milk you ll want to buy milk replacer. As they learn to drink the liquid i then. Whenever possible kittens should remain with their mother during the weaning process as she will inherently know what to do. It is time to teach the kittens to eat from a dish.
During weaning kittens should remain with their mothers as much as possible. One of her best indicators that it s time to wean comes from her kittens themselves. As much as possible they should exclusively rely on their mother s milk up until they are four weeks of age. When the kittens are between 3 and 4 weeks of age it is time to begin the process of weaning them.
Mother knows best about this natural process leave weaning up to her if possible. Weaning kittens is a fairly easy process but must be done correctly for the health of the kittens and their mom. That s when the transition to independence known as weaning begins. At just a few weeks of age they begin trying to eat her food and she has to push them away.
Apart from that you should also know about the weaning schedule. You can also complete this process in your kitten when it becomes 8 to 10 weeks old. It is designed to replicate the nutritional value. From the very beginning up to the end when a mother cat is no longer ever nursing her kittens weaning usually lasts from a month to about six weeks total.
I often begin by offering milk replacer do not give cow s milk to kittens in a very shallow dish. Kittens derive important antibodies and nutrients from their mother s milk.