Kitten Care : When Can Kittens Leave Their Mom?

At six weeks old, kittens can leave the mother cat, but generally they will do better socially and health-wise if they are kept with the mother until eight weeks old. Avoid taking a kitten from its mother too early, particularly if the kitten is sickly, with information from a veterinarian in this free video on kitten care.

Expert: Dr. James Talbott
Bio: Dr. James R. Talbott is a staff veterinarian at Belle Forest Animal Hospital and Kennel in Nashville, Tenn.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

[LonelyStar-cpuc]

In my country you can buy a kitten from a breeder when the kitten is 4 months old. Not sooner.
They say a kitten that stays with it mom longer learns behavior and stuff like not scratching during playtime or biting sometimes.

[katiegeyer]

You have helped me so much with my kittens I have learned so much you just have been such a big help to me and the kittens

[Elma]

Kittens still learn from their mother until 12 weeks. So let the kittens stay by the mom until 12 weeks. I have seen the diffirence in the shelter. The kittens are much more heltier and don't have diarree.

[HelenLusth]

I live in Sweden, here it is illegal to take kittens from there mother before 12 weeks of age (except in special cases).

[varsharetare]

I found 3 kittens on my terrace and there mother died few days before...there eyes are still not fully opened😭

[veryonlineman]

I've been raising 4 kittens along with their mother for exactly 8 weeks today. One of them is getting adopted tomorrow. I hope she wont miss her siblings. I dont think they're attached to their mother and vice versa. The mother just goes to them every few hours to feed them and immediately leaves and doesn't spend any time with them. She even sleeps in a different room lol. They've been eating solid food like boiled egg, minced meat, omelette, milk and rice since they turned 3 weeks old so other than missing her siblings, i hope she'll be fine

[katieavants]

Does separating them from each other make them depressed and sad?

[arianavalenzuela]

Found 3 kittens this morning under mom's car. Was able to help 2, I cannot keep them but don't want them in danger either. Bought them food and toys but I'm worried about the 3rd one 😔 Keeping them till I find them a safe home. Cutest kittens ever 😍

[JoshuaDHSW]

I adopted a kitten, Zoe, at about 6 1/2 weeks. A friend's neighbor found a pregnant cat (Zoe's mom) in her backyard. She had 2, Zoe and her brother. Zoe ended up doing really well, although a week later I found out she had a heart murmur. But she is 3 now, even though the vet said she may not make it to 10 months. She can be a stinker though, especially after the move. I think the anxiety of a new home made her this way, but I sometimes wonder how Zoe would be if she stayed with her Mom until she was, like, 8 or 10 weeks

[andreapatane]

Dr. Talbot, you gave me quite the facts about when kittens are in the process of leaving their mother.

[rosas]

12-14 weeks is recommended here. 8 weeks is way too young.

[yvuine]

Wait, wtf? Last year, there was kitten that the mom left, and i could tell it was just like, 2 or something weeks old and it still needed the mother's milk! Then, just yesterday, i saw a different kitten that is about 3 or 4 weeks old... it was hiding from students in my school because it was pretty much waiting for it's mother to come back and it was scared probably because it was threatened by people in my school. Explain pls.

[jjeessz]

Watch the kitten lady here on YouTube if you have any questions about kittens! She’s awesome and knows everything there is to know. She helped my family with a kitten that was about two weeks old and was given to us after it was found in the woods.

[nancyviramontes]

Straight and to the point 😃 thank you ❤️

[princetoast]

I found a 4/6 week old kitten alone and it seemed to have some eye problems (something solid stuck on their pupils and goopy stuff, as well as sight issues but it can still see). I tried cleaning it off and it kiind of worked, especially the solid matter. I tried feeding it and giving it water, and it can eat solid food as well. My parents will not allow me to take it in neither take it to a vet so I need advice on how to help this little friend survive on its own...outside, especially that I can't stay with it all night or the whole time due to school. May I at least know if it can survive on its own at such an age?

[hz_ram]

4 of my kitten die cuz their mom doesnt feeding them very well..
Is there an issue?
I cant lose the last one.
Realy desperate for this kitten tho

[ronsonnswandom]

A wild female cat in my yard (which i started feeding) has a stray black cat husband. The husband cat now likes me and rubs against my legs and stuff. However the female cat will not even let me go near it. She got pregnant so i kept a close watch on her until she had the babies. She had the babies and over the course of the next 4 weeks she raised them in a dissassembled swingset leaning against the fence.

The kittens are now nearly 5 weeks old and they are so tiny and they come running out to see me whenever i call their names. The momma cat didnt like it at first but now she lets me pet/play with the kittens

However last night two raccoons were fighting to the death in my backyard right near were the kittens live so i ran out with a broom and hit the racoons and they ran away.

However today i go out to see the kittens and they are just bunched together laying directly on the grass. They are getting more confident to sleep on the grass and stuff


So last night i brought the 3 kittens inside and tried to trap the momma inside my house as well. However she FREAKED out and i had to let her back outside. She then started trying to grab her kittens 1 by 1 and bringing them back outside to the swingset

Also, the kittens were crying for their mother also so i just gave up and put the kittens back outside.

Wtf do i do?? I cant bring the kittens inside. I certainly do not want to leave them outside.

When i first moved to this house the momma-cat actually was with another kitten (who is now a full grown cat) which makes me curious why she only had 1 surviving kitten from that litter. Im just worried something will happen to these kitties.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[pugtie]

What if you pick up a stray kitten and the mother isn't around will the mother wait for the kitten

[rishikkomatireddy]

I have thought about getting a kitten...my friends had been saying you’re taking it away from its parents?!

[KishorTwist]

So when I adopted my little boy at the pet shop when he was 3 months old, it was then at the perfect time!