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When are kittens truly ready for adoption and leaving their mom?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | unspayed

How old do kittens need to be before adoption, kittens are eating wet kitten food as well as dry kitten food

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 23rd, 2018

Kittens best stay with their mommy until they are 12 weeks old. Their mother will teach them what is good to eat and what not, how to hunt, and what to hunt safely, how to groom themselves properly, how to use a litter box, what animal is dangerous to them, how to carefully negotiate this world. The kittens will also need their mother still for psychological comfort, even suckling after being weaned is comfort when something was scary. Staying together with their siblings will teach kittens social skills, they get to play-hunt, play-fight, and have fun with other kittens, it keeps them fit, helps them to develop coordination and muscles. So if you can find homes for them before they are 12 weeks old, tell the new owners that they will get well socialised fit kittens that have no problems, rather than kittens who will cry because they miss mommy and the siblings, do have accidents, and show behavior such as cloth sucking, etc.
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 16th, 2018

    Mama will keep feeding them. If you leave a litter box on your patio, she will train them to use it. You can start handling them a little, Watch the mother. Make sure she does not get too upset, and when she does, stop handling the kittens and come back later. If you can weigh the kittens, you can find out how old they are. Count 1 week for every 3.5 oz of body weight. The kittens should stay with their mommy for 10 to 12 weeks, as she will teach them everything they need to know to grow up as good cats. She will teach them what to eat and what not, what to hunt and what not, how to hunt, to be careful of dangerous things, how to use the litter box. Put the water bowl a few feet away from the food bowl. Find homes for the kittens now, but do not take them away until they are 12 weeks old. They need their mama and siblings to socialize properly, play fight and to avoid bahavioral issues.

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    2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on August 20th, 2018

    Hi there. At almost 12 weeks old, it's fine to go ahead and adopt the kittens out - they're plenty old enough to leave their mom and littermates at this point. They will likely continue nursing on her periodically for quite a while if they stay, so you can't necessarily use this as a benchmark for then they're ready :)

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

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Why should kittens stay with their mother until 8 weeks old?
Hello. Mostly it is a socialization issue. Kittens learn many lessons about how to act, play & fight with their littermates. And just like our mother's will teach us how to behave, so does a mother cat. There is nothing terribly wrong with removing a kitten from its littermates sooner, such as around 6 weeks, but there is some benefit to leaving the kittens together longer. It was shown that most kittens, when left with their moms & siblings until at least 8 weeks & even 10 weeks, had better temperments & fewer behavioral problems as they matured. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
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Is 7 weeks too soon to rehome kittens still nursing from their mom?
Hi there I would ideally wait until the kittens are 8 weeks old. Many people re home kittens at 6 weeks, but the longer they can be with their mom the better. I'd make sure to continue to work on weaning them as you have, but if you can wait until 8 weeks of age that would be best. Thanks for using Pet Coach!
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Is 6 weeks old too early for kittens to go to their new homes?
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is the pet peeve of all veterinarians I know. In general, I recommend taking the advice of people who have advanced degrees in animal health and medicine. Breeders have no required certifications or education, and often no actual evidence for their recommendations. In this specific case, I will say that for PUPPIES, I prefer 8 weeks of age. However kittens seem to be able to wean, transition to kibbles, and potty train earlier than dogs. Six weeks with their first vaccine and deworming on board is a perfectly safe and reasonable time to get kittens into their new homes! Best wishes to you, the kittens, and their new families!
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Is 4 weeks too young for kittens? What food and care should I give?
It is a pity you got them that young, They should really be with their mommy and siblings until they are 12 weeks old. You should still offer kitten milk and give them canned kitten food 4 times a day. They will still have accidents, ie might not use the litter box all the time, but eventually will use the box reliably. They will need to play a lot to get coordination and learn how to run properly, make muscles and learn how to hunt. They will try to hunt each other and when they do, please let them. They will not hurt each other. Give them lots of TLC
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What's the earliest age a kitten can be separated from its mother?
When a kitten stops nursing on his mom he is ready to go, it's usually never before the age of 6 weeks. having said that a cat can survive from a younger age if fed kitten replacer milk, but it is not recommended if the mother is available.
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Is it okay to separate 6-week-old kittens from their mother?
At 6 weeks of age, kittens are able to eat on their own however if they have relied on their mother mostly for food up until this point I would recommend offering the kittens along with mom food and slowly wean them away. If though you can be certain that they will eat solely on their own now without any issues then yes it would be just fine
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Can I adopt a kitten at 7 weeks if I'm home to help it adjust?
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