what will happen if you take a cats kittens away too soon?

Question

if my kittens are going to be 8 weeks tommorow and i gave them away yesturday what will happen to the mama cat and the kittens and how long should i wait to give them away? and are they too young now

Answer 1

9 - 10 weeks old is ideal.

A kitten taken away too early can develop behavioural problems and neediness.

Answer 2

The kittens should be ideally 8-9 weeks old before they are taken away from their mother.. If you gave them away a few days too soon , nothing will happen to them, providing they have been eating kitten food on their own. Also the mothers milk will dry up, I'm sure that she has already been trying to wean them off of her milk. It is just good to wait till they are 8-9weeks old, for both the kittens and the mother.

Answer 3

At eight weeks of age the 'mama cat' should have already started weaning them off her teats and onto 'regular food' ... you should have 'helped her' by putting 'water-wetted warm dry catfood' down for the babies to reach. If mama hasn't started weaning them you may 'take them away' and wean them by offering 'formula with a bit of dry cat food' and adding more catfood until the kittens can eat the 'water wetted warm' stuff ... and you should be able to do this in a week or less. You 'may' give an eight week old kitten away, but it's actually best for the kitten if you can keep it until it is three months (12 weeks) old ... they're bigger and stronger ... but they're not as cute and grow up 'faster' than people may expect.

Answer 4

Let me tell you all the side effects of this.....
wolf suckeling..this is where the kitten will suckel on its own nipples or another cats.
breaste needing...this is where the kitten will need on your chest to simulate comfort from an adult figure in it's life.
compulsive eating...the kittens will eat more and more as time goes by; usually resulting in obesity in the animal and vomiting from time to time.
dominance....the kittens will develope a dominante attitude towards other cats and most likely and animal in its new surroundings, this way it becomes the center of attention, making up for the lost attention from its mother.

Although a kitten can be winged in eight weeks, it is in the best interst of the kittens to wait until ten weeks so that the kittens become more independant and have learned most of the things they need for the rest of their lives (litter box, grooming, walking, talking, etc).

As for the mother, she will continue to produce milk for about another week, then go into heat agian. She may get depressed about the early withdrawl of her kittens, so make sure to keep her active with play, grooming and a vet visit to chek her health.


Best of luck!

Answer 5

If any comfort, I had fostered a litter of kittens. The mother cat was still nursing them at 12 weeks. The veterinarian said that was way.... too long. They should have been weaned at 8 weeks. Stop her from nursing now. I've heard that they will knead on things if they are stopped nursing too early, however, I kept one of the kittens and she was fed until she was 12 weeks and she kneads anyways. Don't worry, the kittens will be fine.

Answer 6

Wait 12 weeks, The mother cat teaches her little ones how to survive, but to be sure get a bowl of milk out. Then take a kitten pick her up and dip her nose in the milk do it just a little bit, and then set her down near the milk. When she cleans her nose with her tongue she'll taste the milk and if old enough will go drink it. But I'd wait 12 weeks also get a bag of kitty chow or can chow. when they start eating cat chow then its time.

Answer 7

At the age of 8 weeks old they are ready but I always wait until they are 9 weeks. Believe by the time they are 9 weeks old the mother is sick of them and she is tired of feeding them!! We ran a rescue and took in some mother cats until they had their babies!! Believe me they are done with them by time 9 weeks rolls around!!! By the way giving them away 1 day early is not going to hurt anything

Answer 8

Eight weeks is fine! Nothing happens to the momma...she may look for them but once she realizes they are gone she will stop doing that too..... as far as the kittens go, if the new owners keep them warm and put a toy in the "box" or bed with them, they will adjust quickly also...they might meow alot at first but they will be fine!

Answer 9

my 2 year old cat was taken away from her momma too soon. now the only thing i notice that sets her apart from normal cat behavior is the way she "makes biscuits" on my blanket and sucks on it like its her mom. lol my blanket is faux mink, so maybe Luna thinks it feels like cat fur? Anyways, 8 weeks is a good time I think. I got my kitten when she was 9 weeks old and shes alright...unlike Luna...lol

Answer 10

A couple of days probably won't make much difference. However, if you don't have your cat spayed now, and there is another litter, I would keep them a little longer. 8 weeks is a bit like the minimum.