Kittens...how old are they? when can I give them away?

Question

My neighbors abandoned their cat and now i am taking care of it. It is an outside cat. It had kittens and I found them recently. The kittens can walk (wobbly) , they have teeth, they meow, they can climb, their eyes are opened (and blue). There are 5 of them. I take care of 4 neighborhood cats and I dont know how old the kittens are and when I can give them away. I have some friends who want them but i dont know when I can give them away and if i do give them away, what should i tell the new owners about feeding and everything?

Answer 1

When dealing with a situation like this you have to take into consideration a couple of this. 1) Teeth - how much of their teeth are exposed from the gum? If its not very far from the gums(no more than an inch to an inch and 1/2) then they are young. I'd say about 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 weeks. And thats really pushing it. When the teeth look like an adult cats then its safe to start finding new homes for them.

With the kittens walking "wobbly" then I would wait. They need to be 6 weeks old, going to the litter box to potty and able to eat dry cat food.

You can start them off on food now. But if you do make sure that its formulated for kittens, and that you soak it in warm water until you can break a piece in half with a spoon.

I have had kittens in my life and have gone through this kind of thing before. My own cat had two litters and then I took on a litter that the mother left. That was the most difficultest case I have ever gone through. And I hope to not go through it again. But I will if there is a need for me to do so.

I want to say God Bless you for taking care of these kittens as well as the adult cats in your neighborhood.

Answer 2

The kittens should be between 8-12 weeks old before they are given to new homes.

Sounds like these kittens are probably around 5-6 weeks old. Just a guess though, you should consult a vet for a more proper estimate of age.

Whatever kitten food you decide to start them on, make sure the new owners continue feeding the same, and slowly switch, if they plan on feeding something else in the future.

Kittens should stay on the kitten diet until they are 1yr old.

Please look into spaying the mother cat (many rescues/shelters will do this for a low cost).

Answer 3

They sound about 3-4 weeks-ish if they're still wobbly. They shouldn't be given away before 8 weeks of age, preferably 12. They need to be fully independant of their mother and preferably vaccinated before leaving her.

Feed the kittens proper kitten food, and tell the new owners to continue with this until they are a year old. Also de-flea the kittens and mother (with Frontline spray from a vets, an be used on cat from 2 days old). Kittens need their vaccinations at 8 and 10 weeks of age. Tell the new owner this, and only surrender the kittens if they promise to have them neutered once they reach 5 months old!

Chalice

Answer 4

If they are weaned from their mother, in other words if they don't suckle on their mother, and are eating normal food, then you can give them away. If you are giving them away, make sure that the people promise to bring the kitten to a vet for their shots. Be selective to who you give the kittens, as some people don't really know how to care for animals, then they get bored with caring for an animal and they abandon it and it will be at the mercy of bad weather, no food and other cats. If you have trouble finding homes, then give them to a non-kill shelter and they will be checked out and not uthanized until they are adopted. As far as feeding, tell the new owners to feed them soft kitten food, and some dry kitten food, fresh water daily, litter box cleaned daily, and that's it.

Answer 5

From the way you describe the kittens, they sound about 4 to 5 weeks old. Kits start getting teeth around 3 weeks, and they start to walk around more a week or so later. All kits have blue eyes at first. She will start weaning them so they can also start eating solid food (moistened kitten kibble is fine and for mom too) and will start using a litter box.
BUT in order to be adoptable, they need to learn to trust humans. If you can handle their mom, that is a start, but the kits need to be socialized starting right now. Bringing them food and sitting quietly is a good way to begin.
You also need to be sure that mom did not give them feline leukemia or aids -- it is a blood test but you might find a sympathetic vet or clinic to do it. Otherwise, the kittens will be ill, contagious to other cats, and not adoptable. (Maybe they can spay mom too.)
Ideally kittens stay with their mom about 12 weeks. Once they are completely weaned though, and using the litter box, they can be adopted -- 8 weeks at the earliest and preferably in pairs. Unlike dogs, kittens need more socialization from their mom or they can be little terrors in with humans. Mom will teach them not to bite -- she whacks them on the head.
Maybe one of your friends who wants a kitten could keep the little family together for a bit -- tell her she gets first choice!

Answer 6

They are probably 2-3 weeks old. They should be seen by a vet and surrendered to a cat rescue who can feed them and socialize them properly. At this age, they still need mothers milk or a replacement formula.

They are NOT 5 weeks old as said above. 5 week old kittens typically start playing and running.

Answer 7

Kittens need to be at least 6 weeks of age to be weaned from there mothers milk, as to how old they r now is hard for me to say its early in the spring so im guessing only a couple of weeks since there eyes r open i would wait at least 3 weeks and introduce them to kitten food hard mixed with soft at first when they seem able to eat it its time to go

Answer 8

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Answer 9

They need to be at least 8 weeks old, before you take them from mom. They should be eating well on their own and using potty well on their own. If they nurse at all, it is too soon.