Expert: Marcia Owen - 2/2/2011

Question
Hello Marcia,

I have a beautiful litter of 5 kittens and their mom.
The kittens will be 9 weeks old this Sunday, and my concern is that although I feed the kittens 3 to 4 times daily (mixing kitten kibble more and more with meat baby food to transition them into eating soley kitten kibble) they all will still nurse throughout the day.
They wont nurse for very long, not as long as they used to because the mother will get up and walk away but she still lets them nurse.
I'am wondering if this is okay; will i still be able to adopt out the kittens at 10-12 weeks even if they sometimes still nurse from their mother?

Thanks,
Jackie

Answer
Dear Jackie

Congratulations on the babies and I'm sure you've had lots of fun so far.

Everything sounds normal.  Kittens will quite often suckle more for comfort than anything else at this age and yes you will be able to home the kittens without any problems.  In fact I have adults that still suckle from their Mum, purely because she lets them!

However, I would suggest that the kittens should not go to new homes until they have had their course of injections to ensure that they are given as much protection for their future as possible.

Regards

Marcia