Expert: Jessica - 6/13/2006

Question
My cat just had kittens and I'm not sure as to when it is safe to seperate the kittens from their mother. They are almost 5 weeks old now and are walking (a bit clumsily). Also, when do I start them on things like, real kitten food and litter box training? Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Ann.  They are at such a fun age!

You should introduce them to canned food now.  They are plenty old to start experimenting with kitten food and water at this age.  I would wait to introduce dry food until at least 8-12 weeks old.  Kittens don't have molars younger than this and are not able to crush up hard food.

Also, they should be using the litter box by now.  Mama usually teaches them that on her own.  Just be sure the litter box is shallow enough for them to get in and out of and close enough to where they eat and sleep.  You can also encourage them to use the box by putting them in there after each meal.  And if you happen to find any droppings, place them in the box so the kittens get the idea.

As far as when to give them away, ideally, you should let mama wean them fully.  This typically happens at about 12 weeks.  I know it seems a little older than most people think is okay (average belief is 8 weeks old is okay).  But ask any responsible breeder, and you will never hear younger than 12 weeks.  Let me put forth these reasons for allowing them to stay with mama 'til 12 weeks.

1.  Mama's milk contains a fatty acid called DHA.  This makes up a large portion of the brain.  It encourages healthy mental and emotional development as well as healthy vision.  Kitten foods don't contain as much DHA as mama's milk.

2.  Mama's milk continues to provide immunity to many diseases that a kitten's immature immune system cannot fight on its own.  When separated from their mother younger than 12 weeks, the rate and severity of kitten sickness skyrockets.  Kittens infected young with herpes and calici virus will often suffer severely with these diseases for life.  Mama's milk helps protect them against such severe infection.

3.  Kittens are not emotionally equipped to deal with separation from their mothers before 12 weeks, and we see stunted growth and illness due to stress because of this.  In fact nature makes it quite clear that kittens should be with their mothers until this age - kittens produce enzymes to digest milk until the 12-week mark.  Only after this age do they begin to lose that ability.  It seems clear that kittens are meant to nurse, at least intermittently, until this age.

4.  Kittens who leave their mothers before 12 weeks tend to be biters.  They learn proper social boundaries mainly between 8 and 12 weeks, by interacting with litter mates and mama.  For example, biting = buddies that don't want to play with them anymore.  So they learn to curb their behavior.  Kittens who lose out on these lessons often become life-long problem biters.  It's a difficult behavior to train them out of, and it's probably the behavior I'm asked about most often.

5.  Kittens who leave their mothers younger than this tend to have litter box issues.  The behavior wasn't enforced long enough.  So they often won't cover their waste, and they are sort of wishy-washy about using the box all the time.

So all of my fosters stay with mama until 12 weeks, no exceptions.  I know everyone wants a teeny tiny baby.  Are they going to want a one-year-old who's a monster that bites and pees outside the box and ends up with every physical and emotional illness out there?  Probably not!  Just some things to carefully consider before deciding when to let them go.

Good luck to you all!