I Have A New Mother Cat And Six Kittens. When Can Let Them Out, And When Can I Wean The Babies?
| |
I rescued a cat, Delilah, and her six kittens one week ago. They are three weeks old now. I have them all living in a sizeable garden shed, and they are comfortable. The vet that I got them from told me not to let Delilah or the babies outside for at least three weeks, but Delilah is wanting to go outside, and in fact, she hasn’t been out for two weeks as it it, because she was in a cage in the vets before she had her babies. I feel mean for not letting her outside as she seems to want to go, but I din’t want her to get lost obviously!
Also, the plan is that we keep two of her kittens and Delilah herself. I seem to have homes for the other four. Will it be alright to take away four of her babies at six weeks, and will she be distressed and looking for the missing kittens? How do I go about the whole affair of weaning them, and then removing them from her?!
Thanks!
Related posts:
- Any Advice On How To Capture A Mother Cat, I Found Her Litter In My Shed This Morning? I found a litter of kittens in my gardening shed...
- Stray Cat Has Had 11 Kittens In My Garden Shed? I noticed a stray kitten in my garden, from last...
- In My Garden Pond 1turtle Had Laid Eggs Since Last 10 -15 Days.why Babies Still Not Come Out?pl.reply .?r=122? we are very eager to see new babies...
- In Memoriam Garden Rocks? In December I lost my first cat to cancer. And...
- Does Anyone Have A Garden Shed For Sale In Scotland Cheap To A Single Mother? Try Freecycle. WordPress Autoblogging Plugin...
- Missing Cat After 4 Weeks Appeared Malnourished And Dehydrated?
- Stray Cat Has Had 11 Kittens In My Garden Shed?
- How Can I Supervise/monitor My Cat Going Out?
- Would A Gardener Give Me Some Advice, Please?
- In Memoriam Garden Rocks?
Until you spay her, do NOT let Delilah out. This can be done when her kittens are eight weeks old. As another person said, she wants out to mate. It may also be because she wants a break from the kittens, but don’t let her out regardless. Delilah certainly does not need another litter.
As for weaning, that can start at four to five weeks, but it is a process. Kittens don’t stop drinking their mother’s milk overnight.
First, put canned kitten food in a shallow bowl or on a plate. The kittens will not recognize it as food at first and will try to play with it, so expect things to be messy! As the kittens grow, their mother will naturally wean them, refusing to let them suckle from her. This might start earlier than normal with Delilah’s kittens, because it’s a large litter (most cats have only two or three) and it takes a toll on their mother’s body condition.
Obviously, you can’t give them up at six weeks; they’re not fully weaned and it’s not legal in most areas to sell kittens until they’re two months old. Eight to ten weeks would be the bare minimum to take the kittens away from the mother, preferably at twelve weeks.
The mother will be upset and look for her kittens, but this is normal.
Thank you for rescuing!
She cannot go back outside until she is spayed. She wants out to mate again. She should be spayed when the kits are 8 weeks old. And you need to keep everyone together for 10-12 weeks before you rehome. Do NOT rehome them at 6 weeks – they are not even weaned at that age!
Kittens will nurse up to 8 weeks old, but you can start them on solid foods around 6 weeks old (canned kitten food).
I understand that you feel guilty for not letting her out but honestly it is in her best interest to keep her in for now. She can get pregnant almost immediately and you will have another 6 kittens to look after
The answer is that the orthodox Taiwan and Armenia Cat’s habitat is roasting and clammy, not like an usual Togo Cat’s habitat
i agree with ocimom!
u need 2 get her spayed when kittens r 10 weeks old
n dont let her out till then or she will mate again
u cannot seperate babies frm mama in 6 weeks old
u should not seperate them at any age basically cuz mum cannot forget her missing kittens n she will look on roads n every where fr the kitts n she may get lost in findin her kids
if u reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want 2 seperate them then u muuuuuuuuuuuuust wait till when they r atleast 3 months
mother will stay in stress n will not giv up n will try finding them.
1. if u really wanna give away 4:
keep 3 n give away 3 but atleast when they r 3 months old
2. if u wanna keep mummy out of depretion
dont giv away her kittens
3.when 2 let them out:
when her kittens r atleast 3 – 4 months old
PROPER SOLUTION :
get her spayed when kittens r 9-10 weeks old n keep her in the shed till then ,away frm other outside dangers e.g stray cats hurt kittens , cars n traffic etc
next let mummy out when she wants 2 go out n meanwhile keep kittens in the shed
u can let kittens out with their mum at atleast the age of 4 months e.g my 4 months old male kitten went out n was beaten by a male stray cat n cud not move fr a day n was very ill
u can at the most giv 2-3 kittens away at the age of atleast 3 months cuz till then mum teaches them
keep care of kittens n mum
luv frm jenny
u can visit my profile n plz email me n tell me what u did about the kittens
she should not be in a shed but in a bed room , she must absolutely not go outside until she is spayed , kittens should be kept in the house till they are at least 6 months as kittens have a cr*p sense of direction and can get lost very easily and can get tempted to find a mate
they can go to a new home at 8 weeks , they must be spayed , vaccinated and micro chipped before they can go outside
leave wet food mashed with kitten formula and when mommy is sick of them nursing she will push them off her