When Do Feral Kittens Stop Nursing

Hint for determining the age of nursing kittens.

When do feral kittens stop nursing. But according to aspca information online cat. Typically that s week 10 for the kittens. Around 4 weeks after birth mother cats typically start the weaning process the gradual introduction of solid foods to the little fluff balls. Once they get the hang of it the kittens should consume the milk replacer greedily.

That means they have to learn to get their own food. You can stop the feeding when the kitten begins to slow down the consumption or becomes disinterested. Lots of times though when people feed feral cats they start to grow attached and that can be a problem. If you don t see her monitor the kittens from a distance for a few hours.

For many people seeing a cat outside might be a nice little addition. If their mother returns leave them be. If they are nursing and their eyes haven t opened they are under 2 weeks. Answered august 1 2018 author has 5k answers and 1 8m answer views.

When the kittens are 5 6 weeks old and eating steadily the mother is spayed and if feral ear tipped and returned to her site. Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide. The most common and widespread belief is that the kitten who may now be an older cat was weaned too early from its mother. There are slight differences of opinion regarding the exact best weaning age but all groups agree that ideally weaning should take place between 6 12 weeks of age.

And what happens when you do. The causes of kitten suckling can include being separated from mom too early. Feral cat mothers don t actually abandon their kittens. As soon as the kittens appear to be eating nothing but solid food the mother cat s breast should be dry within a week or two.

The little guys need her milk to survive and thrive. But the problem is feeding it can be a problem. When the orphaned kittens reach about 3 weeks of age you can start providing watered down meat based kitten food for them to nibble on. Kittens are totally dependent on their mothers until they re about a month old.

Ideally kittens should not be weaned from mom earlier than six weeks. Feral cats may look cute but it does pose a problem if they re fed. Learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors. It s best to leave them with mom until they re weaned.

Kittens begin to nibble at wet food at 4 weeks of age and are fully capable of eating on their own at 6 weeks. Sometimes the family stays together in a colony and sometimes they move on to other territory. Before you do anything remember never separate kittens from their mother cat. So what happens if you stop feeding feral cats.