Kittens

[jonniebkk]

Hi all,

I am looking to adopt a kitten and need to know how soon after birth it is safe to adopt one. I assume after it is weaned...about when is this?

Thanks.

[BambinA]

weaning period is when the kitten is 1.5-2 months old

[jonniebkk]

Up to 2 months...that's a long time.

Thanks.

[Sheryl]

2 months is too early to separate a kitten from it's mother. Although they will by that age be taking solid food (while also still nursing a bit as well, mostly for comfort), their socialization by the mother is just starting to get really underway.

Kittens need to be with their mothers at least 11-12 weeks. By then, the mother will have litter-box trained them so you won't have to, taught them basic survival skills, they'll be properly socialized and emotionally able to separate from Mom without undue stress or anxiety.

Take them earlier and you may inflict emotional damage; you will certainly deprive the kitten of a lot of socializaion and skills.

They are still quite small, playful and cute at 12 weeks!

[monty]

Biggest problem is most Thai people take away the kittens way to soon from the mother.

I'm in the process of raising a kitten whose mother got killed (road accident) when it was about 2 weeks old, and I can assure you it ain't easy.

Bottle feeding (with milk replacer, not with cow milk!), weaning it to solid foods...

Didn't have to litter train though, seems to come instinctively and not through training by the mother! Something to do with survival through hiding smells of their waste.

Luckily I have two other cats, one female and one male, who readily adopted the new family member, so I guess the social and survival skills will come from them.

I did take a bit of a risk by letting them get together relatively soon (after about 4 weeks) due to the risk of infectious diseases, basically both ways as my adult cats are allowed outside and sometimes get into small scuffles with other cats. The adults are vaccinated, so they have some protection, but they might carry it on to the small one, who is still too young to get vaccinated.

It just feel that it's worth the risk, the little one needs to learn from the other cats and not from humans.

But it's an incredible strong bundle of energy at the moment

And hand raised kittens are extremely affectionate, they never had to go through the difficult decision whether to adopt you or not :D

Best noticed from the insistence on grooming me, which is probably the clearest way for a cat to show that she considers you to be a part of her family!

[jonniebkk]

Thanks everyone for the very informative replies. We are life-long cat lovers but all have been adults adopted from shelters (and quickly or already fixed) so don't have allot of experience with kittens. Therefore, we didn't know how soon we should separate if from the mother. We certainly want our new kitten to be well socialized and to have her basic life skills already learned when we take her...but we want also to hand-raise her as soon as feasibly so she will be socialized with people too.

I have been offered a choice from a mother that has just birthed her litter so I guess 3 months sounds about right.

Also, would anyone please provide the schedule of vaccinations for a kitten and at what age she can be spayed.

Thanks again.

Edited April 4, 2008 by jonniebkk

[Sheryl]

Spaying, age 5-6 months is the earliest most Thai vets will do it.

[Priceless]

Where I come from (Sweden) it is actually illegal to separate a kitten from its mother before age 12 weeks. Many vets and experienced breeders recommend that you wait with spaying until after the female has been in heat for the first time.

/ Priceless

[jonniebkk]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I will wait about 12 weeks to pick out my kitten. As for spaying her, maybe wait about a year (no worries here as she will be a completely indoor cat). She'll be a perennial Vestal Virgin