How soon to adopt out kittens?

[timvas]

Lucky (see my separate post) had her kittens this morning. Unfortunately the first one was a breach birth and she didn't survive - I had to bury her under my cherry blossom tree in the backyard this morning, very very sad. The other two seem to be doing well, as does their mum. Will post photos soon.

My question is this - how soon after they are born should I consider adopting them out? Most likely they will be adopted separately, I want to make sure I don't remove them from their siblings too early so they are socialised (also to ensure they are used to me, and people generally) but how long should I wait?

The other reason for my question is that a friend and I have been catching some cats (per the Trap, Neuter, Release program - see separate post) that live in a nearby monestary. They are all balck & white beautiful looking cats, almost all of them are very tame and are happy for people to pat them or pick them up (or take them to the vet as the case may be...) Some of them are pregnant already, however (we have neutered two of the males but more to go). We thought we might wait until they have their kittens and then collect the little ones to hopefully be adopted out while having the mothers neutered at that point. My question in this instance is therefore - how long should we wait before picking these kittens up?

[annie]

Hi Timvas,

the usual time a kitten needs to me completely nursed and be able to leave there mom is two months. Some take longer, but I wouldn't recommand sooner. It can indeed create some ulterior problems. some kittens can actually suckle for a very long period if you don't slowly try to introduce some kittie food. If you leave some in the room they are in, they will probably start tasting it by themselves. You might want to wet it the first times though...It makes the transition easier.

Good luck!!

[Karen]

Hi Timvas,

I'm sorry to hear that one of the kittens didn't make it. How are the other two doing now? How's mom?

I found some information about when to place kittens, a breeder's site that recommends no sooner than 12 weeks: http://www.breedlist.com/faq/young.html That seems like a really long time.

I hope all is well.

[pukka]

Just be aware that a kitten is not a puppy . Puppies can go
by 6weeks because a puppy can learn from people how to
do things like the house training .
Though a kitten has to learn everything from the mom . In
Europe a kitten goes to the mom between 10 and 13weeks !
Another story is , when the new owner is home and not working .
Then you can take the ''mommy job'' i have done this .
Rubbing the belly with something warm so they don't cry before
going to the litterbox .
Feeding the kittenmilk by tube or bottle that you can get at the vet
(special small bottles)
You have to repeat this every 3hours to create a happy kitten .
(every 2hours for new borns until 4weeks)
So in my opinion it depends on the situation .
In case the ''new mommy'' has only evening or daytime then they
can't nurse a kitten younger than 7/8 weeks !

[timvas]

Unfortunately another of the kittens died on Sunday morning. I'm not sure what happened - they were both doing so well, feeding regularly and they both had fat little tummies. I found the second one on Sunay morning on her back and in the corner of their box. I did note that Lucky had been a little clumsy around them on Saturday but I just put that down to her being a new inexperienced mum. My fiancee's mother (who has raised many kittens on her farm) told me not to worry, she had seen dogs sometimes accidentally smother one of their litter, but never a cat. So I really don't know what happened. This is all so sad.

Having said that, the last little one seems to be doing extremely well. She is a pretty black and grey tabby with a white mouth and white belly. Lucky is being very watchful, although she is more than happy for me to be around them both (I haven't touched any of the kittens, just watching). I will take them both to the vet this weekend (once the kitten has her eyes open and is mobile) to get them both checked out.

Am hoping her lack of siblings isn't going to be a problem for her development.

[Karen]

Timvas, I'm so sorry to hear about the kitten, that's really sad. How did Lucky react to her kitten dying? Is it hard for her, or is she just focused on the last one and not really noticing?

[pukka]

I am very sorry to hear this sad news :-(
Hang in there ,maybe the kitten was not healthy
and nature just did its job .
What i know about new moms is that they are
sometimes too exhausted to take care of them
during the night . A kitten needs warm belly
licks all the time ( if you knew you could help
with this rub) again , i am sorry but lets hope
that the rest of the litter will stay this way .

[timvas]

Lucky seems to be focused on the remaining kitten fortunately. It's her first litter, so I think it's all just as new to her as it is to me.

Hopefully the last one will be ok, she should have her eyes open and be wandering around by the end of the week so I will post a photo this weekend.

Thanks very much for everyone's thoughts.