Weaning kittens

connie

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I am adopting 2 kittens. They are 6 weeks old and have begun eating some kitten food in addition to mother's milk. When can we take the kittens from the mother? The mother is an indoor/outdoor kitty and is not litter trained. How do I train the kittens to use the litter box? I plan to keep them indoors and don't want to take them from the mother too soon and am concerned that they won't know how to use the litterbox.
 

gizmopookey

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I got my kitty at 6 weeks. He took to the litter box very easy. He is so young, it is easy for him to learn. The food was easy because they owners started him on it. so i just put him in the litter box several times a day so he knew where it was, and he knew the smell. His mommy was an outdoor too. I am happy to say, he has never gone outside the litter box!!!

~carli~
 

Anne

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If the mother is not very sociable, it may actually be better to take the kittens earlier. If she is a sociable house cat, then let them stay with her for another 3-4 weeks. The use of the litter box comes very naturally to kittens and if you give them enough time, their mother will teach them the proper ways of digging and covering.

As for weaning, the owners should start introducing them with moist kitten food about now. Could you please talk to them about spaying the mother ASAP before she becomes pregnant again? You may want to let them read this article:
http://www.thecatsite.com/care/spay.html

Good luck with the new kittens and please keep us updated!
 
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