Help with weaning!

Hi! I am new here. I have a rescued cat that came to me with 1-week-old kittens. They will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. However, Candace (the momma) has showed no interest in weaning them. They are eating dry food and using the litter box. All of the kittens are going to new homes on May 5th, but I can't get Candace to wean them. Any suggestions? Should I just leave it be and postpone the adoptions?

I have thought about separating her, but won't that cause mastitis if she's not ready? She's so full of milk!

Originally Posted by petsRus

Hi! I am new here. I have a rescued cat that came to me with 1-week-old kittens. They will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. However, Candace (the momma) has showed no interest in weaning them. They are eating dry food and using the litter box. All of the kittens are going to new homes on May 5th, but I can't get Candace to wean them. Any suggestions? Should I just leave it be and postpone the adoptions?

I have thought about separating her, but won't that cause mastitis if she's not ready? She's so full of milk!

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Well they should be with her until 12 weeks old so you really need longer then just May 5th, unless I am adding wrong that will only be about 9 weeks won't it? Too young! By 10-11 or even 12 weeks, they can still snack a little but they will be mostly weaned. You can also start seperating them fromt he mother. She can be spayed now too.

Good luck! PS I hope you are having the kittens spayed and neutered before going home or making sure the new owners do it!

Welcome by the way!! Enjoy TCS!!!

welcome to TCS.
like Jen said , they should be kept with mum up untill there at least 12 weeks of age , you say the kittens are eating dry ? have you introduced wet food yet aswell? my kittens have always perfered the wet and just snack on the dry. as long as there eating well on there own mum can be spayed now , and this should help with her milk drying up , not all vets will spay a mum while she is still full of milk so you will have to check with your vet to see what they suggest. some cats if staying with mum can nurse up to 4-5 months of age if mamma lets them.

Yes, mom and babies have appointments next week for vaccines, s/n, felv/fiv test, and fecals. I introduced wet first and they didn't want any part of it. Of course, mom eats it all before they really get a chance. I will try it again, though. Yes, they will be 9 weeks onld on May 6th. I didn't realize they needed to stay longer than 8 weeks. Thanks for all of the advice, and I will call the vet and ask him about mom's spay since she is still nursing.

UPDATE: Candace's kittens don't nurse much anymore, but Candace was still full of milk. I took in a momma kittie from the shelter that had 3 babies of her own and was nursing 7 others (momma was PTS). Anyway, I gave Candace 5 of the babies and all are doing fine. She didn't accept them at first, but they are nursing now and she is grooming them. Now, we have 2 momma's and 10 4-week-old kitties. I have a full house!

PS
Candace's babies will still see the vet on Wednesday for s/n and vaccines.