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Is it okay to give away kittens, not 100% weened from mom??
- Thread starter madmanmib
- Start Date
I would not adopt out kittens at 6 weeks old even if they are weaned already. They need more time to be socialized and learn kitty manners. I would wait until they are at least 8-10 weeks old but 12 would be better for their development.
I have personal experience living with a six week old kitten. My senior kitty Starbuck was adopted by me at six weeks old. She was abandoned and did not have access to mom/siblings at 4 weeks old. She was a very adorable tiny baby but she was not well socialized. I had to teach her nose biting humans was not a form of communication. One of my adult males had to teach her that biting his head was not an acceptable way to ask for play time. I was lucky that one of my well-socialized adult males was willing to take on the role of teaching her kitty manners. It also took time and patience to teach her that nose biting was not an acceptable way to say I love you. Not everyone will have the patience and another cat to teach a young kitten manners. This is a good example of what can happen when a kitten is separated and adopted out too early. I had experience being around young kittens already because my adult males had been in my life since the day they were born.
They were not separated from mom and siblings until 8 weeks old. I would have kept the family together longer back then but I was forced to move and could not find any apartments that would allow me to have 3 adult cats and 6 kittens there. I kept my two adults and two kittens. The mom and the rest of the kittens were adopted by friends of myself and my room mates. They were adopted to people we knew that had other cats that they had already taken the time to get fixed on their own. We knew these people would get the mom and kittens fixed themselves. The 8 week old brothers I kept did not have any of the biting issues I faced with Starbuck.
I have personal experience living with a six week old kitten. My senior kitty Starbuck was adopted by me at six weeks old. She was abandoned and did not have access to mom/siblings at 4 weeks old. She was a very adorable tiny baby but she was not well socialized. I had to teach her nose biting humans was not a form of communication. One of my adult males had to teach her that biting his head was not an acceptable way to ask for play time. I was lucky that one of my well-socialized adult males was willing to take on the role of teaching her kitty manners. It also took time and patience to teach her that nose biting was not an acceptable way to say I love you. Not everyone will have the patience and another cat to teach a young kitten manners. This is a good example of what can happen when a kitten is separated and adopted out too early. I had experience being around young kittens already because my adult males had been in my life since the day they were born.
They were not separated from mom and siblings until 8 weeks old. I would have kept the family together longer back then but I was forced to move and could not find any apartments that would allow me to have 3 adult cats and 6 kittens there. I kept my two adults and two kittens. The mom and the rest of the kittens were adopted by friends of myself and my room mates. They were adopted to people we knew that had other cats that they had already taken the time to get fixed on their own. We knew these people would get the mom and kittens fixed themselves. The 8 week old brothers I kept did not have any of the biting issues I faced with Starbuck.
