How Old Are Kittens When They Wean

The weaning process begins when kittens are around four weeks old.

How old are kittens when they wean. Once you start to wean your kittens it s a good idea to try and feed them about four times a day if it s practical for you breakfast lunch tea and bedtime. Some feral mothers abandon kittens at birth because they just don t have a motherly instinct so the kittens die. Its eyes will start to open and will be completely open at 9 to 14 days old. If you are in charge of weaning an orphaned kitten please.

In order to begin introducing kittens to solid food you ll need to wait for the kittens to begin weaning naturally and then serve small amounts of wet cat food in a room with the kittens for them to begin eating. Certainly by five weeks old all of your kittens should be taking an active interest in more solid food. It s very important that kittens feed from their mother soon after birth ideally within the first two hours. Once a kitten has opened its eyes is able to focus and can walk steadily you can begin the process.

If you are bottle feeding an orphaned kitten or one whose mother isn t able to feed her weaning can begin as early as three weeks. Normally the kitten weaning process begins at about four weeks of age. The process of weaning usually starts when kittens are about three to four weeks old and takes two to three weeks to complete. Kittens should suckle from their mother also known as the queen until they are three to four weeks old.

Feral mothers wean kittens at eight weeks like all cats some sooner if they themselves are starving meaning probable death for kittens. After weaning the feral kittens are on their own and mom will do nothing to support them. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food. Vision will be blurred at first.

As a kitten s pupils don t dilate and contract readily protect your kitten from bright lights. For most kittens this process is usually completed when they reach eight to ten weeks old. The weaning process usually continues for about another month until the kittens are fully weaned between eight and 10 weeks of age. All kittens eyes are blue and will remain so for several weeks.

But if you re weaning a kitten that has been orphaned you can start a little earlier between three and four weeks.