Kittens are small and adorable animals. I remember when the editor’s family had a black-and-white cat; it was not only a childhood playmate but also an expert at catching mice. Unfortunately, once when taking it out, it greedily ate poison bait placed for mice and passed away. I was heartbroken for quite some time and still remember how small it was when it came to our home. Have you ever raised a cat? How long do you think it takes for a kitten to leave its mother cat after birth?

There are some special relationships in the animal world. Like cats, when kittens are ready to be weaned, they prepare to leave their mother cat and live independently. The animal world values survival of the fittest; those who don’t adapt are eliminated. If a kitten stays with its mother continuously, it won’t learn much, and when the mother is no longer around, it may be eliminated by this harsh world. So, kittens leaving their mother is actually a survival training.

Kittens are born very small, about 100 grams or so, but they grow very fast. If there is enough milk, they may reach around 200 grams after a week, and by three weeks or a month, they can grow to over 300 grams. When raising a kitten up to one month, it can start exploring to find food in a bowl by itself. Once it can manage on its own, it means independence is not far off. However, at this time, it is only about six weeks old, weighing around 500 grams. When it grows a little older, around seven to eight weeks, you can slowly start weaning it. Then feed it appropriate formula milk to supplement the nutrition it needs. Therefore, I suggest that kittens leave their mother cat when they no longer need breast milk. Leaving early might affect their future life.

The weaning period also depends on conditions. For example, a cat litter has several kittens, the strongest one that competes best for nipples may be the first to wean. Where there is the strongest, there is the weakest. If milk supply is insufficient, the weaker kittens may become more emaciated.

So when weaning your kitten, you need to observe the kitten’s health condition. If it is not good, delay the weaning and provide more nutritional supplements.