Kitten Weaned Too Early Behavior

7 to 14 weeks.

Kitten weaned too early behavior. Around 5 weeks of age the kitten s premolars will begin to emerge indicating that she is likely ready to start trying out some meaty foods. Kittens that are taken away from their mothers too soon may have difficulty learning how to do basic things such as groom themselves and use the litter box. If the kitten is orphaned or intentionally weaned too early that comfort chain is broken and the kitten searches to replace it often for life. Ideally kittens should stay with their littermates or other role model cats for at least 12 weeks.

A kitten 0 5 weeks old should be nursing or bottle feeding. There has been some changes over the past decade or so about how some animal control facilities or shelters deal with the problem of orphaned kittens who are too young to eat on their own. Also in serious cases your vet may prescribe anti anxiety drugs. Start at the right age kittens bodies are very sensitive to premature weaning so be careful about starting them too young.

The selection weaning time for the kittens will influence their behavior such as their sociability s level excessive grooming and aggressiveness. So what happens when you separate the kittens too early. Early weaning has been linked to a number of behavioral problems that include shyness aggression oral fixations such as sucking excessive grooming and anxiety. Stray or feral kittens are often found without a mother and therefor end up weaned too young which can cause suckling behavior.

Because there might be a connection between kittens weaned too early and wool sucking behavior there is still a chance that your kitten will just outgrow this. In total the weaning process can last as long as ten weeks at which point your kitten should be eating strictly kitty chow. As stated by milla aloha one of the member in the research above the weaning time influences the kittens behavior when they have become adult cat. Up until now however no one had ever examined how it affected cats.

A mother cat wean her babies naturally when kittens are about 2 3 months old by starting to reject her kittens. Orphaned kittens or those weaned too soon are more likely to exhibit inappropriate suckling behaviors later in life such as sucking on blankets pillows or your arm. Likewise a holistic product called rescue remedy is available for cats and may be useful. Making sure your cat is healthy the biggest concern for cats that have been weaned too soon is not the silly little habits that danger held on to but their overall health.