When Can Kittens Be Taken Away? Does the Mother Cat Know If Kittens are Missing?

Kittens are typically ready to leave their mothers and be rehomed at around two months old.

It's generally safe to take kittens away from their mother after they are two months old. Kittens can start weaning around 45 days old, and by the time they reach two months, they are usually ready to eat kitten food and adapt to new homes. Kittens get strong immunity from their mother's milk. Bottle-feeding them is more demanding, requiring about five to six feedings of goat milk per day. Therefore, it is recommended to wait until the kitten is fully weaned and two months old before separating them from their mother and littermates.

Will a Mother Cat Notice if Kittens are Missing?

Mother cats definitely notice when their litter size decreases. While they don't have a concept of numbers as humans do, they will sense the absence of their kittens. When kittens are taken away, they often meow or cry, which alerts the mother cat. Driven by maternal instinct, the mother will seek out the missing kittens and attempt to protect them. If the mother cat senses a significant reduction in her litter, she may perceive the environment as unsafe and try to hide the remaining kittens or move them to a location she deems safer. If most of the kittens are removed, leaving only one or two behind, the mother cat might display jealousy or overprotective behaviors, which can potentially result in her injuring or even killing and eating the remaining kittens. Therefore, it's typically advisable to avoid handling kittens too often or taking them away from their mother before they are ready.

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