How Soon Can Baby Kittens Be Separated From Its Feral Mother
Feral or otherwise unsocialized kittens are nearly easily tamed for adoption and indoor life between the ages of four and viii weeks.
past Mike Phillips, NYC Feral Cat Initiative
Taming, or "socialization," is needed when kittens have had no positive interaction with humans and are so frightened or aggressive that they cannot exist handled at all, or at to the lowest degree not safely. If you want to easily tame feral or undersocialized kittens for adoption, there is a narrow window of opportunity between four and eight weeks of historic period.
Kittens under two months old usually can be socialized very speedily using nutrient every bit an incentive to befriend humans because they have non nonetheless developed the strong "fight or flight" instinct of older kittens. Often within a twenty-four hours or weekend of work they are comfortable existence handled by humans and will quickly adjust to the atmosphere in the cage setting of a decorated shop or adoption facility. After two months of historic period, the combination of age, gender, genetics, and life experience of the true cat will make up one's mind whether a cat might be easily tamed for adoption or volition need a prolonged menstruum of work to be at all comfortable around humans. Predictions of time needed to tame an older kitten or cat are hard to make when all these variables come into play.
Why is it so easy to tame kittens under ii months of age?
The optimal fourth dimension to quickly tame feral kittens is between four and 8 weeks, their natural weaning period. In that location are many biological reasons that make kittens emotionally predisposed to accepting humans so readily at this historic period. During this time, kittens brainstorm the transition from complete dependence on their mother to complete independence. Some have likened the impact of this stage to the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Nature converges many factors to make the readiness to acquire a completely new way of life from mom very potent at this point.
Internal and external cues encourage a female parent true cat to wean her kittens and teach them to survive on their ain between four and eight weeks of historic period so she can regain her condition for the next breeding cycle. (Photograph by Tim Wang)
For 1 matter, at this age, a mother's milk no longer provides enough diet to support her kittens' rapid growth, so they are eager to have a new source of food energy that can meet the demands of their growing bodies. Using food to tame kittens, every bit demonstrated in this video, is very effective betwixt 4 and eight weeks, when they are both craving diet and mentally open up to new things. It is during this weaning period that mother cats would normally beginning bringing casualty to their kittens to introduce a new free energy source and get-go to teach them to hunt for themselves.
Nature encourages this process by making moms increasingly intolerant of nursing, thereby increasing hunger in the kittens and adding a strong incentive to learn to chase. While nursing, moms steadily lose weight, using upwards their body stores. Nature needs her to stop nursing and caring for the current litter to regain her status to exist ready for the next breeding cycle. Forth with these hormonal changes in mom, the growing teeth of the kittens and their sharp claws kneading her abdomen further inspire mom to teach them to hunt rather than to go on nursing. All of these influences come together for a very efficient transition to independence.
To further print the importance of this timing, science has shown that while kittens are very gear up to acquire and change habits betwixt four and eight weeks, they are as well very reluctant to give up whatsoever impressions formed at this age. This period is when nature has biologically predisposed kittens to acquire and blot basic life lessons at warp speed. Whichever teacher gets there first has the strongest influence on their opinions for a lifetime. It is of import to create a positive association with humans before they have learned otherwise. One time a fearfulness of humans is ingrained, information technology is very hard to modify their young minds.
If you lot want to tame kittens for indoor life and/or adoption, it is important to create a good association with humans earlier they accept learned fright from their mothers.
It is at effectually half dozen weeks that kittens start leaving the den and a new communication organisation with mom develops as office of the learning procedure. Mom growls when in that location is danger, and the litter scatters and hides until mom signals that the danger has passed. If humans are a perceived danger for mom, the kittens volition learn that fright directly from her. They tin can relearn differently with the prompt introduction of a counter-incentive of food and nurturing from humans, but they aren't easily convinced to change their minds afterwards this second month of life has passed.
Showtime the taming early, be consistent, and get it washed every bit young as possible! Otherwise, be prepared to be very patient and forget any timeline. It tin be done, but there are no guarantees equally to how long it might accept to gain an older kitten or cat's trust. While cats are very adaptable and can alter their opinions over fourth dimension, nature has stacked the deck confronting whatever "Johnny-come-lately" lessons in the joys of a life with humans.
For info about taming older feral kittens, see the three-office video, Tough Dearest: Socializing Feral Kittens, or consult Urban Cat League'due south Taming Ferals! page.
Mike Phillips , LVT, is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. Mike prepares presentations for the general public, trappers, and professional audiences; heads up our community outreach efforts; and responds to requests for data almost taming feral kittens, trapping assistance, and feral-friendly spay/neuter resource. Mike is a co-founder of Urban True cat League, a former president of Neighborhood Cats, and has worked as the Veterinarian Technician Supervisor at the ASPCA Adoption Center in New York City and worked in the ASPCA Beast Hospital's ICU and on the ASPCA'southward Mobile Spay/Neuter Dispensary. His tried-and-truthful taming techniques are featured in Tough Love: Socializing Feral Kittens, a video used past animal shelters around the globe. Mike'south "day job" that pays for all that kitty litter is working for New York Metropolis Opera, where he's a resident stage director.
Source: http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/wordpress/2013/05/the-best-age-for-taming-feral-kittens/
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