We have a cat that just had four adorable kittens. But we can’t afford to keep them all though. We are giving away one to the family that gave us the cat in the first place, but my mom is worried that if we take the kitten, she will go into a depression and possibly die. We also want to try and sell the other kittens because, like I said, we cannot afford to keep them. So how do we/when do we take the kittens away from her so that she doesn’t go into a depression? Thx for answers!
I’m pretty sure the kittens were born yesterday. We had tried to move them into a box into my room, away from the other cat but she just took them in her mouth (lolz, my mom freaked out) and put them back in the closet where she had them, so I guess they are supposed to stay where they are born. All 5 of them are in there now.
And i do agree with the people saying that "if you cant afford to have ‘em, don’t have em" but it wasn’t on purpose, she was outside… and got done by a stray, so… she’s one of those outside kitties. But we weren’t expecting that to happen.
How long ago were they born? You have to keep the kittens with the mother for about 8 weeks before they can be parted because the kittens will most likely die otherwise and the mom will be fine with it after then because that’s how cats work.
Try taking (not all of them) away one by one, Let’s say after 7-8 weeks
After she weans them you can’t give them away until they are 6-8 weeks old.
I would keep the kittens with their mother until they are a couple months old. Then you could put them up for adoption. That is because they have already grown out of needing their mom.
Most animals will instinctively push their offspring away when they are old enough to survive on their own. You can always try giving your cat extra attention after the kittens are gone.
Well, first of all, you can’t give away newborn kittens. Wait until they’re about two months old. That doesn’t mean you can’t line up homes for them in the meantime, but you have to take care of them in the interim. Otherwise, they may not survive, and if they do, they’ll have serious socialization problems.
Secondly, don’t worry about mama cat. She’ll be sad for a bit, but it’s natural for kittens to grow up and leave. Just give her some extra attention, and get her spayed when she’s feeling better so you and she don’t have to deal with this again.
You should check with yout local animal shelter to find out how old the kittens must be before you can take them away from their mom. Usually it’s a minimum of 6 weeks, but in some states it is 8. At that point the cat will start to detach herself from them anyway, so she won’t become depressed, at least not for too long. She might wander around looking for them for a couple of days, but should recover fairly quickly. I would also advise you to get your cat fixed. If you can’t afford the babies, then you really can’t afford for her to keep having any more either.
First of all, you may have better luck finding them good homes and GIVING them away. Trying to sell them will be much harder. I really hope you aren’t thinking of doing it any time soon.
A kitten should stay with its mother for an absolute minimum of eight weeks and preferably 12 weeks. Although they may be "weaned" prior to eight weeks, they will still have the occasional need to nurse. Kittens taken from their mom cats before this time often develop nursing behavior on themselves, other cats, humans, or fabric, and these habits will often continue throughout adulthood.
They also need this time to learn proper cat behavior from their mother cat, including use of the litter box, socializing with humans and other cats.
The time they spend with their mother and siblings is very important because they will learn a lot about thing like using litter box, weaning, interaction with their siblings etc. and if they don’t have that important time together, they are more prone to having behavior problems later. Often kittens that are separated from their mother too soon, will be very shy, and have social problems with other animals as well as humans. Another tell-tale sign is if you notice the kittens attempting to nurse on clothing, fingers or other things.