Question
I have done some Google'ing into when is a good time to bring home kittens, and I have read articles where the most common answer is "12 weeks but above 8 and you should be fine".
I also read that if you bring home the kittens a little sooner, it could have pros and cons:
- Pros: the kittens might not have fully accepted their current location as their home, so bringing them home sooner should make the transition easier for them.
- Cons: the kittens learn behavior from their mother at around 12 weeks which they would be deprived of if taken home too soon.
What would be the best age to bring home kittens? Will getting 2 from the same litter reduce the chance of behavioural issues if taken earlier than 12 weeks?
Answer
Honestly you are fine with 8 weeks, I never see kittens come in at 12 weeks with new owners - always 8 weeks with zero issues. You also have people getting kittens at 6 weeks and younger depending on the situation (abandonment, barn cats etc.) with no real bad problems. You may get kittens who still suckle on things when they are brought home too young or kittens who don't know how to play properly (bite too hard).
Most kittens we see come in for SPCA health checks or are strays who turn out to be lovely cats as they got older despite being taken away from mum at a young age. You can wait for 12 weeks, no harm in doing that, but 8 weeks is fine too.
Feliway is a great product to help transition cats into their new home, I highly recommend you try it out!
Answered By - Rebecca RVT