# kittens 7 1/2 weeks still nursing



## JiminMorris (Oct 3, 2003)

7 1/2 weeks ago a young pregnant tabby ran out in front of my car in a rural area near my home. I picked her up and stopped and asked a few houses to learn she was not a pet and kept getting caught in raccoon traps looking for food. Of course she came home with me. The next morning as I was leaving her for the day when she literally went under the chair and delivered the first of 4 beautiful kittens. She has been an excellent mother and craves any attention from me and the kittens. The are fat and happy AND still nursing a few times a day. I was told she would ween then at 5-6 weeks. It has been a complete joy to see her experience this litter. I am concerned that they are so demanding about nursing. The mom cat was so thin after delivery I was worried she was malnourished. Her belly is now almost too distended from eating everything I can leave for her. She has dry food and dry with milk and dry with water. I have several dishes of moist food and milk and water at all times. So...........will she ween then on her own? Is there a nutrition issue I should look into? Ive never had kittens before and I would like to not ruin what seems to be a perfect rearing so far. Do I intervene or give her more time? Thanks so much for your help!
Coleen


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

Oh no, let her nurse them. My girls always nursed theirs until twelve or sixteen weeks.

I had one itty bitty mama nurse a young tom kitten alongside her eight week olds; he was five months old, not hers, and already fifteen pounds. 

There is little in the animal world more enchanting than a litter of well cared for kittens. Enjoy them!


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## JiminMorris (Oct 3, 2003)

Thank you sooooo much for your reply. It would have felt wrong to intervene. They are happy and well socialized so mama must be doing a great job. They have not had any litter box accidents and play with my pack of small dogs. Thank you again. I just love watching their development.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Mama cat will wean then when she's good and ready, but if you are not already doing so, teach them to eat regular food as well so they don't deplete her too much. Put mama cat out of the room, put down a flat dish with dry cat food moistened with water (or goat's milk - don't use cow) and entice them to eat by putting some on your finger and offering it. 

If you are planning on giving these away, now is the time to do it. 8 week old kittens will bond better with a new owner than older ones. 

And get mama cat spayed as soon as possible as she can get pregnant even while nursing.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Put down enough food for them and they will wean themselves. Now, they want to go to mama for succor more than for food. Other animals do this to, my lambs are never fully weaned at four months. As long as you are petting them daily they will bond to new owners just fine, we never had a problem. I always felt ten weeks was a better age than eight for new homes.


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## KnowOneSpecial (Sep 12, 2010)

Just remember that cat's can't read calendars....and if they could, would they really care about our time tables?!


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

In '96 my mama cat , Tricia, had 3 kittens, Alvester, Lemar, and Charles Jr. Tricia was a great mother, she was a real sweetie with humans, but a little Ma Barker in the cat world) 

It was a very hot summer here, where the cat hair stuck to everything. Trish was still nursing, the kittens were huge, bigger than her. She'd make that little chirping noise when she called them, she'd plop down and these huge kittens would come and nurse with great relish. It made me sweat bullets just to watch this. Finially she got to where she'd get up and just walk away, leaving her 3 confused kids behind.

That was the last litter. Ma Barker got spayed.


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## thesedays (Feb 25, 2011)

No, it's perfectly normal for kittens this age to still be nursing. They still need her milk, and will for a few more weeks. They will stop nursing when they, and she, are ready.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

Belfrybat said:


> If you are planning on giving these away, now is the time to do it. 8 week old kittens will bond better with a new owner than older ones.


Actually, no. I don't know how 8 weeks got to be the magic number, or why people want such teeny infants all the time. But a kitten raised with lots of gentle care and left with it's mother until *12* weeks will be the sweetest, friendliest, most outgoing cat you've ever had.

I usually end up raising a litter of kittens every year, never related, from all different parts of the country, I don't breed, I just have them show up pregnant.
But EVERY kitten grows up to be (as one adopter described theirs) obscenely friendly. It's all in how you raise them, and a good part of it is that you will not pry a kitten from me before 10 weeks at the earliest. Cats are complex creatures and need their mommas.

LOL, and if anyone doesn't believe me, in about 6 more weeks I'll ship you a kitten and prove it!


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

Aye...12 weeks to adopt is better. They are more socialized with learning the skills they need from mama. 8 weeks...shutter I did that once. Never again. Ended up bottle feeding the kitten as she was still too young to be removed from mama.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

When I bred, I had soooo many people who came in thinking the babies went home at eight weeks. No, dear. Wait another month and you'll have a far better companion for the next fifteen+ years. They'd get them home at that three-four month mark, and I'd get calls over the next year that went like "She is so smart and gentle! He is such a love and goes everywhere with us, he's so confident!" Yep. Imagine that. 

I had one who was taken from mama at about six weeks. No thank you. Never again. 

Not to mention, breastmilk is an amazing immune support for it's intended recipient.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

It's true--kittens that stay with their mom and siblings for 12 weeks or more have been the friendliest, most well-adjusted cats. 

I used to be a big fan of getting them as young as possible, just so I could have the most time with them as babies, thinking that would make them more bonded to me... turns out I had it backwards. 

At first I didn't understand why breeders of purebred cats wouldn't place their kittens at 7 weeks of age like everyone else does. But I discovered, upon getting my Ocicats at 12-16 weeks, that they were healthy, well-adjusted, confident, and friendly. They had better social behavior with other cats as well as humans, and had learned bite and scratch inhibition. This was a big difference compared to the kittens I'd gotten younger; those little devils would take off your hand in play. 

And don't get me started on bottle babies! When something happens to mama cat, you gotta do what you gotta do... but I've met so many bottle baby cats that were downright mean, with seriously bad attitude. That has convinced me even further that young kittens need their mama to develop proper social skills.


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

Our only experience with a bottle baby--we love her dearly but she is a biter & scratcher & seldom friendly. As she gets older, it's a little better. She has been sick recently & we actually miss her being such a monster.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

First litter of kittens, back in the 70's, I made it clear that no kitten would leave before eight weeks of age. DH's friend couldn't wait, so he let them take a kitten at six or seven weeks (can't remember). I was mad! That cat was absolutely weird. Couldn't get along with other cats, etc. The other three kittens were, as described above, sweet and gentle souls. 

My DD found a stray kitten, probably five weeks old. Our female cats were spayed and she had no proper mama, but we fed her and the other cats taught her proper cat manners. Even the neighbor's tomcat watched out for her. She is 13 years old and is a much loved housecat at the in-laws house.


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