# what do i do my mummy cats kittens have gone to new home..



## clairedax (Jun 12, 2010)

would like some addvice my kittens are now 81/2 wks old 2 have gone to new home just a hour ago but my little diz is now searching for them them how can i comfort her she still has one baby. please help me with some advice.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Don't worry - she will probably spend a few days looking for them. Just give her some extra fuss and attention. keep an eye on her teats though as her milk will not have dried up yet.


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## clairedax (Jun 12, 2010)

thank you for reply ill make sure she gets lots of TLC.


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## LisaLQ (Dec 19, 2009)

Have they all gone off to new homes? If she continues to have milk, you may need to take her to the vet for treatment to clear that up.

Most breeders keep their kittens til 10-12 weeks - partly for this reason, partly because the kittens aren't ready to go at 8 weeks - and need to learn a lot from mum in those final weeks.


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## PennyH (Dec 30, 2008)

I was really anxious when Dusty's kittens left home all the same weekend (she had 4 kittens)..... She was absolutely fine! The day they left, one of them tried to suckle from her and she just got up and walked away so I guess she was ready for them to go.
Hope your little girl gets over it soon - maybe some new toys to distract her might help a little bit?
xx


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## dharma66 (Oct 25, 2009)

The denial of feeding is nor necessarily an indication that it's time for the kittens go. The first such denial is definitely not time for them to go.

This is part of the weaning process. The queen starts to limit the amount that she allows the kittens to feed from about six weeks onwards. It's usually (if I recall) about week 10 that all feeding stops.

The best thing the original poster can do is to keep hold of the remaining kitten until it is at least 12 weeks old. The mother will be worried, because she knows that the two kittens that have left are too young to survive on their own (she doesn't understand that they will be looked after by humans!), so she's trying to find them to help them for another few weeks.

The majority of moggy kittens are rehomed at 6-8 weeks, which is simply too young. They have not yet learned everything they need to learn from mum. The denial of feeding is an important lesson, and teaches the kittens to cope with the new concenpt of frustration. Up until that point, mum has done everything for them, and they have never wanted for anything. Kittens that don't get this lesson in rejection and frustration have a much greater chance of becoming 'needy' cats, always seeming to want something, or can become irritated when they don't get all their own way.

Searching for kittens rehomed before 12 weeks is usually interpreted as mum 'missing' her children. I'm afraid that's simply projecting human emotions onto cats, and cats think differently from humans. A mother cat will not miss her chidren in the way we think about it. Try taking a rehomed kitten back to it's mother after a week or two, and watch her reaction! Usually, she will take very unkindly to their return. This is because in their natural habitat, once kittens leave, they generally move on to find their own territory, and the returning kitten is seen as a competitor. So much for 'motherly love'.

As I mentioned earlier, the searching behaviour tends to happen much more, and for much longer, when the kittens are rehomed before they are ready to survive on their own, this is simply the instinct to see the kittens grown up and fully weaned before they leave.

By far better for everyone is to keep kittens until 12-14 weeks.


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## serenitylove (Nov 23, 2008)

my girls kittens ve also just left and she always has a day looking round for them iv learnt with mine she copes better when they all go within a small amount of time she often walks round with a sock in her mouth for the day then next day is back to enjoying her snoozing in peace her milk usually takes 2-3 days to completly disapear but i always keep an eye on her teats to make sure they are not getting infected as previous poster said i think we handle it worse than the cat


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

If you can, spread out when they leave, one on Monday on the Wednesday etc. I found mine always has a look around and meows a bit then settles back in to her life of luxury with no kittens scrambling for teats. This is usually at 12/13 weeks.


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