Mary Allen
At six weeks, kittens are far too young to be given away – but it still happens time and again that they are adopted so early. You can read about the problems this can cause here.
Most of the time, the little house tigers cannot cope well, either physically or emotionally, if they are separated from their mother and siblings before the age of twelve weeks. The health problems are not only a great burden for the little ones, but can sometimes be life-threatening.
Giving Away Kittens That are Too Young: Health Hazard
A move means stress for every cat, which very young kittens cannot bear yet – which of course causes them to deal with it. On the one hand, the kittens under twelve weeks of age still lack the immune system, on the other hand, the little ones are often so sad when they are not close to their mother that they become ill as a result.
Changing their diet when moving house is also very difficult for cats that are too small: they need very small portions several times a day and prefer to drink with their mother in between. Leaving kittens too young can result in serious digestive problems as well as sucking on whatever they can find and never stopping when in doubt.
Kittens under the age of twelve weeks are also missing the vaccinations that are very important before moving because they are usually only done when the little ones are between eight and twelve weeks old.
Cat Training: Problems Due to Early Giving Away
Especially between the ages of six and twelve weeks, kittens learn a lot from their mothers that will make their later life easier. Kittens explore the area with its, get to know how to deal with people, and thereby strengthen your cat nature. The mother cat also sets limits when they are too cheeky, which teaches them how to deal with frustration and anger. The kittens become stress-resistant and learn to go through the world without fear.
By playing with their siblings, they learn social behavior and the controlled use of their claws and teeth. Even the most loving person cannot teach them all of this, so giving them away too early can result in misbehavior such as scratching, biting and aggressiveness, or uncleanliness. Anxiety and antisocial cat behavior are also not uncommon.