Leading cause of Cat Aggression -Early Weaning
Join any cat forum and you’ll often see posts seeking help as their cat is displaying signs of inappropriate behaviour.
Outside of inappropriate marking and defecation, aggression is the most common reason for cat abandonment
Despite best efforts and support some kittens/ cats become unsuitable for indoor living.
This can be avoided by your decision to bring home a kitten after 15 weeks of age.
At WinterForest, the earliest a kitten leaves us is 17 weeks. Here is what happens when you remove a kitten from a mother before 15 weeks.
A study conducted in 2017 has shown definitively that regardless of breeds when a domestic kitten is removed from their mothers prior to 8 weeks they develop a disproportionate risk for displays of aggression.
If they are weaned after 14 weeks they are less likely to display anxiety linked behaviours like overgrooming and fearfulness.
Weaning is described as the removal of a kitten from a maternal cat influence. It does not need to be a kitten’s natural mother. A surrogate cat that is willing to take on the responsibilities of caring for the kitten maybe an acceptable replacement.
There is a great misconception that the mother’s role ends at 8 weeks and a kitten companion is sufficient to mitigate such issues.
More indepth reading here
Early weaning has a strong correlation to unwelcomed neurological as well as biological changes in your kitten.
It is important to understand that in a natural( nature, feral cats) setting with sufficient nutrition, kittens do not leave their mums before the age of 4 months (16 weeks).
Perhaps due to our misunderstanding or the desire of owning a young cute kittens, some people acquire their kittens as young as 4 weeks old. Thinking that with scientific advancement in nutrition and copious online resources on integrating and caring for a young kitten, we are equivalent in our ability to care and socialise a kitten.
This message of adopting young kittens may be misconstrued as many rescue organizations and shelters rehome their kittens at 9 weeks.
Most of these kittens were abandoned or rescued without their mothers or from mothers that were unable or refused to care for them.
The advancement in the field of nutrition has gifted us with the ability to successfully nurse this neonates out of their critical care phases.
If anything, the alarming number of owners seeking help for their pet cats behaviours point to the dangers of such practices.
Many studies have concluded that without litter mates and a matriarch, a kitten may grow up physically healthy but lack the mental and emotional skills to successfully assimilate to a home and other pets.
They may not be feral but they are unable to appreciate the finer things to living at home and being a well loved pet.
We agree that adoption and rescuing is a noble act and everyone should consider this prior to the purchase of any pet but would advise that a kitten selected for adoption should be above the age of 14 weeks even if there was no maternal presence and only its littermates.
These unwelcomed behaviours start coming to light when the kitten reaches 6 months of age and co-incides with the time to neuter. Giving rise to the misconception that neutering and spaying triggers an unwelcomed change in your kitten’s temperament.
What is interesting is that the study includes adults cats and concludes that cats that are never weaned, that grow up in a multi-cat home since birth has the highest probability of successful integration with other cats. Although we see this repeatedly in our retired and rehomed kings and queens this also has good indicators when you decide to pick a rescue from a shelter. A older adult cat that has been at the shelter with all the other kittens coming and going and is comfortable in the presence of all these will better assimilate to your home versus a young abandoned/ rescued kitten at 8 weeks of age.
At WinterForest we are always integrating young adults into our homes and are very thankful to our associate catteries who have similar beliefs and practices, allowing for easier assimilation of our cats.
The study also supports that kittens/ cats where possible should have a companion to prevent being socially deprived and thus display inappropriate behaviour.
It really is a perfect excuse to get 2 at once or in close proximity to each other. If you really have no plans on adding another cat into your household. It would be best then to bring home a kitten when older or opt for a calm adult.
Although some adults may start off less affectionate they do eventually warm up and beats dealing with the behavioural issues that may never go away when adopting a kitten weaned before 14 weeks.
No ethical breeder insists that a kitten is ready to go before 14 weeks. This should only happen under exigent circumstances as it clearly shows a lack of care on their part.