Weaning Kittens

Question
Hi~  My daughter-in-law's cat has four kittens that will be six weeks old in a couple days...they have started to eat a little solid food now.  Can you give us some advise on how to properly wean them?  Thanks a bunch!

Answer
Hi Cyndi, This is a good age to start the weaning! I leave my kittens with mom but I put out some canned food stirred in with the dry food for the kittens to start munching on. When you put this down you will have to put mom in another room as she will just eat it all herself! Let the kittens have 30 minutes to muck around in the food and then bring mom back to let her finish it off. You will be surprised how the mom will help to wean the kittens by throwing up food that she has eaten for them to eat, she will start moving more when they want to lay down and nurse. She will leave them alone more to start eating on their own. So really you won't have too much to do! You will not want all the kittens to go to their new homes on the same day. Try to stagger it over 4 days or so. This allows mom to have her remaining milk dry up gradually as each kitten goes. As long as the kittens can eat on their own they will be fine to go to a new home...  in a week or two would be the ideal time!
Teresa