Short answer: when you and I decide you and the kitten are ready. I know that's probably not the exact answer you were looking for, but it's pretty much my philosophy. I will place a kitten no sooner than 9 1/2 weeks with anyone, and in some cases I will hold them as long as 4 months. If I am evaluating them as show or breed candidates, it might be even longer.
You might be thinking that's a really wide range. How come?
Short answer again: no two kittens are the same, and no two homes are the same. While a kitten is often emotionally and physically ready to separate from mama at 9 1/2 weeks, they still require some TLC. Generally, I won't send a kitten this age home to families with small children or dogs, or to first time pet owners. It's probably not a good idea for a family where no one is home for long periods of time.
With guidelines like that, why both to send any of them home early? Why not just send them all home at 12 weeks or older?
Here's the thing - kitten brains develop very rapidly. Peak bonding and learning time for a kitten is between 6 - 12 weeks. Their brains are like little sponges, but fear responses have not yet set in. One of the biggest challenges with young kittens is making sure they don't become the architect of their own destruction. They are eager to explore and learn, and it's critical that they be exposed to as many SAFE environmental challenges as possible: loud noises, flashing lights, new smells, different texture floors, new people, other cats and dogs, car travel, harnesses, outdoors, baths, nail clippings - the list goes on! Look at little Tater Tot (Cyberkoshki Yukon Golden Star) in the picture above! He's barely 3 months old in this picture, and he's in a studio with bright lights, flashing cameras, strange cats on the other side of the studio door and an occasional barking dog. He is unphased, and plants a perfect high five on Mama Trish's hand. This didn't happen overnight - he got a lot of handling and conditioning in those first 12 weeks of his life, and he's ready to conquer the world!
So, if I'm doing all that already, what's the advantage of me taking them home before 12 weeks, you might ask? That's easy - with Tater's litter, I had to divide my time between 5 kittens. He's still a rock star, but check out this video of Halle. We were able to bring Halle home at 9 1/2 weeks from another breeder. She went to live with Mama Trish from the very beginning where she was the only kitten, and look what she learned in only a few weeks! Kittens have an amazing capacity to learn!
Why do you need to hold show / breed kittens for so long? Don't you know before they are 4 months old if they are good candidates for showing or breeding.
I wish I did know - it would make this all a lot easier. Unfortunately, they change a lot. Let's use the the aforementioned Tater as an example. When we took those pictures of Tater as a baby, we thought he would be a rock star in the show hall. Same with his blue and white littermate Berry. Berry was not quite as camera forward, so to speak, as Berry, but he had a very pleasing and gentle personality. Both of them stunningly beautiful. We decided to hold both of them back and show them together. I don't like taking kittens out to their first shows alone, and at the time, I really didn't have another cat I wanted to show.
In their first few shows, they both did well, but the majority of judges seemed to prefer Berry. They both were stunningly beautiful, and some judges were really taken by Tater's rich golden color. Even at 4 months, though, we could see Berry's conformation (structure and alignment with the standard) was slightly better than Tater's. He was also bigger than Tater. Both of those gaps continued to widen as they got older. By the time they were five months, we decided that Berry would be the stud cat for the cattery, eventually replacing his father. He was just that much better than Tater. Tater was no slouch though, so we decided to neuter him when he was 8 months old.
But what really threw things Berry's way was Tater's growing dislike of judges and the whole show routine. By the time he was 6 months, he developed of hissing at other cats as we walked into the judge's ring. He would give the judge trouble when they tried to take him out of the cage. He never showed any signs of aggression any other time, just in the show ring. Regretfully, we retired him from shows. I won't force any cat to go if they don't want to be there. We neutered him, but his show career ended. We still have him, as we couldn't part with his silly, happy-go-lucky ways - he just won't show them off in a show ring with those other stter trange cats looking on.
We could have made a big mistake if we had decided to keep Tater and send Berry to a pet home. Berry went on have and still continues to have a spectacular show career. After completing the 23-24 show season as the best of breed Siberian and missing an Allbreed national winner title by only 40 points, he sired a very nice litter, one of which is staying with us for further evaluation. After his short vacation, we took him back out on the show circuit, and he's doing as well or even better as he did last year. Now you know - this is why we wait.
Why do other breeders call breeders like you bad breeders if they let a kitten go home at 10 - 12 weeks?
Because some are, and people like to make generalities. Here's the questions I would suggest you ask a breeder who is willing to part with one of their kittens as early as 10 weeks:
Do I have to take my kitten home at 10 weeks? If the answer is yes, run. Not every home is suitable for a young kitten. I make some of my clients wait as long as four months if they have small children or big dogs. And, I NEVER make anyone take a kitten before they are 4 months old. As long as you have a deposit on a kitten, I will not require you to bring that kitten home before they are 4 months old.
Have the kittens been vaccinated? May I verify that with your vet? All my kittens go home with two vaccinations received by a licensed veterinarian, and have been thoroughly examined on both those visits. I provide a health hem letter or state health certificate for out of state clients signed by my vet. Some breeders do their own vaccinations and the kitten is never seen by a veterinarian. I could do my own vaccines and save a few dollars, but I never want to have to tell a client I can't place a kitten with them because the kitten has a problem.
Has the litter been tested for FeLV and HIV?
How have they been socialized? Many breeders are so fearful of infectious diseases they never allow the kittens to leave the cattery. While they may play loud music and cart them around the house, it's not the same as getting them out to see the world. Our kittens are out and about a week after their first vaccine, though I'm careful not to let them come in contact with other cats until their second vaccination. Admittedly, there is some risk to them picking up a bug, but it hasn't happened to me yet. They are usually in their stroller and I don't let people handle them on those first trips. My philosophy is that the value of the experience in developing a bomb proof personality outweights the remote risk of an infection they will get over in a few days. We have taken our kittens to pet stores, book stores, restaurants, and of course, the vet. I don't have dogs, but if you tell me you have them, I will make sure they meet cat friendly dogs. Co breeder Trish has dogs as do some of my family members.
Can I come meet my kitten? This is a bit of a trick question. In this day and age, any breeder should at least be willing to have a video session with you to see the kitten. If not, move on. An in person visit is a bit trickier. Letting strangers in to your home can be very dangerous these days, and breeders have been robbed and even murdered by people posing as prospective buyers. Generally, I don't let people come to my home to see the kittens, but I will meet them at a public place for a meet and greet, in fact, I encourage it once the kittens are vaccinated. After that, I may even bring them to their home if I am comfortable, particularly if they have other cats. These early meetings go a long way in socializing the kittens.
Bottom line - it is very important to me and my co-breeder, Trish Seifried, that your kitten gets off to the best start possible at your home, and we will work with you to figure out together how to ensure that happens. We are a small cattery with a wealth of experience, particularly Trish in the area of animal behavior and training. We rely heavily on that experience and the counsel of our vet, and not so much on what other breeders might think, to raise healthy, happy, and well adjusted kittens and cats.
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