Weaning age chart for kittens

I am fostering a litter of kittens that are just turning 8 weeks old. I have been using a standard weaning schedule, but I am wondering if I am being too conservative. At what age should a kitten be fully weaned off formula and eating only solids? I want to make sure I am not keeping them on the bottle too long, but I also don't want to rush them.

Hi Kathy! As a vet tech, I usually see kittens fully transitioned by 8 to 9 weeks. The big sign to look for is if they are eating wet food or kibble on their own without you mashing it up with water. If they are still nursing exclusively, you might want to check out this thread I posted earlier about signs of readiness for weaning to see if they are showing the physical cues.

Oh my gosh, this is so stressful! I remember when I fostered a kitten last year. I thought I was doing it wrong because he kept wanting the bottle. I saw a post about help! 6 week old won't eat wet food and it gave me hope. Don't worry, they are very stubborn little guys!

It really depends on how they are gaining weight. I have three rescues now and each one had a different timeline. If you are worried about the nutrition, you might want to look at formula recommendations to make sure you are using something high quality. Also, keep an eye on their poop; if it's loose, they might not be ready to stop the formula.

I was so anxious about this with my kitten Taco! I almost weaned him at 7 weeks but felt like it was too soon. I posted about my fears in weaning too early? and everyone told me to wait. I think 8 weeks is the sweet spot for most, but every cat is different. You are doing a great job, Kathy.

Thank you all for the reassurance. I think I will hold off on fully stopping the formula until they are 9 weeks old, just to be safe. I will keep monitoring their weight and appetite. I actually just posted an update in a follow-up thread about how the first one went, so you can see the results there in update: weaning success.