29/07/2025
WHY DOES HOMING AGE MATTER?
If you are on rat-related social media, you will unfortunately see kittens who have been homed out underage. You may have even been homed underage kittens in the past yourself (I know I was when I started out)! One of the key ways that you can tell they're underage is if they still have their fluffy kitten coat and their body can look a bit small compared to their head. They also look and feel less robust.
Kittens are usually weaned from about 4-4.5 weeks old. Once the kittens are weaned, their immune system starts to work for itself. This is a more vulnerable time for kittens and keeping them with the breeder puts less stress on them.
The minimum homing age is 6 weeks old. By this point they should be more robust and their coat will look more sleek as they moult their fuzzy kitten coat. So if you see someone say “What's wrong with homing them out a little bit before 6 weeks of age? It doesn't make much of a difference”... I think the comparison photo shows pretty clearly that it does make a difference!
Most breeders choose to home out later than 6 weeks of age, especially if the kittens are from a larger litter and/or are on the smaller side. They grow a LOT over the next few weeks, and this improved size and maturity puts them in much better stead for going to their new home. Plus you can’t really judge the conformation of a kitten properly before 5-6 weeks and it takes time to arrange homes, which means that they tend to be homed out at an older age.
As you can see from the photo below, which shows kittens aged 5 weeks, 6 weeks and 7.5 weeks, there is a huge difference between the ages in terms of size, robustness, and their coat. Can we also be proud that I managed to get all 3 kittens in focus?!
Rat keepers who have been homed underage kittens rarely realise what has happened until someone points out the kittens’ appearance. The most important thing is that they feed their kittens appropriately. Kittens should have 23-28% dietary protein (compared to 10-14% for adults), which can be provided through wet meals such as tinned sardines with cous cous, eggy rice and chicken wings 2-3 times a week. They should be fed additional good quality protein and a little bit of extra fat until they are ~12-14 weeks old.
