The ideal age to adopt a kitten is at 8 weeks of age. There are many reasons for this.  By 8 weeks of age a kitten has had a broad range of encounters with people and other animals so that he or she can confidently adapt to the human world. 8 weeks is also the time where the kitten   has learned to be litterbox trained.

   However,  when adopting a kitten from an animal shelter and not knowing its history you should be careful, because the kitten may not have been properly socialized. This is especially true for  feral cats and kittens which may lead to difficulties in behavior.