: Mother cat won’t let 5 week old kittens eat soft food If I don’t separate my mother cat and her kittens that she is trying to wean, she will not let them eat the food that I gave them. It's concerning me, what should

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You should not seperate such young kittens from each other and/or their mother. They still need a few weeks development to become autonomous.

Since they are still growing very quickly, they need a lot of energy, but their jaws and digestive system need time to adapt to solid food. If you force them to only eat solid food now, they might not ingest as much nutrients as they need to grow healthy.

Another aspect is their social development. Kittens that are seperated from their mother and siblings too early can develop strange behavior. They may for example refocus their infant instincts on an object like a blanket or plushie. They may then show infant behavior like suckling (on that object as if it were their mother) for much longer than naturally.

Only if a vet told you that they must no longer nurse on their mother for medical reasons should you wean them off at that age. Instead of seperating them from their mother, it's better to cover her teats with a flexible bandage or cut-off sock, as described in this question. Be sure to feed them kitten food to guarantee they get all the nutrients they need to grow.