our 'stray' but friendly cat had 5 kittens - but

You are going to have bring this little family indoors and socialize them. If they are outside, they are not being exposed to the normal comings and goings in a household and they will not be very social kittys. Playing with them with a kitty teaser or laser pointer several times a day and giving out kitty treats as snacks will help once they are old enough to appreciate a 'snack'. Spending more time with them and handling them frequently are the key to getting them to be ideal family members - for you or for the people you share them with. Please let me know if I can assist further.

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Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.

So are you recommending bringing in all 6 (mom + 5)of them? Mom is friendly towards us, but I have no idea how to catch the little ones - they bolt the moment you get within 5 feet of them and they run behind bushes. Will we disrupt their health if we break up the family by giving some of the kittens away? thanks again.

How old do you think the kittens are?

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Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.

I would put them at least 4 weeks maybe cloer to 8. They are still nursing, but do seem to be eating some of the food as well. they look like they just came out of a dryer - that's how fluffy they are so they have a decent coat of fur and they're a bit larger then a large hand.

I'd guess 5 to 6 weeks old then. You will probably have to catch them with a Have A Heart Trap - you can borrow them many times from your local Rescue or Animal Control (they may make you leave a deposit to make sure you'll bring it back). I would definitely try to get all of them indoors and confined to one room so that you can work on socializing them. It will take a while - maybe a couple of weeks - they may turn into pure mooshy babies once they are handled the first time. Just take your time with them. Since they are still nursing, I would bring mom in last. Catch them one at a time in the Have A Heart and get them situated indoors. You can supplementally feed them with Kitten Milk Replacer until you've rounded up everyone including mom. I would also talk to them at your rescue agency to see if they will spay mom for you at no cost since she's a stray - you'll be buried in cats in another year if you don't get her and these kittens altered. I would keep the kittens until they are eating totally on their own - or until they are close to 10 weeks old and would make whoever takes them agree to spay or neuter them as part of the agreement, or if your local rescue agency is a no-kill shelter, take them there so they can alter them for you. Good luck and let me know if I can help you any further.

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Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.