Need help on feral kittens

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a few nights ago i found a litter of 5 (feral) kittens, my family has determined that they are almost 4 weeks old. i was going to get them to the spca or some pet shelter before my sister (bless her for caring but sometimes she can care too much) decided that it would be better fi we found them homes instead of them possibly getting put down at a shelter. a day goes by and she gets an email from a local no-kill cat shelter that tells us they have no room but that we must not seperate them and we should find the feral mother (who still hangs around outside in the backyard) so that she can care for them. my mother, who does know cats and kittens very well, says that they should be fine if people were to come by and adopt them one by one or how ever many they wish to take. my sister wont let this happen. we already have two cats and we dont have room for more, i figure if we can care for all 5 at a regular home, then anybody with the power of google and our advice on what we are doing can care for them just the same.

can they be separated or do we NEED to keep them longer.

At four weeks, they're still nursing. Mom may start weaning them around now, but most aren't fully weaned for a few more weeks. They also don't know how to clean themselves yet. If inside, they'd JUST be starting to learn how to use a litter box, and mom would teach them how. Outside she'll teach them where to go and how to bury their... "business."

If they are separated from their mom right now, they are leaving without a lot of skills they need to make good pets. Ideally kittens stay with mom for 12 weeks, though many people adopt them out at around 8-10 weeks because they socialize faster at that young age.

Also, it really is best to charge at least a small fee when adopting. It's the only way to ensure you're adopting to someone at least semi-committed to the kitties.

Of course, we're going to encourage you and the family to bring them ALL inside. Confine them to one room with a comfy nest box for mom and babies, a large litter box for mom, and several low-sided litter boxes with clay litter for the kitties, food, water, & etc. Even mom should be eating kitten food, she needs the extra energy and calories. This way they can be socialized now, they can be with mom who still has things to teach them, they can be properly weaned, and then you can begin adopting them out in a month or so.

If you decide to go that route, they should be taken to a vet. They probably need to be treated for fleas and internal parasites.

And mom should be spayed once all the kittens are adopted out. And if she remains friendly after they're gone, it wouldn't hurt to try to find her a home either. Otherwise, she can be released - but after being spayed, so she can't produce more homeless kitties.

I'll second what LDG said. Four weeks is far too young for them to be away from mom.

We just re-homed a litter of kittens and they nursed exclusively until 5-6 weeks before moving on to food. One of then hadn't really figured out the litter box until he was about 7 weeks old. Mom really does a lot to help socialize the kittens between 6-10 weeks - in our case, even teaching them how to use a scratching post, so if you can keep them with her and keep the batch of them inside and safe, that would be best.

If keeping them with you really isn't a possibility, you can try contacting a foster network in your area, it's possible someone else might be able to take the whole family.

If mom is outside and feral it may be best to adopt out a pair as long if they have experience(vet reference) If the right home comes up it may not be a bad idea if they are home all day(or more then you/family I would just make sure if any young kids that they are VERY gentle or make them wait.

If mom is easily contained then its definatley the best for them to remain together a while longer. Either way mom needs to be spayed or you will be doing this again in about 4 months times.

If you do take mom in and shes a bit wild you will need to be careful if shes protective of the kittens and you will need to handle the kittens alot to make sure she does not influence them on -humans are bad- theory.