Help, 4 Week old kittens

Hi its been a long time since I last posted. A lot has happened. We added a third cat, lost a feral/stray to a car, and had kittens. Right now I need help with the kittens, the rest are for another thread.

We care and feed three ferals 2 males and one female. The femal got pregnant and had the babies outside. She was very young about 9 months then. My husband had been working with her and was almost ready to bring her inside and make her a house cat and have her babies here. Unfortunately she had them before we could get them in, luckily we know when she
had them. That was a little more than 4 weeks ago. She delivered in our neighbors front yard but within a week she moved theminto our gated back yard. We just kept food and water out for her and let them be a family.

From the day they we realized she was pregnant our goal has been to get them inside. Unfortunatly we found out our neighbor who shares the back youd is haveing a house guest with a dog. I had to go and get the kittens, for their own safety. I really wanted to
wait a few more days but when I looked out and saw for the first time 2 of them eating moms kibble I knew it had to be today. I put on my protective gear, knowing mom would most likely try to attack me. When I could no longer see her I went out and found them.
Three total 2 in a small wood pile(kidleing size wood)and 1 in the tall grass. I was able to get them really easy, then mom came out of no where screetching and hissing. I grabed the basket I had the 2 in and ran inside. Now I thought I still had one more to grab. This time
mom was ready for me. I used a small pice of wood as rotective barier if I had to defend myself against her. I made the grab and went back iside. All I got was some hissing and growling from mom, no charging. About 20 minutes later I went out to give mom wet food and what did I see but a fourth kitten. This time though mom had had enough. She put herself between me and the little one. I decided I needed another set of eyes to watch out for mom while I got the last one. My husband got home from work about 2 hours later and we went out and did it. We scared her into leaving the nest and he watched her while I grabbed the last one.

Now we have four 4 week and 5 dayold kittens in our bathroom. Neither one of us have ever had kittens so young. I have set them up in a small carrier with towels and old tshirts. I have covered the carrier with a towel so they feel more secure. Thay also have water a
dish with wet food and a litter box. I used newspaper because the only litter I had on hand was clumping, not a good idea. Right now they are just sitting in a pile in the back of the carrier hissing at us. They can growl and spit but not really hiss its actually quite funny.

Here are my questions...

The last ime I saw anyone eat was about 2pm this afternoon, its now almost 11pm. None of the kittens have touch the wet food. When do I worry and force feed? Should I pull it and try wet kibble?
How long to I wait for water? I assume if they are not eating they are not drinking.
How long do we wait to reach in and pick one up? I know they are scared to death but I know they need to be socialized.
When can I safely give them a bath? What shpould I use? I really do not want fleas and neither does my husband ore the other 3 cats.
When I do finally pick one up, what should I look for? I didn't get a chance to really look at them when I brought them in so now I have to wait until I can pick them up again. I need a breif check list of basic kitten issues.

I know they are almost due for a vet visit, WeI just need to save up a little. Hopefully I can get us a 4 for 1 discount, since we will be bringing them in all at once and they are rescues.

Mom has come out and eaten some wet food. I hope she can forgive me I had to do what I felt was right. She was just in the yard crying out. Our hearts ache for her right now.
NOw we just have to help these little ones.

Do you think you can use the babies to trap the mama cat? It really would be best for them to have her for another couple weeks (if she's still wild, you'd have to separate them from her when they're around 6 weeks old for best chance of taming them). Plus she needs to be spayed soon so she doesn't get pregnant again (losing her kittens will make her go into heat earlier than normal). Can you borrow a humane trap? That would be the easiest way.

For now, offer them a bowl of dry kibble. Since you saw them eating some earlier, they must know what it's for, and at least they'd get some nourishment. Also offer a plate of canned food mixed with kitten formula (if you don't have any on hand, canned evaporated milk will do in a pinch, until you can get some formula). They'll still need the formula for a few weeks. Leave them alone in a darkened room, after a while they should come out to eat. I wouldn't try handling them for a few days. Maybe after they figure out you bring the food, they'll start being friendly without you having to force the issue.

Thank you for responding.
I have been trying to get mom for the last couple days. She won't do anything but sit and cry for her babies. I feel so bad. But I had to do it. I could not leave them when a dog who hates cats was going to be in the yard. She can at least run away from it but the babies are too little.

So far the babies have taken to their kibble mixture. They are using the litter box with no teaching. They have all pooped and peed on their own. They still hiss and act all scary when I go into the room. I did pick each one up last night and as soon as I did they calmed down. I have spent some time with them today and other than a little hissing they are acting very curious about their new room. They come out of the box and explore but only together I have yet to see them apart from one another.

I have gotten some goats milk to supplement the kibble. They seem to love it. I know we should have left them with mom for anouther week. They are 5 weeks old today. We just have to start the socializing a week early.

I am going to get pictures today and will post them later.

When can I bath them to get the dirt off? I have not seen fleas yet so I think thats good news. They seem to like to clean eachother too.

Any advice on the socializing would be helpfull. I have never had to do it befor ewith babies, only adult cats. For some reason I am more afraid to deal with them than I was with the adults. They just seem so fragile and helpless.

I just noticed they have fleas. Help what do I do? Can I give them baths or not?

Yeah, you can give them baths--they are old enough that they can keep themselves warm. You can use dish soap to drown the fleas. Also, go over them with a flea comb. Dish soap is non-toxic; that's the important thing. I've used baby shampoo to bathe cats before and it seems to work just as well as the cat soap they sell in pet stores (and besides, it's cheaper). The stuff they make for human babies or for washing dishes is non-toxic so I wouldn't worry about exposing kittens to it.

Do make sure to dry them thoroughly afterward--while they aren't as fragile as very small kittens, they still shouldn't get chilled.

Around eight weeks of age, they will be old enough that it's safe to use something like Frontline on them. Don't use flea collars--those are nasty poisonous. Call your vet and ask for some flea medication for kittens. You can probably talk them into just selling you the flea stuff without an appointment; my vet has no problem with that.