Can kittens be socialized outside?

It all depends on the age of the kittens. If they are very young then yes they can be socialized outside easily. It only takes a few times of handling them. But if they are over 8 weeks, in general (sometimes older), it is harder and they have to be taken inside and worked with daily. They have to be kept in a large cage or a small bathroom during that period.
A cat does not have to be neutered before taken inside. If you are dealing with a small kitten it's probably too young anyway. Unless the cat is breeding age and you have an intact mature cat of the opposite sex inside there is no huge rush. You can wait a few weeks to have the cat fixed. Some vets won't spay or neuter kittens until they are six months anyway although if possible I think it should be done before 4 months since some kittens can breed very early.

Would you be interested in helping the other cats on your block and make sure that the group of feral cats don't get larger? If so I would highly recommend seeing about getting all the cats trapped, spayed or neutered and returned to where they were trapped. It's called TNR. You can check with local shelters to see if there are any groups in the area that does it. If not you can do it yourself too. If you want info I'd be happy to give it to you.

If these kittens are very young, like under 8 weeks, I would highly recommend that you contact no-kill shelters and rescues in your area, like within 100 mile radius if it's not a bigger city, and see if someone can take the kittens. If someone can you can round them all up and make arrangements to get the kittens you don't want to keep to the shelter/rescue. As young kittens they have a great chance of being socialized and put up for adoption and don't have to live their lives on the street. Most kittens born on the street die in their first few months of life.

If you are planning to take in one of the kittens it's really important that you know what you are getting yourself in to and can make the commitment. Getting a kitten off the street can be costly sometimes. It will need to see a vet for a check up and stool sample to check for parasites. It will need three different shots and treatment for worms and fleas and it will have to be spayed or neutered. It may also have some problems that needs medical treatment. You also have to keep in mind that a cat can live for a very long time so if you get a kitten you have to be completely sure that you are willing and able to commit to this cat for the next 15 years and can provide routine and emergency vet treatment through all those years.
Unfortunately a lot of people get kittens because they want a pet and they are cute but don't think about the fact that this cat will still be their responsibility 10 years from now or that if the cat gets sick or injured it can cost several hundred dollars to fix. Just the initial routine care for a new kitten costs about $200. Having a cat is wonderful but it's important to consider all these things first.

Aw, that's really sweet you want to rescue a kitty!

Ziggy's Mom gave you some great advice.

I'd just like to add some links, to help you look for shelters/rescues/TNR groups that may be able to help, so that if you decide to do this, you may be able to help more than just one kitten.

(BTW, if you do trap a raccoon, all you have to do is release it. The end of the trap you lift to release is usually solid, so you don't have to worry about your hand, and the raccoon will just run away. ).

http://www.petfinder.com
http://www.pets911.com
http://www.alleycat.org

We were posting at the same time.

I didn't check out the link to the trap, but the very best thing to do is to contact a vet, ask if you can have a floating appointment because you don't know when you'll be able to trap the cat, and transport the cat in the trap to the vet, so kitty can be treated with Revolution (which kills fleas, flea eggs, ticks, and many internal parasites) and vetted before you even bring it home.

If they have fleas, you really don't want them in your closet!

Oh - you can also google "low cost cat neuter" to see if there are any low-cost clinics in your area. Instead of taking kitty directly to a vet, you could even have the baby spayed or neutered in addition to all of the above before bringing him/her home.

You have been given great advice here and I don't have much to add other than it is so rewarding to take in a feral kitty to socialize. It does take much time and patience, but SOOOOO worth it in the end. Some kitties will come around very, very quickly other's could take many weeks or more. Thanks for trying to help these cats and getting them all TNRd so the breeding will stop.

Just went through this to get our new kitten about two weeks ago. The only advice I have is get a trap, they're so fast and afraid of people outside that they're almost impossible to catch. I had them eating food off of my fingers every day for a week and still couldn't get them, if I'd even twitch my hand they'd jump back two feet! They were 6-8 weeks old at this point, so yours are likely even faster. The good news is that now 2 weeks later our kitten is really friendly, loves people and has no issues with our dogs at all.

If you don't have a trap, you may be able to use one for free. Our local police department has traps they'll let you use. Or post a wanted ad on craigslist to get one cheap, use it and then resell it when you're done.

The other cats won't avoid the trap when they see another cat being trapped. They may avoid it that day but if you come back after a few days their desire for the good food will take over and they go in. Many times you can actually trap them all on the same day though. Most will go in even though they've seen their buddy getting trapped.

I'm not sure what you can use for bottom of the trap you are talking about. I'm not quite getting what this trap will look like. Is it a drop trap?
If you don't want to buy the trap you can usually borrow or rent one. A lot of shelters, animal control departments and police departments have box traps available for the public to borrow. They are usually free but you normally have to put down a deposit that you get back when you return the trap. Some stores also rent traps cheaply. If you can get a hold of a box trap I would use that. A lot of vets that spay and neuter feral cats require that they arrive in a trap so that they can give them their anesthesia while the cat is still in the trap.

For bait you can use all sorts of things that cats like. I usually use canned cat food, fish flavor with gravy. You can also use tuna or sardines or something. There was another thread here last week where someone used KFC chicken and it worked great.
If you use a box trap it's important that you put newspaper on the bottom of the trap do the cat won't hurt his paws. Then when you bait the trap you put a small pile of food at the end of the trap and a few small piles all the way out. Put a little bit right by the opening. Also pour the gravy in a line from the opening to the back.
Just FYI, if you use a box trap make sure to cover the back half of the trap with a towel so that the cat can hide there and not feel exposed and scared. As soon as you discover that the cat has been trapped cover the whole trap so that it's completely dark in there. This calms the cat down.
If you do catch wildlife you just have to let it back out. It's no big deal.

You can keep the kitten in a closet. That's fine. Just make sure that there are no places in theire where he can hide from you. If he spends all his time hiding it kind of defeats the purpose. Read up a bit on socializing before you bring the kitten in. It's very important that you do it correctly. If you don't the kitten will remain feral and may never become a "normal" cat.
You may want to check with local shelters to see if they have a large dog crate you can borrow to keep the kitten in. That would be the absolute best. You may be able to find one used on craigslist and garage sales pretty cheap.

I've built drop traps before. One thing that the instructions were not clear about was the placement of the door. It is best to put it near one of the corners and not in the middle of the side. When a cat is caught in one of these, they tend to run diagonally across the trap rather than from side to side. Also build the size of the door to match the size of the carrier where you are going to transfer them to. I've heard stories where a cat escaped the drop trap because the opening was larger than the carrier opening.

You don't need to worry about catching things other than your target kittens. If something is in there that you don't want to trap, just don't pull the rope.

I use either stinky cat food, or with tough cases, Kentucky Fried Chicken - original formula with skin and bones removed.

It warms my heart so much to hear about people adopting ferals.

Trying to socialize ferals can be tough. But, the younger you get them, the easier it is. If you have another cat, I would recommend introducing them as soon as you feel it's safe -- little kittens need another friendly cat to be around, as it teaches them kitty manners and helps them feel more secure. Boots (my ex-feral kitten, now 12 weeks) was SO scared of me at first. Wouldn't come near me, much less touch me. But after I introduced him to Kramer, he transformed into a sweet little purring ball of fur. And he and Kramer are the best of friends.

If you can find it in your heart/time/resources to adopt 2 of those kittens instead of one, you might have a much easier time socializing them. I've heard wonderful things about sibling pairs.

I highly recommend keeping the kittens in a large cage or other enclosed space for now. I have had so much success this way. I used this method with the last two litters of kittens I found, and they went from hating me to thinking I was their mommy. I let them run free in my apartment after a few weeks in the cage and was able to find homes for all of them.

They do adjust to being in the cage, especially if they have littermates in there with them. I've tried to socialize kittens running loose outside before, and it can be a nightmare. They can get lost, climb inside cars, or be hit by a car. In my experience, even if the kittens stay safe, the most timid of the bunch will grow up and may never trust humans. Keeping them enclosed forces them to be exposed to you multiple times a day and really speeds up the socializing process. I know it's a shame to see cats in a cage, but at that age I feel it can be necessary and in their best interest.