New Kittens... I need help!

So we noticed a few weeks ago that our neighbor's cat was pregnant.... fast forward a few weeks and the neighbor has apparently gone on vacation without making arrangement for her adorable little queen. We decided to give her some food on Wednesday after we realized she had been on our porch for 3 days straight without anything. The neighbor is still no where to be found and we haven't seen the car in 5 days. I came home from work today, friday,  and the cat was curled up on a beach towel by my door with 4 little kittens and a placenta ( she ate it)! We can't have cats in our rental house.... my fiance and I are both allergic... and it not our cat.... we are leaving for our honeymoon for two weeks in two weeks... and we can't really afford much. I think we need some help.

    What should I do right now to help this poor kitty and her babies... should I put a heating pad under the blanket for the night? how much food should I give her? what kind of food? can they be left alone with a friend stopping by with food and water while we are away for two weeks in two weeks? do they really need to go to a vet? I don't even know if I am asking the right questions. OR... and this is almost the one I am afraid of.... should I find someone to take in all five right now?

 I appreciate any suggestions or guidance!!

If I were you I would get in touch with a cat shelter or the RSPCA or Cat's Protection league and ask them to at least take them in while you are away. Leave a note through your neighbours door informing them of what you have done stating that you were concerned for their health and safety as there was no-one to ask to take care of them. If you have a contact phone number for your neighbours then give this to whoever you give the momma and kittens to, so that they can keep attempting to contact them when they return.
( Cat shelters, RSPCA and cats protection are what we have here in the UK, if you are "across the pond" then I'm sure you have equivilent organisations)
Good luck and enjoy your honeymoon.

The neighbor actually came home this evening, I spoke with her and it turns out she was only supposed to be gone for a few days and she left food and water out for her.... but she got stuck where ever she had gone for a few extra days. I spoke with her about the kittens and she actually gave all five of them to us. I think we will have her or our other neighbor take care of them in our house for the two weeks we are gone... or my sister will come up and stay at our house for most of the vacation. I think we are going to move them into the mudroom for the night to keep them warm... hopefully the mommy will not get upset about the move.

Back to your original message and this qustion: "how much food should I give her? what kind of food?"

A new mom cat with 4 babies to nurse needs as much good quality food as she wants to eat. Canned food is better than dry kibbles.

Fancy Feast Classic Turkey and Giblets & FF Classic Tender Beef are O.K. canned food that do not have any carbohydrates (which cats cannot digest) i.e. no corn gluten, wheat gluten, etc. You can find it in Wal-Mart a litter cheaper than a grocery store. I'm paying 54 to 58 cents / 3 ounce can. Two cans / day, maybe more.

No cow's milk, it gives many cats diarrhea. If you can afford some KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) for mom to drink, or Stefan Z's alltime favorite - goat's milk NOT for kittens, for the mom cat. Goat's milk, someone here said, is called "type O" because all baby mammals can safely drink it. But it sounds like mom is doing a good job with her babies.

And have fresh water available. While cats typically don't drink much water, she's making milk and could need some water.

Congratulations on becoming an (unexpected) grandma to cats! What color is she, what color are the babies?

thank you catapault! I have had fresh water for her out since sunday. We got some dry kitten kibble and will leave a bowl out all the time for her. We also got three cans of friskies and I'll feed her three times a day and try to get her to eat 6 oz of it per day... next time I'll get the low carb types We moved her into the mud room, at least for the night. When we opened the door and said "come in bubie" she ran right in... actually dropped a baby on the floor on the way! I am thinking we will move her box in and out for day and night... or should we just leave her in the 5 ft by 5 ft mudroom  most of the time and just let her out when we are home ?

Also, on a happy note, I already have three of the kittens 'adopted'.  Mommy is a petite little doll, so cuddly and loving. Three of the babies are black and one is grey. the grey and one of the blacks have no tail! The mommy has just half a tail, we thought it had caught in a door at some point, but I guess it is genetic!  She looks a little cracked out in this photo, but I just finished scratching under her chin and she was so happy. Also, we weighed three of the kittens and they ranged from 4 oz to 4 5/8 oz! the 4th was drinking and wouldn't let go

What a beautiful little family! Thanks for sharing the picture.

If it was me I'd keep them indoors in the mudroom. Why disturb her by moving them in and out. Indoors is much safer for them. Little kittens are at risk from all sorts of hungry animals - dogs, crows, whatever. And it doesn't take long for something to happen.

What a good little mother she is.

I agree. These kittens need to be in a safe place. Outside they could be at high risk from other animals. That is a great picture of the happy mom and babies.

I'll keep them in the mudroom for a while then. How long should I wait before I let her back outside? Or let the kittens out for that matter? I can't let her in the house and the room she is in is really quite small. I feel like she will go stir crazy before long. Also, I can't wait to weigh the babies again tonight to see if they have gained

I haven't seen the mom lick the babies at all yet... she has been alone with them all day, but I feel like I should have seen her clean them a little between last night and this evening. She also isn't really cleaning herself either. She had some diarrhea and it got on her tail so I cleaned that off and she is bleeding a bit too.. she really is starting to look a bit unkempt on the tail end. Should I be concerned at this point or should I give her a few days to recover and get back to keeping clean? Also... should I give her a bath to clean the poop she got on herself? I have never bathed a cat before, but I feel like she should be clean for the kittens.