HELP! I know nothing about raising kittens/cats and now i have 6 of them

I was feeding and giving shelter to an abandoned cat over the winter and TA-DA now she has brought me her 5 kittens to boot!.  We are very close to a road and i am worried about them following Mother across the road.  I think i have figured out the feeding/ water thing with them but i want to make sure they are secure and I can't bring them in the house (I've got two dogs, 1 is older and ill).  I am going to be looking for homes for the kitties but I'm pretty sure i will keep Mother around (I really need to get here neutered because this is her second litter in about the same number of years and she started when she was a kitten herself).  ANY help is greatly appreciated and thanks

How old are the kittens? Because if they are still very young most of the caring you can leave to the mother. She won't need much help from you other than providing her with plenty of food and water for her so she can produce enough milk for them. They won't follow her everywhere and if there is plenty of food available for her near to the kittens and a warm dry place for everyone to sleep she won't go wandering very far for very long. She will teach them everything they need to know but once they get to around 5 weeks and are walking around you can start to socialize them with humans to get them used to human contact if you want to home them. They should stay with their mother until at least 8 weeks old. You can also start to teach them to use the litter tray once you notice them going to the toilet without the help of mom. Solid foods should be slowly introduced at around 5 weeks, starting with soft wet kitten food to avoid a lot of chewing straight away. You will notice their teeth start to come through at around 4 weeks. Make sure where they are sleeping is plenty warm enough if mom is not there as kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature and can become very cold very quickly.

THANKS sooo much - these babies are appox 6 - 8 weeks old.  They are following mom and also i was very surprised to see one actually use a litter box i set out there with them.  They are eating kitten dry food mixed with a little wet food and mooshed down with some water.  I currently have a shelter set up on a covered porch and Momma is moving them from the current elevated porch to beneath it (which is more protected from dogs, etc).  They are still scared of me

but i am slowly catching them and putting them in a secured dog cage (no dog) until i can adopt them out.  Of course, Momma will have access to them when she tells me she wants it.  I am watching them from out of the window onto the porch.  What else do i need to be doing?  THANKS in advance

If you are helping out give them distance and put food near the entrance, then they should begin getting used to you and if you can get some 'good catnip that is reccomended such as willows catnip. It should help the mother with the stress and sometimes the kittens if a storm is in your area try and get the cats to a more sheltered place (iF below the porch could flood or if the wind picks up)

I think you're doing great. The only thing now is to socialize them. Once they are familiar with you and have a bond they will be fine to find new homes. And that's really good about the litter box! Sometimes they can eat the litter when they are this small so just keep your eye out for that. Keep up with the food till they don't want to drink form mom anymore, the more independant they become the easier it'll be for you to develop a bond. Oh and be careful with mom, she will be able to get pregnant again soon if not now, so do your best to look out for her coming into heat or even get her neutered as soon as you can, when the kittens don't rely on her as much.

But really keep up the good work you should be proud of yourself!

(and yes I agree, keep your eye on the weather)

THANK YOU - glad this is appreciated by someone other than the cats!  Now the neighbor is complaining but so what  - he will just have to live with it til they get adopted.  Keep the hints coming please -- now i am working on getting them out from under the porch.  Am trying a ribbon and feather........not working so far.........anyone, anyone??  THX!

Some kitten sized kitty treats and some catnip.  Talk softly to them so that they associate you with the goodies.  Good luck with them.  I adopted two brothers that had a very similar beginning, and they are really sweet and loving.

Treats are always a good idea. Also try spending time with mom where they can see as they will understand that you are not a threat and will learn from their mother that they should come to you. If you and mom are close enough they will slowly start to come towards you as they see that mom is there too. Sometimes just sitting near them but paying no attention to them will let them see you are not trying to get them or harm them, and they will come out and feel comfortable to be around you.

New advice please:  i have managed to capture 4 out of 5 kitties and when i get the fifth one i am going to bring them in the kitchen.  Is there any danger of the kitties carrying any disease that will pass on to my 2 dogs?  Also, when washing some of their blankets, towels, etc  that has cat pee and poop on it  is there any concern necessary about leaving something awful in the washing machine or dryer?  Like i mention in the title, i don't know anything about cats - THANKS

As long as the solid waste is cleaned off with toilet paper and flushed away, you should be okay.  Put some bleach into your washing machine along with your regular laundry soap and wash as you usually do with your towels.  Some washers, but not all, have a Sanitary Cycle.  That uses extra-hot water.

Good luck with your babies.

Bringing them into the kitchen is a good idea but only if this doesn't seperate them from the mother at this stage. They are still a little bit young to be away from her and won't have learnt everything from her. Also, they will be frightened if they are not used to humans yet so they will be able to adjust better if she is there. You said before that she will have access to them when she tells you she wants but she needs to be able to access them at all times,regardless to whether she tells you or not. Cats are not like dogs, she won't always tell you that is what she wants and she won't understand where they are. She is not used to being inside so she is not going to tell you that she wants to go there. She needs (and they need) to be able to go to them whenever she wants or whenever they cry for her, especially at night when it's colder and when they are sleeping. They should be with their mother right up to the point when they leave for a new home.

They only thing I'd say to worry about bringing inside and passing to your dogs is fleas if they have been living outside, especially from mom. Check her and them for fleas and flea droppings/eggs before bringing them inside permanently. Yes just clean any solid waste off before puttng it through the washing machine and it'll be fine.