Mama Kitty left us with 5 kittens!

They're five weeks old now and I need advice on what to feed them.  I don't think mama is coming home.

A few months back we had a pretty lil cat show up to our house. She would hang out on the front porch and my 14 year old son fell in love with her, he named her Patches. We started letting her come inside to eat and we realized pretty soon that she was pregnant. I swore she would never have her kittens in the house b/c she was an outside cat so imagine my surprise when my husband woke me up to tell me that lil ole' Patches was birthing her kits behind my LazyBoy. Patches was an awesome kitty mom, (I'm pretty sure it was her first litter) until somehow a couple days ago she managed to slip out of the house and she hasn't come back. I've been feeding some canned kitten food mixed with milk replacer twice a day and feeding milk replacer in a dropper in between every 3 hours. They seem to be doing well, they play with us and with each other. Is there anything else im missing?

She probably got in heat anew.  With a little luck she may come back - be sure you spay her as soon as you can. Please.

The feeding you are doing now sounds great.  As in the manual.  The only to say you may perhaps give a little more  and or more often.

Minced meat is also good - not from pork through, goats milk, youghurt,  baby food (unflavored sorts).  Have shallow plates with this kmr or mush  for them to themselves try out.  In the beginning they will wade through the plates...

Be sure you have non clumping litter.    Several shallow litter panes, so its always near to a litter pane.

Bless your heart for taking care of these babies, they are so helpless at that age, Be thankful they are not puppies going all over the floor!     They should be big enough to eat and drink out of a dish, they need all the food they can eat, very often at this age, they are using a LOT of energy up. I agree mama is most likely out getting the next batch of kittens, but it is concerning she hasn't come back yet, I wouldn't think she would leave them for so long. I had a mama that had three litters in one year. Please consider getting her spayed, it makes her a much nicer companion and saves a lot of unwanted kittens being born. I pray you'll give her a home, she deserves some happiness. All the luck!

Thank you for taking care of this little ones. Do you have a nest for them? It would be best if they could be contained with a heat source.

How old are they exactly?

Please keep us posted on this!  Oh...and a baking sheet with a small rim is an ideal "trainer" litter box, as it is easy for short, unsteady legs to navigate!  As StefanZ said, be sure to use non-clumping litter.  The reason for this is, like all babies, kittens will put most anything in their mouths, and the litter can clump in their tummy with drastic, even fatal, results.

LOL I learned about the plate issue VERY quickly but i've come up with a solution. I took an empty round salsa container and filled it with water to make it heavier. I duct taped the lid on and set it in upside down in the center of the plate. All of the food goes around the edge that way nobody is ankle deep in kitty food! 

As for Mama Cat, she has not returned. Im trying to stay positive but I keep thinking if she COULD come back, she would have already. 

Don't give up hope! I had a stray kitty that used to disappear for months at a time and come back!

And as a kid my cat Precious left for SEVEN months when she was 9 years old. We thought she had died outside, but she came home and lived another 6 years

Still getting use to this format, I thought hitting reply would reply specifically to that person so previous post was for StefanZ. Gonna go read all the FAQ very soon.

Di And Bob: I cracked up when I read your comment about the puppies because I actually have 2 of the most tiny, adorable chihuahua puppies too! It's a long strange story about how I ended up with them. Cliff Notes version: If it's furry, cute, and it wanders into my yard: DIBS! Especially if the so called owners are negligent and irresponsible. For those of you at home keeping score thats 2 adult male cats, 5 orphaned kittens, 2 Chihuahua puppies, 2 teenage boys, an overworked husband and me in a 16x80 trailer. Every day is an adventure!

And the second lil miss Mama Cat comes home she is headed to our vet to be spayed. In our trailer park I have seen how fast a cat population can get out of control when people want "outdoor cats" to keep mice and other vermin at bay but they don't want to spend the money to spay/neuter. 

Mamanyt, thank you for the explanation about the non-clumping litter. I've been using the litter we use in the boxes for the big kitties but I will get some non clumping. I never even thought about them eating it!

@ADHDiva I always have an easier time remembering something when I know the reason behind it.  Glad I could help.