Domasticated cat/kittens not humanized

Question
Our outdoor cat gave birth to 4 kittens on Mothers Day. They were in a very safe unreachable location. Once we realized she moved them in to the garage (full of stuff) we could not find them. By the time they began to come out they were very scary of us. At this point we can get close to them with tuna. Several people have attempted to pick them up and they go into scratching and hissing mode. They watch us pet and cuddle there mom and our other cat. Just spayed the mom this week and hoping they realize we are the food source. I hope you can offer some great suggestions as there are homes waiting for the kittens if we can humanize them - thank you

Answer
LeeAnn,

You need to get them into your house into one room, where you can work with them.  Once they are in the one room and get used to you feeding them, then you wait for any of them to come up to you and ask to be petted.  It has to seem like their idea.  Then after petting them, if they allow you to pick them up, just stroke them and speak softly to them. You will end up doing this on one kitten at a time since they will get brave at different times.  Once you can pick them up and stroke them and speak softly to them, they usually love this game.  If the scratching hissing behavior starts up, put the kitten down and walk away.

One thing to remember is to not make eye contact unless you blink a lot.  Cats take unblinking eye contact as an aggressive threat.

This whole socialization thing takes a couple of weeks to a month with kittens so young, but it can work. You need to be persistent and consistent in how you deal with the kittens.

Best regards... Norm.