How soon can I bring my kitties home?

Question
My mother-in-law recently (about 5wks ago) had a stray mama kitty deliver a litter in her car-port.  She has two males in the house, so she wouldn't bring mama and the babies inside.  Mama looks healthy and well cared for, and is very friendly.  I think her owner "dropped her off in the country" because she was pregnant.  :(  Anywho.  I've decided to adopt one of the babies, maybe two.  They're currently living in a cardboard box in a carport, with very minimal people contact.  I go play with them when I can, but I can't get over there every day, usually once or twice a week.  I want my kitties to be appropriately socialized, but I don't want to take them away from their mama too soon.  According to the Internet, depending on where you surf, kittens can be weaned anywhere from four to nine weeks.  I'd like that narrowed down a little bit. So I guess my question is, what's the magic number?

Answer
Alisha,

Unfortunately you are witnessing an all too common consequence of pet owners not fulfilling one crucial responsibility to their pets. Because I love cats I always recommend that people spay and neuter their pets. A large part of why I feel so strongly about this is that all too many cats and kittens are euthanised in shelter systems or abandoned to fend for themselves which is usually a death sentence unless a human being takes pity on them and feeds them. When folks abandon cats and kittens in rural areas they are forgetting a serious risk, predation. In rural areas predators such as coyotes, fishers and domestic dogs are serious risks, not to mention the chances of being injured by any vehicle from a car to a piece of farm equipment. You have a very unique situation in terms of what appropriate recommendations are. Some experts would suggest that you should remove the kittens from their mother prematurely. I am trying to recommend the best possible course of action in terms of health, socialization, nutrition and above all making sure that my recommendations are humane for mom and babies. Normally I recommend that kittens nurse on their mothers for at least 8 weeks. In my experience it is best to have kittens stay with their mom as long as possible since mom and siblings play an important role in socializing the kittens. The period from birth to 12 weeks should ideally be spend with mom and siblings. Mom tends to teach the kittens limits in terms of their behavior. The siblings tend to teach each other important skills such as bite inhibition. Between mom and siblings kittens learn a great deal about their world and appropriate social skills. If it is at all possible to take mom and babies to your home at least until the kittens are weaned and socialized that would be ideal. At this point the kittens are obviously not getting the interaction that is ideal to create well socialized cats in the future. If mom and her little ones come and live with you the kittens will have a chance to observe mom interacting in positive ways with you. Since the kittens are almost in a feral situation in terms of the amount of human contact that they receive it is beneficial to have the kittens go through that crucial socialization period with the benefit of seeing that their mother trusts and likes human company. I do think that it may be wise to see if your local vet is willing to offer refuge to mom and the kittens that you don't choose to share your home with. If your local vet doesn't have the facilities to care for this abandoned family then I would highly recommend that you ask about a referral to the closest animal shelter for this family. The reason that I recommend an animal shelter is because it is not safe for mom and her babies to fend for themselves with all of the safety risks and no food source. This is a heartbreaking situation that all too often ends in tragedy. Unfortunately until people are more willing to take responsibility for their pets this will be a difficult reality for anyone who cares about pets. It is a horrible thought, but mom's life span is dramatically decreased if she doesn't have someone to care for her. The approximate life span of an outdoor cat is about 18 months. Cats that have humans to care for them can live to be 15-20+ years old. Hopefully you will have the space and time to help mom and her little ones out to make sure that they will not suffer cruel fates at the hands of predatory animals or through poisoning, starvation, or accidental injury. I hope that this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.