Newborn kittens and mothers milk

Question
I just got nine new born kittens 3.28.08. but we have to give a good number of them away. Some we'll keep. I was wondering, how long do you wait till you hand the kitten over to its new owner? I would like to keep them for a while, but i know i can't keep them forever. how long do they depend on their mothers?

Answer
Kahn,

Kittens really should stay with their mothers for 8-12 weeks in the best case circumstances. The mother cats tend to wean their kittens around 6-8 weeks of age. The rest of the time that I recommend allows the mother to teach her kittens how to be cats and also allows them to be stronger and more resilient before they go into new homes. Kittens are born very immature so the longer that they can stay with their mother the better off they will be because each week with their mother allows them to be more mature and allows bones to harden. You may notice that with such a large litter the kittens are not always content. If you find that the little ones are squirmy and seem to be discontented then you may have to look at supplementing mother's milk with formula so that everyone has enough to eat. If you supplement with formula you will want to make sure that you use a formula especially designed for kittens, you will want to try the bottle but most litters I have supplemented will refuse the bottle because it is not the same as their mother. You can use a clean oral syringe like the type used for giving babies liquid medicines. If you decide to supplement then you will need to make sure that you supplement each kitten in turn so that they are all getting what they need. An important thing to remember is that kittens need to eat with all four paws facing the floor so that they don't choke or inhale the formula. You may need to supplement as often as every hour and a half to two hours. Another issue that you need to watch for is calcium/magnesium deficiency due to the size of the litter, if you notice that the mother cat seems to look stiff or stilted she needs to be rushed to the vet or all of the kittens and the mother will die. She will need an intravenous drip to help her overcome the deficiency. Hopefully this information helps. If you  have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.