helping kittens

Question
I absolutely love cats and have 1 of my own. However, there is a cat I know who just recently had kittens and I'm wondering about how to teach her owner how to take care of them.
A few of the questions I've got include:
The mother is an outside cat and has been pregnant 2 times now. Is it dangerous for her not to be spade in case she gets pregnant again?
Next, the mother is also getting very thin and isn't getting enough food. They're giving her the same amount as they did before she started nursing her kittens. I know she should be getting more but how much more?
The owner is also giving the kittens away even though they are 9 weeks old and still nursing from their mother. She gave a kitten away when he was 5 weeks old. How old do they need to be before they are safe to be given to another family away from their mother?
I know that one of the things to do is put egg or some water in the kitten's food instead of going straight to hard food because of their teeth...how old should they be when you stop doing that?
Finally, the entire litter last time I checked had flees. I haven't been over there in about a week because of my kitten.
I guess my question would be...I've tried convincing the owner 3 times to take care of these kittens and the mother, but she refused. What should I do to make sure these kittens find good homes and survive?

Answer
Char,

It is nice of you to care about the mother cat!

I'll try to answer your questions satisfactorily:

"The mother is an outside cat and has been pregnant 2 times now. Is it dangerous for her not to be spade in case she gets pregnant again?"

It is not dangerous per se unless she gets pregnant back to back (which she CAN get pregnant again in as little as 48 hours to two weeks after giving birth!) and is not strong enough or healthy enough yet to give birth again and nurse them sufficiently. The more times a cat gives birth, the more it wears and tears on her body.
If she goes into heat more than 3 times without getting bred, then she can contact a potentially fatal uterine infection. Spaying is ALWAYS best!

"The mother is also getting very thin and isn't getting enough food. They're giving her the same amount as they did before she started nursing her kittens. I know she should be getting more but how much more?"

Approximately 4 times her normal amount of food, or all she wants to eat (free-choice dry food) to replace what the babies drain out of her and to have a good milk flow. She should be eating a good quality kitten chow for the extra protein and nutrients she needs until she stops nursing. And have fresh water always available. I have a stray that had kittens and I give her 2-3 cans a day of canned food plus I keep a bowl of kitten chow filled.

"The owner is also giving the kittens away even though they are 9 weeks old and still nursing from their mother. She gave a kitten away when he was 5 weeks old. How old do they need to be before they are safe to be given to another family away from their mother?

Kittens will nurse as long as the mother lets them. I had one that still nursed when he was bigger than mom! She finally stopped it, thank heavens...it was embarassing! (smile). 8 weeks is the ideal age to find homes for the kittens. But between the ages of 8-12 weeks is when the mother 'teaches' the kittens about life and gives them their training. 5 weeks is young, and especially if there were not two kittens together (which there should be, and one left for company for mom) the kitten may have emotional problems from being weaned too early. The most common is suckling on things (and people) from the lack of a mother's comfort and security.

"I know that one of the things to do is put egg or some water in the kitten's food instead of going straight to hard food because of their teeth...how old should they be when you stop doing that?

3-4 weeks old give the kitten small amounts of canned food or meat baby food in a flat dish (because they usually walk in it).

5-6 weeks old the kitten should be ready to start eating water moistened kitten chow from a dish. You should feed him small amounts often. Every few days cut down the amount of water you add to it so  the kitten is eventually eating dry food. I put kitten chow is a very shallow container, or lid, and cover the chow with water. Then I stir around the water until it is gravy. The kittens will drink the gravy then eat the moistened chow. You have to keep fluffing it up though because when the water is absorbed it will leave the chow in a hard dry ball. If the mother eats it too that's fine, just have a bigger container with more chow so the babies can eat and mom won't hog it all, which sometimes happens. Not all kittens progress at the same rate, so they start eating solids at a different rate.

It's OK for them to nurse even if they are eating solids. It is comforting to the babies and to the mom. She will stop it if she doesn't want them to anymore and wants to wean them herself.

"The entire litter last time I checked had flees. I haven't been over there in about a week because of my kitten"

Most kittens have fleas...sometimes I think they are born with them! (smile). The mother licks the fleas off the babies. BUT she needs to be wormed after the kittens are weaned because ingesting infected fleas is what causes worms. There are flea and wormer products available for kittens and nursing mothers BUT do NOT get them over-the-counter, get them from a vet! There is a lot of danger in over the counter flea products, plus you need to get the correct amount for the kitten's and mom's size and weight.

"I've tried convincing the owner 3 times to take care of these kittens and the mother, but she refused. What should I do to make sure these kittens find good homes and survive?"

My suggestion would be to either take care of them yourself, or tell the neighbor you love the cat and kittens, could you have them? Then move the family to your house, porch, and/or garage (with a hole in it that she can go out of), and take care of them and give them the love and care that they might never get.

I hope this helped answer all your questions.

Tabbi