How do I figure out where feral kittens are hiding?

Mum is being fed regularly - she started showing up at a mini-feral colony we have super pregnant, but we couldn't get her in time, so she's had the kittens, and now shows up every evening waiting to be fed. The kittens would be about 4 weeks old, so I'm going to try and get them and mum this weekend.

Problem is that I have no idea where the kittens are. It's at hubby's work, and there's a heap of buildings, bushes and other hidey holes around.

After she eats, do you think she's likely to go straight back to her kittens? I plan to watch her for a couple of nights to try and figure out at least which direction she's heading in.

A friend said the best way to find kittens is to mew like a kitten, and they often respond. If nothing else, I'll at least have achieved Gold Status in the Crazy Cat Lady club...

Any other ideas or hints?

I found out about Lucia's 4 kits at dusk. For some reason, even in the wild, animals like to feed and appear at dusk. The kittens are at the stage where they may be wanting more than milk. So if you put out a plate of yummy smelling wet food you may get a kitten to appear. That is how I caught SAchi and Saffron.

Unfortunately they're near a heap of buildings. She gets fed near one building amongst the trees, and we followed her, and she ran across a road, around another big building, through lots of bushes, and then out to another building.

So I have no idea where along that route the kittens are, or if they are nowhere near there - she may have been leading us away from the kittens. Tonight after she gets fed, I'm going to sit in my car in the area she ran toward to see if I can see where she goes, without her feeling as though she's being followed.

Sarah, I'm sorry I don't have any advice on this one. We're in a rural area, so what we do is just keep putting the food out, and eventually the moms bring the kittens here when she is weaning them.

Sending lots of vibes for successfully trapping kittens and mom!

Laurie

bottom line is you can't. She will have hid them effectively to prevent predators from finding them. Keep feeding on a routine schedule this is important. Once she knows food is consistently being delivered at specific times, she will bring the remaining litter out to eat with her.

Thanks guys. I think her nest is over the road, so we'll start feeding over the road as well - I don't want her kittens trying to cross the road as well - it's bad enough that we've realised she's crossing the road to get to food!

Feeding them on the other side of the road is definitely a good idea, once they are eating on their own she will probably start bringing them with her so I wouldn't try to use a trap until she is bringing them with her for at least a few days and they feel comfortable there.

I'm thinking about getting a dog crate, and setting it up in some bushes she was hiding in briefly along with a blanket, and feeding her near that. Do you think she'd take them there?

There's a long, fairly unused wooden walkway next to a building near that area, and there's a gap big enough for cats to get in underneath, so I'm wondering if she has them under there. I saw another cat sitting near there, and when it saw us, it dove under the walkway - it's a good 50m (160 feet) long. That looks to be a fairly safe spot, but if she's there, she's sharing the space with other cats.

Still got no idea where the kittens are, and the other pregnant cat still hasn't gone into my trap. I hope she hasn't had her kittens yet...