Semi feral mother cat and non feral kittens

So someone suggested I post questions here and maybe get some help. Me & my fiance have taken 2 feral cats from where we were feeding them (rented office space/warehouse) to our new home. They ran away when our nephew scared them and only 1 came back :-/ so we have been feeding her in the same place. It's an old chicken coup/strong shed. She rubs up against us and our back door. So one day I went to open the shed and she ran out. I didn't know she was locked up overnight but I discovered three kittens. I managed to get her back in and keep her in there for almost 8 Weeks (1 less day of 8 weeks) and she managed to escape. It's like she knew her spaying appointment was coming up in a week. So I have been giving the kittens milk made for them I found at the grocery store in the cat aisle and continue to feed the kittens. I was told to not leave food out for her by a animal hospital and trap her and bring her in earlier than her scheduled appointment but we are not having luck catching her. Where we live we have coyotes, other cats (I saw the kittens' father running yesterday), foxes, etc. She manages to hide in the basement but still we want to get her in the shed to keep her safe, be with her kittens and get her to the vet. We're trying to lure her in the shed with food and she keeps meowing while she is outside. She rubs up against our back door, hangs around our deck, looks in the cat house/shed but she still can't be tricked to go in. Any suggestions?

How old are the kittens? 8 weeks?  If so, you can surely begin to give them more solid foods. Wet cat food, minced meat, baby food... Royal canin has an ok dry food for small kittens, RC Baby.

Continue to give them some baby milk till you are sure they do eat normal cat food.

Can you get goat milk? Goat milk is an excellent alternative to kmr, both for kittens, moms - and humans. 

The mom is prob in heat, this is prob why she fled...   Continue to try and bait her into the trap, or back into the shed, whichever comes first.

Tx a lot for your efforts!

Welcome to our Forums and Good luck!

If she isn't going back to her kittens, she is a) pregnant again or b) a new mother who is unsure of her role. It could also be that the kittens are big enough (6-8 weeks) that she feels she can leave them. In any case, it is pretty critical you trap her for her spay. Do you have or can you borrow a humane trap? That may be the only way to get her and you need to get her soon. Will you try to find homes for the kittens or spay/neuter them and keep them? Either way you have your work cut out for you. Good luck and thank you!

Check around and see if there's a rescue group nearby - they can lend you a trap and maybe help with the cost of the spay/neutering.

And the kittens can eat kitten food now. Wet is best.

The kittens are eating wet and dry food for 4 weeks now, they use the litter boxes, they drink the water I leave them everyday, we play with them, we pet them and one them likes to sit on our laps and climbs on us (on our backs & up our legs). We are in the process of finding them homes but we might keep them all too. The mom is just not so easy. We are able to pet her but she walks away. We get away with petting the mom cat a lot when she is eating wet food. We are trying to avoid her getting pregnant again that's why we are trying to get her back in the shed/cat house so we can put her in the cat carrier that we left in the cat house/shed and take to her to the animal hospital. I've even got to get an earlier appointment but no luck getting her. I've even microwaved tuna and turkey so the smell is stronger but she still doesn't want it if she is gonna be trapped in the cat house/shed

Oh and we also have a humane trap but if we can get her in the shed/cat house without trapping her it would be better

I would start feeding her every day in the trap. Do not set it for a week, then when she is used to eating in there, set it the night before she has an appointment. You can keep her in the shed overnight in the trap. She will be shook up but that's OK. It is more important that she be spayed. Trapping her will not hurt her, so don't worry about that. Don't feel badly, she needs your help now.

You are doing the right thing. And I am so happy to hear the kittens are being socialized. That will help you find them homes. Good job!

Thanks Alpha Cat for that idea. I'll see if my fiance wants to do that