Need Help w/ Feral Mommy & her litter

I don't know if I did the right thing.  

I was walking to the grocery and I noticed a really cute cat "tortoiseshell cat" carrying a little grey kitten over a garden fence out onto the sidewalk.  She saw me and froze, she didn't know where to run, I just stood still and was worried she was going to get scared of me, run across the street into the cars and get killed or drop kitten and have something happen to it in the street.

She dropped the kitten and ran behind a piece of wood covering a basement window and left the kitten on the sidewalk.  This was after she tried to get the kitten back over the little fence.

I didn't know what to do so I picked up the kitten and placed it back near the opening of the wood fort, at that time the mommy ran out and sat under a parked car in the street and watched my every move.  The grand child of the person who lived at this house came out and I explained what I was doing. 

It was freezing rain and I was concerned the kitten wasn't fully under the fort, so the kid said it was okay to go into the garden.  When I placed the kitten behind I noticed and additional 2 kittens, both peach.  They looked maybe 3 weeks old, chubby and cared for.  

I left and quickly did my shopping and on my way back I placed food in the fort for the mother, and noticed one of the peach kittens were gone.  

I'm thinking she may have been moving them to a warmer safer spot.

My concern is... is the grey kitten in danger now that I've touched it?

I left my number with the boy of the house to have his mother call me when she gets home.  I also have a call into my neighbor who cares for some of the feral cats in my neighborhood.  Although this end of the street is cared for by someone else.

I'm not sure if there were other kittens besides the 3 I saw.  I'm a bit heartbroken.

I think the kitten that you touched should be accepted back with his mom, and you did do the right thing.

Is there any way to get this family inside and domesticated though?  Now is the time to start handling the kittens so they can be happy in a home.  They seem like great candidates for fostering.  Mom could be TNR if she doesn't come around to being inside.

talkingpeanut said:

 
I think the kitten that you touched should be accepted back with his mom, and you did do the right thing.

Is there any way to get this family inside and domesticated though?  Now is the time to start handling the kittens so they can be happy in a home.  They seem like great candidates for fostering.  Mom could be TNR if she doesn't come around to being inside.

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I have a call into my neighbor.  She practices the catch spay/neuter release, and if she can gather the mothers and kittens, she brings them to an animal shelter, North Shore on Long Island.

I think the mother was moving them out of that spot when I ran into her.  She did seem very protective of all of them and watched me closely. There is a house near the one where they were, where the woman feeds them and leaves the windows open so the cats can go in and out.  I think the mommy was one of those cats. I left food for her. 

I thought about going back and seeing if I could catch her and take her and the kittens, but I don't know if there were only the 3 or possibly more, they were chubby little ones and looked cared for and it was clear the mother was on a mission.  And with my fur ball Simon terminally ill, I couldn't keep her in my small apartment.

I'll check tomorrow to see if they were all moved.

I just hope that pointing them out to the home owners, didn't bring harm on to them.  I hope I did the right thing.  It was the afternoon and the sidewalks were busy.  Thank goodness the weather calmed down and it wasn't as brutal as first predicted.