HELP! how can i catch mama stray? Will she miss her kittens?

Hello! sorry for the long post but if you could help i would sincerely appreciate it!

Well, lets start with a little backstory::

A stray cat gave birth to kittens in my apartment complex area, in someone's porch. ive been feeding and caring for her, and is pretty familiar with me now. She hasn't let me pet her yet, but has grown to trust me i feel. We captured two of her kittens from the kids in our area who weren't treating them fairly, and gave them to animal control to a no kill shelter. But there are two kittens left with mama cat. The kittens are eating regular cat food with the mama, (and don't seem to be sick or in need of urgent care,) and don't have blue eyes anymore, and they play often and run around. Im guessing they are about 6-7 weeks old at this point. I feed them every early morning and evening, and she doesn't seem to mind me sitting down next to her and the kittens as they eat. (about arms length distance away, and there's a bar fence guarding us)

My mom and i really want to catch the mama (and kittens) so we can get them to see a vet, maybe do a spay and release, (its rumored she was one of our neighbors who owned a another boy cat and her, but left them here and now she has had multiple litters) but she is way to smart and will not trust/go into any traps. I'm not sure if she will let me pick her up, fore i have not tried. She doesn't hiss when i come over anymore, and doesn't mind if im nearby, but im not sure i want to put myself in the position right now to grab her. So im not sure what i should do for her, if i can do anything..... i understna you cant help always, but as an avid cat lover i just feel i wont stop until ive done everything i could posibly do.

Also today, I picked up the more curious kitten, just to see the reaction and she didn't fight/attack me, just hissed and growled. Shes never been touched by humans before. I held her in the same position for about a minute, then set her down and she continued to play. the mama cat didn't attack me and her pupils didnt dilate in fear, she kinda was just startled is the best way i could describe it. and then after i set her down she went back to sleep. They dont seem to act any different towards me that ive noticed, but im really hoping that this doesn't ruin our trust we've developed.

My real question is, would it be cruel of me to take a kitten and adopt it? I'm not sure if i can help the mom and other kitten, because the other kitten doesn't let me get close enough really, it seems as though the best way i can explain is the other kitten takes on more of an outside/stray cat behavior, and is more closer to the mom then the other kitten and the kitten i picked up isnt (or wasnt, i guess) afraid of me, she played with my foot and doesn't seem to mind me, and has more of a friendly personality, and im willing to take that kitten in and adopt it. But i dont want to take it from the other kitten because they play together, and i dont want to take it from its mom because shes a really good cat mother and i don't want her to miss the kitten. But i also dont want them to turn feral, live unhealthy on the streets. And i dont want the mom cat to keep having kittens and endanger their lives as well. I understand i cant do it all but i would really appreciate some suggestions!!!!

-would it be cruel of me to take away one kitten and leave the other with the mother?

-will the mother grieve for it? Will the other kitten?

-should i try to take both kittens?

-do you have any suggestions for helping the mother cat? She doesn't fall for any traps ive created, shes actually pretty smart and i haven't found a way to get a hold of her, do you think its a good idea to just grab her? Will that be breaking our trust? 

-are there any shelters/vets in Ontario, California area that you might know of that we can ask to borrow traps or get help from?

If you could help me with these i really really would appreciate it!!!!

Hello @MyaNK  Welcome to The Cat Site.

Yes, if you can touch the kitten please bring him/her inside as soon as you can. Kittens don't survive very long outdoors, once they get to 6 weeks old and start exploring on their own the mother cat has a really hard job protecting them. Most feral kittens die around this point and now is the perfect time to socialise them.

Of course, both kittens would be even better.

If you can get the mother into a carrier, (some food or a sprinkling of catnip would encourage her to go in) the other kitten may well follow her in too. I wouldn't recommend picking the mother up if you've never touched her before. You could get badly hurt. If she is really trap savvy then a drop trap would work better.


What kind of traps have you tried to catch her in? Is she very wary of all humane traps? 

Here are a list of TNR groups and shelters in California, hopefully something here to help you.

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stca.html

Good luck, please keep us posted.

Hello! thank you so much for responding!

We've only tried homemade traps, we haven't bought a humane trap yet, but might in the future. Its getting colder out so she is more open to trying out the homemade traps at night, and maybe if i get up early in the morning i can catch them. im hoping i can help her but we also have another cat in the house and dont want her to get infected... Do you know if there is any way my cat can get diseases if mama stray is locked in the bathroom away from my cat? 

Also, its significantly easier to get the black and white kitten than the black one, and the black one is more wary and knows how to survive outside better than the black and white one, so im thinking of just grabbing her. but will mama cat be upset and go looking for her? will she become depressed or reject the other kitten or something? Mama cat is notorious for having many litters in the neighborhood, and so far ive only seen one of her older offspring who hangs out with her, so im guessing shes used to having her babies lost but just to make sure; will i be doing more harm than good if i break apart their little family they have going on?

i understand I cant help them all and stuff but i guess im a little insecure on this whole thing and just want to be more educated on the subject so i can made a better decision, 

Thanks so much for the information!!! hope to hear from you soon...

You should definitely try to catch mom and babies as soon as possible. I wouldn't wait. Is there a rescue or a vet that you could borrow a trap from?

Thank you for helping!

Humane traps are pretty easy to trap with. I've heard you can get them cheaply in Tractor Supply, but most shelters, TNR groups and some vets have them you can either borrow or rent. I think the best thing for you to do is ask a TNR group to help. That way you can borrow a trap and get the mother spayed by them. Call around and ask what their policies are. Some groups will train you in TNR, then lend you the traps. Others come and trap for you. Make sure that they are going to either release the mother cat back where she was or try to rehome her though. 

As far as spreading diseases go, it really depends what the mother cat has got. To be absolutely sure you need to wash your hands and change your clothes and shoes after leaving the room she is in. If she has fleas there is a chance they can hop off and get onto your cat. When I trap a new feral cat they go to the vet before they come into contact with any of my cats. My vet always does a blood test as well as giving them a dose of flea/wormer medicine, spaying and neutering and then a shot of 3 in 1 vaccine the next day.

I'm sure if you have her trapped and take her to a TNR or shelter vet they will do the same, but please be aware that some groups will put a cat down if they test positive for FeLV or FIV. Call the groups and talk all of this through with them first. You need to know what to expect.

As far as the kitten goes, please grab the one you can touch the next time you see him/her. It really is dangerous for them to be outside. The trouble with leaving the wilder kitten outside is that it will probably die. If it survives it will add to the feral population and if it's a female kitten you'll be right back where you started with the mother cat, litters being born every year and most of the kittens dying.

I'd really recommend doing everything you can to trap the second kitten too. He/she may seem pretty wild now, but when they are young it's easy to socialise them. If you have one friendly kitten and one shy one together the shy one becomes friendly much quicker than they would otherwise. If you can keep the kittens together you stand a good chance of taming both of them.

I know that it's a lot to take on and it's awesome that you're able to offer even one of them a home. Maybe if you get a shelter involved you could foster both kittens until one is ready for rehoming.

I think @catwoman707  knows a lot about shelters in your state, maybe she can suggest the best ones to call.

Thank you so much for all you are doing for these cats.

I love it when someone comes here asking for help with strays/feral cats, the caring and compassion for them and their well being, so thank you for that!

All 3 need to be in custody, and ASAP. This is because 1, mom cat will get prego in no time at all, and 2, BOTH kittens are young enough to be tamed and adopted, allowing a kitten this young to be left as a stray/feral is tragic, it won't end well for them.

I suspect the black more feral kitten is likely female, lol, it's funny but females are tougher cookies and not as open to submit.

The most tragic part is mom. Because she was abandoned at some point doesn't make her feral, her behavior now is simply due to being outside on her own for long enough to be lacking regular socializing with people, so instincts of survival sort of take over causing fear of what she is no longer accustomed to.

However, once owned as a young kitten, this is never forgotten, and if someone were willing to adopt her, even as an outdoor garden cat, that feral way will dissolve and once again she will be a tame, social cat. Often times they end up being the best companion cats, call it a sense of gratefulness for giving her life worth, a sense of belonging again, love and care. 

There are a couple ways to get them both. You can either get a cage/black wire crate type and start ONLY putting food in the back of that.

It only takes a day or 2 for them to see it is safe to go eat in, once inside, both hopefully together, you just shut the door, using a string attached to the door and run it through the back of the cage, which will be facing you, the front of the cage will be away from you, so you get better leverage.

Or get a trap, tie the door open so they can go in to eat at the very back of it, once they are comfortable eating in it then untie and trap that way.

Be sure to cover with a towel right away once trapped, it gives a sense of safety and calms them down.

You can either buy a trap or borrow one from either someone or a rescue or shelter. 

Unless you visually see something going on with mom health-wise, it's highly unlikely she can bring anything in to your home. Fleas, yes but can be treated when being spayed. Kittens need this too since fleas will eat a kitten up and cause anemia.

The obvious issues would be bald patches on fur from ringworm, and looking sick like having a cold.

If your resident cat has been vaccinated he will be protected from any URI's or panleukopenia/cat parvo.

You can quickly tame the young kitten and mom too, once you get them we will gladly help you through this.

Hello! thank you all so much for responding and kind words, you have no idea how much this has helped ease my anxiety over this. 

And as for the kittens, we set up a trap finally! and in the morning I will check on it and (hopefully) successfully trap them. i watched them go in for the past couple days, and they usually are always in there together, and if not its super easy to catch the kittens, especially once the mama cat is away. 

Anyways, I'm actually kinda confident in this trapping thing and have found a vet that can help, thanks to all of your help!!!!!

Mya

MyaNK said:

Hello! thank you all so much for responding and kind words, you have no idea how much this has helped ease my anxiety over this. 

And as for the kittens, we set up a trap finally! and in the morning I will check on it and (hopefully) successfully trap them. i watched them go in for the past couple days, and they usually are always in there together, and if not its super easy to catch the kittens, especially once the mama cat is away. 

Anyways, I'm actually kinda confident in this trapping thing and have found a vet that can help, thanks to all of your help!!!!!

Mya

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Great! Do you plan to catch mama as well?

I really really am hoping so! If i go out there early enough; shes sleeps in there with the babies and ill just shut the trap on them all. the trick is, to figure out her schedule and know when the right time is, or if they moved little nests during the night... but im pretty sure that even if they moved or is out exploring they will eventually come back to the trap and ill just start again.

Lots of luck!!!

thanks so much! ill let you guys know how it goes!