Four kittens, a mother and a stray

Hello again everyone. I seem to be in a very interesting point that has got me stuck with what to do. I posted a thread a couple weeks back known as "Four kittens and a teenage mother" with pictures posted. For those who haven't read or seen it I'll make a brief break down: I had a stray mother have a litter of four kittens in my backyard.

Hehe. Ok now the problem is that the mother left her four children before I could spade/neuter her. While she was gone, I had the chance to befriend two of the kittens, the other two are still somewhat shy. Ever since she left, a NEW cat has appeared. It seems to be a teenage male from the size and look of the cat. What was interesting is this cat is extremely friendly with humans and my kittens. I thought he would have been aggressive towards them but has shown no sign of aggression or warnings towards them. (This is not the father cat) Two of the four kittens (the ones I befriended) are comfortable with this cat. One kitten of the two actually 'loves' the cat. I guess I could call this new stray male, the surrogate mother/father/guardian. So this is where the main dilemma comes now. The mother has returned... pregnant. The kittens are excited that she has returned but the mother cannot recognize them anymore and deem them as a threat (she begins to hiss and growl at them.) She even hit one in the face (claws not out though) I felt bad for the kitten... all it did was turn around walk away slowly and look sad.

Now how would I be able to capture this mother and take her to the vet? How would I be able to capture the kittens and take them to the vet? I don't know of any surefire techniques w/o scaring or hurting them. Does anyone have any ideas? I would love to take care of all 6 (even the new batch of kittens) but it would become a problem in the long run. My backyard is becoming a cat zoo with teh occasional raccoon ambush. (Eating my kittens food! Rawr!)

And if I do get the kittens spaded/neutered, will they become slightly 'sick' after? If so, what could I do to make sure they will be ok?

Thank you everyone and I'm sorry about the long read. I hope everyone will have a super fun Halloween too! (Unless.. it already passed for some people. Hehe)

Mark.

If you don't catch and neuter these cats, your situation isn't going to get any better - in fact it will get worse. They'll mate (possibly brother/sister and the chance of deformities) and have more kittens and so on and so on.

I would suggest you capture and find a way to get them neutered and find homes or give to a no-kill shelter to find homes for them.

Mark, there are traps that you can borrow/hire from your local humane society that don't hurt the cats and kittens. I think they're called Havahart or something like that. Because these cats are stray/feral, you will probably get a discount on thier spays and neuters there.

I would get mama spayed asap so the next litter of kittens never happens - you will be helping all of them and if you do it quickly, she will hopefully be at the right age for this. Also spay and neuter the other kittens so you have no more surprises and ask for help from a no kill shelter to find them homes. They might post a courtesy listing for you and you can continue to foster them. Also make sure the new fellow is neutered. Hopefully, a vet or low cost spay and neuter program is available near you.

It usually takes a day or so for cats to be back to their normal selves after the procedure; it is easier for the neuter procedure than the spay one, which takes longer.

Good luck!

Now how would I be able to capture this mother and take her to the vet? How would I be able to capture the kittens and take them to the vet? I don't know of any surefire techniques w/o scaring or hurting them. Does anyone have any ideas? I would love to take care of all 6 (even the new batch of kittens) but it would become a problem in the long run. My backyard is becoming a cat zoo with teh occasional raccoon ambush. (Eating my kittens food! Rawr!)

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Mark...I don't know if you have a local humane society or vet office that would have a humane trap that you could borrow. You probably should contact them. Once you have trapped them...make sure they are seen by a vet and if old enough....spayed/neutered.

Thanks for caring

Katie

Wow! Thank you for the answers! I've been planning on spaying/neutering them but I have had alot of personal issues arise of the course of the past few weeks which prevented me from doing so. I really appreciate all the help everyone. Thank you so much! And there is a vet / humane society close to my area too. =D Hopefully someone will be able to take care of the mother and the new born kittens when they arrive. =) Meanwhile.. I will keep the previous batch and the new stray. =)