Catching a mother cat may be easier than catching other cats, because the mothers need to find food not only for themselves, but also for their kittens.

However, it's important to try to determine whether a cat is a nursing mother before you transport her to the vet— particularly in the spring. If you can see that the mother has enlarged nipples by looking through the bottom of the trap, release the mother so that her kittens don't starve. Try to locate her kittens by watching where she runs when you release her.

If the mother cat is still nursing kittens, the best scenario would be to keep the mother cat and the kittens together—to catch the mother and all the kittens, let the mother nurse the kittens while you socialize them, find adoptive homes for the kittens, and return the mother to the colony (if she is truly feral). Mother cats do a much better job of raising healthy kittens that the most enthusiastic human foster mother!

If you catch the mother, but can't find the kittens, release the mother where you caught her, and follow her to find the kittens.

If you catch the kittens but not the mother, sometimes you can get the mother to enter a trap by placing the kittens behind the trap. Place a kitten or two in a container (small cage) that prevents their running away, but allows the mother to see and hear them. Make her walk into the trap to get near them.

You can remove the kittens safely from the mother at 5-6 weeks of age. They're probably eating solid food by that time, and you can supplement it with a kitten formula served in a bowl. (The mother will continue to look for the kittens for a few days after you remove them, and you may be able to trap her and reunite her with the kittens while you socialize them.)

The longer you leave the kittens with a feral mother, the more difficult it will be to socialize them. However, cutting short the time kittens spend with their mother can create health problems. If you wait until the kittens are weaned, about 8 weeks, the kittens may never become tame enough to adopt. The sensitive period, during which a kitten will accept another species as non-threatening, is between 4 and 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, you can still tame feral kittens, but the job becomes much more difficult.

Sometimes you cannot tell that a feral cat is nursing kittens until you get her to the vet. The vet may even anaesthetize her before discovering that she's still nursing. In that case, the vet will probably not spay the mother. Return the mother to her kittens immediately as soon as the mother is no longer affected by the anesthetic. The kittens can survive for a day without nursing under most circumstances.

After the mother finishes nursing, wait at least two weeks before having her spayed to allow her milk to "dry up."

Ideally, you should test, vaccinate and neuter each kitten before you place it in an adoptive home. Adopters who intend to sterilize a kitten sometimes wait until too late, and the cycle begins again.

Vaccination against upper respiratory diseases is extremely important for kittens. Ask your veterinarian about the FVRCP nasal vaccines for cats over 3 weeks who are too young to receive the standard injections.

In addition, be especially careful about screening potential adopters of kittens. Everyone loves little fluffy kittens, but kittens grow up. Make sure that the commitment exists for a life of togetherness. This is one time when it's especially important to help your prospective adopters avoid impulsive decisions. Don't let the adopter take a kitten home immediately; require a cooling-off period. While this may cut down on the speed of your adoptions, it will also cut down on the number of young cats turned in to the shelter.

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