HOW TO TRAP A MAMA WITH BABIES….

If you find neonatal kittens, please, do not move them. The majority of the time, mama is near by, watching you around her babies, just waiting for you to leave so she can return to them. If the babies are plump, clean, not crying and look like they are in good shape, guess what? Mom is definitely near by.

Of course there are circumstances when you need to intervene immediately and help the kittens. If you personally saw something happen to mama or if she has rejected them, they definitely need a skilled foster who can bottle feed, or if there is another lactating mama who will accept the orphaned kittens, thats even better.

If you can foster mama WITH her babies (their best chance at survival) or have a rescue that is willing to accept them, this is how you can catch mama…

Using the kittens as bait to catch mama is almost a sure fire way to guarantee success. You will just need 2 traps and a light sheet.

Place the kittens in one trap and completely close it. Place another open trap connected to the trap with the babies. You can place a light sheet over the traps so when mama hears the babies crying or smells them, the won’t be as cautious as she would be if she walked up and saw the actual traps.

Once mama goes in the trap and the trap door closes, you can then reunite her with her babies. A word of caution… if mama is feral, please use a trap divider and gloves when placing the kittens back with her. Safety first, always.

You could always try to trap mama first with a traditional box trap (like the ones pictured) or a drop trap and then scoop up the babies and reunite them.

Below are some pictures to show exactly what I have explained. REMEMBER… ALWAYS CATCH THE MAMA!!! Or she will be pregnant again in no time, repeating the same process. Also, make sure she is spayed after the babies are weaned and all of the kittens are spayed and neutered before they are adopted.