Will this feral mother regularly bring her kittens to the feeding station?

[feralcatsareamazing]

Hello,
I am currently feeding 2 nursing feral cats.I didn't write down exactly when I started feeding them, but probably late December. I have 2 feeding stations where they have access to food and water, and a motion activated trail camera which I observe them with. I know these cats are nursing as I have trapped them before and seen that they are lactating (engorged teats, one of the cats also had lost some hair around the teats). I did release them, as I hadn't seen any kittens at this point and had no idea of their age or location, and did not want to risk young kittens perishing if I didn't find them.
One of the two cats, the black cat, I have seen her kittens twice. Once at the start of January when they appeared to be roughly 4 weeks old, and again a few days ago where they must have been about 7 weeks old. I intend to catch mother and kittens, however the mother doesn't appear to be bringing them to the feeding station regularly. I have got the mother coming to the feeding station and eating inside unset traps daily, but I am worried about what will happen to the kittens if I catch the mother without them. I thought that the mother cat would bring the kittens routinely, and I could catch the kittens and mother all at once, or get the kittens first and then the mother later. Is this normal that I am not seeing the kittens at the feeding station more? I have not seen the kittens ever apart from these 2 times on the trail camera and I don't know where their nest is. I don't believe it would be easy to go looking for the nest either, as we are on a large rural property with long grass. One possibility I have thought of is that the mother cat is taking her kittens to the other feeding station (the food from both stations is being eaten, but among the other nursing cat and the various wild animals, I don't know by who unless I have the camera there), but coming to this feeding station (where I have the camera) without the kittens, although I don't know why. I have recently shifted the camera to the other feeding station, so I will see if this is right.
The other cat, the tabby, I have been feeding for not quite as long as the black (by a week or 2 at most, I have also been feeding her since late december), but have never seen her kittens. She did appear to be nursing when I caught her. I assume that maybe her kittens are still a little bit young? The youngest they could be is about 4-5 weeks old, as I have been feeding her for that length of time. I have no evidence that her kittens are alive, although I would like to think so. I also wondered int he case of the tabby, perhaps the evidence or nursing was from a previous litter that had already been weaned? Would the teats still have been engorged as they were, though? I also would have thought I would see them around at the feeding stations if that was the case, but I might be wrong.
When I released these cats I had the assumption that I will feed them, and then once the kittens are old enough and starting to wean, the mother cat will regularly bring them to the feeding station, and then I could trap the kittens & mother and get the mother spayed ASAP. I'm starting to wonder if this assumption is wrong? Or maybe I am just being impatient?
Also, there is a feral tomcat around too. I see him only occasionally at the feeding station. He isn't trap shy, but it's unpredictable when he will show up. I need to catch him, and I probably could if I just left the traps set for 2 weeks or so, except I would be much more likely to catch the 2 nursing cats in that timeframe, which if I need to release them because of their kittens, I don't want to do for the problem of trap shyness. There was also another tomcat in the area, which I trapped at christmas (he is taming into a lovely pet, so I have not released him).
I have some feral cat experience, but every time the kittens were walking around in the same area or with their mother, and I was able to just trap them all straight away. So I don't have experience with this kind of situation, and I'm kind of at a loss. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable people than me will have a better idea of what to expect and what I can do for these cats.

 

[Norachan]

Hi, welcome to TCS.

Thank you for everything you are doing for these cats. I used to feed my neighbourhood ferals and strays in a little alleyway behind my house. It meant I could keep a close eye on which cats were coming to eat and also open the windows and coax them indoors when they got more used to me. Most of the mother cats came to eat every day, but their kittens didn't follow them until they were about 12 weeks old or more.

I think that feeding the mothers means they produce plenty of milk for longer. I also noticed that all of the feral mothers hunted, so maybe they were feeding their kittens wild prey during that time.

How long does your vet keep the feral cats after they are spayed? If it's just an overnight vet visit you could make plans to trap and spay the mother cats soon. Once kittens get to around 6 weeks old or more they'll be OK without their mother for a while, but I wouldn't suggest doing this if it means the kittens will be without mum for 24 hours. Our vet would accept cats to spay at 8 am and then allow me to release them the same evening, so the kittens weren't alone for that long.

The other option is to wait until you know the kittens are older, or have managed to bring the kittens indoors. This might mean you have to spay-abort the mother cats, but it is an option if you can't get the mothers spayed as soon as you'd like to.

I also wondered int he case of the tabby, perhaps the evidence or nursing was from a previous litter that had already been weaned? Would the teats still have been engorged as they were, though?

If left with mum kittens will continue to nurse until they are about 6 months old. Could she have older kittens, or do you think you would have seen them?

Will the cats come to eat if you are there, or are they very fearful of people? If they will eat while you are close you could spring the trap yourself. To do this you would need to prop the trap door open with a large plastic bottle with a rope tied around it. When the cat goes into the trap pull the bottle away and trap the cat.

I have done this from about 12 feet away from the trap, but I'm not sure how well it would work if you had to be much further away than that.

I've heard of people using remote control traps too. What you could do is leave the camera in place, link it to your PC or phone so you get a live image of who is at the feeding station and spring the trap if one of the tom cats goes in.

Traps :: Feral Cat Traps & Accessories :: Feral Cat Trap Accessories :: Remote Control Trap Trigger

Have a look on YouTube, there are people who make their own devices, but that's beyond my capabilities

 

[di and bob]

Mother cats start to box the kittens ears when they are about eight-ten weeks old, to start to wean them. If you saw one of the mamas doing that it would be time to catch her. They might not be bringing them regularly because they were trapped there once. But sooner or later I would bet the kittens will follow her to eat because she is not nursing them as much. i caught my unspayed ones using teh bottle method, aa empty half gallon bottle of milk half filled with water to make it a little more sturdy. along light weight string ran from it to about 20 feet away, a good jerk pulled it away from the trap. Make sure you set the trap! I did that once, hadn't set it, that was embarrasing! My cats went right back in teh trap teh day afetr tehy were spayed! I didn't know they would do that. I would use teh bottle method every time now after getting them used to eating in the trap. i had one mama that was so smart, she ate every bit of the food many times withoutever setting off the trap. She is the only one that would never go near it again too. she was the most expensive to spay, she was pregnant again when I brought her in, her third litter that summer. all the luck!

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

Hi, welcome to TCS.

Thank you for everything you are doing for these cats. I used to feed my neighbourhood ferals and strays in a little alleyway behind my house. It meant I could keep a close eye on which cats were coming to eat and also open the windows and coax them indoors when they got more used to me. Most of the mother cats came to eat every day, but their kittens didn't follow them until they were about 12 weeks old or more.

I think that feeding the mothers means they produce plenty of milk for longer. I also noticed that all of the feral mothers hunted, so maybe they were feeding their kittens wild prey during that time.

Thankyou for this very helpful post!
That makes sense that they keep producing milk for longer when they are fed. Also would explain why I am not seeing the kittens. That is a relief- I kept worrying something bad had happened to them.

How long does your vet keep the feral cats after they are spayed? If it's just an overnight vet visit you could make plans to trap and spay the mother cats soon. Once kittens get to around 6 weeks old or more they'll be OK without their mother for a while, but I wouldn't suggest doing this if it means the kittens will be without mum for 24 hours. Our vet would accept cats to spay at 8 am and then allow me to release them the same evening, so the kittens weren't alone for that long.

The other option is to wait until you know the kittens are older, or have managed to bring the kittens indoors. This might mean you have to spay-abort the mother cats, but it is an option if you can't get the mothers spayed as soon as you'd like to.

Our vet takes them at 8am and we can pick them up from about 3-4pm. But they do recommend keeping the cats inside overnight, when we bring them home they are still under some effects of the anesthesia, I'm not sure if this is a must though, I could ask them if they think it would be alright to release immediately in this case.
One problem would be that I probably can't catch her just before I take her to the vet. They usually come to the feeding station anywhere from 6pm to 2-3am, but not usually any later than that. So I would likely have to hold them in the trap overnight, which would mean it might be close to 24hrs away from the kittens, assuming I release right away.
In the option that I do not spay and release them, and rather trap them later and spay-abort, how far along are they likely to be with the pregnancy? I guess it would depend on when I caught them, so when they started bringing the kittens. In your experience, do they usually bring the kittens at around 12 weeks, or is it also common to start bring them later than that?

If left with mum kittens will continue to nurse until they are about 6 months old. Could she have older kittens, or do you think you would have seen them?

If they are coming to the feeding stations, I would have seen them on the camera. But if the kittens are not coming to the feeding station/not following their mother, yes it could be possible she has older kittens.

Will the cats come to eat if you are there, or are they very fearful of people? If they will eat while you are close you could spring the trap yourself. To do this you would need to prop the trap door open with a large plastic bottle with a rope tied around it. When the cat goes into the trap pull the bottle away and trap the cat.

Unfortunately they are quite fearful of people. The tabby would for sure not eat if I was around, she's really fearful. I'm not sure about the tomcat as I've not managed to get close to him before. The black cat, maybe. I did walk up to the feeding station when she was there once, she stood behind a tree and looked at me for a few seconds, and actually looked somewhat friendly with her body language, but she ran off after that. I didn't realize she was there until after she had run off and I looked at the camera footage, so perhaps it was because I approached to quickly. She appears to have gotten to know me a little bit, I have trapped her a few times accidentally while trying to get the tomcat, and after I let her out the first time she seemed to know I wasn't going to eat her then, and let me release her without getting too upset.

I've heard of people using remote control traps too. What you could do is leave the camera in place, link it to your PC or phone so you get a live image of who is at the feeding station and spring the trap if one of the tom cats goes in.

Traps :: Feral Cat Traps & Accessories :: Feral Cat Trap Accessories :: Remote Control Trap Trigger

Have a look on YouTube, there are people who make their own devices, but that's beyond my capabilities

I will have a look at this. Thankyou again!

Mother cats start to box the kittens ears when they are about eight-ten weeks old, to start to wean them. If you saw one of the mamas doing that it would be time to catch her. They might not be bringing them regularly because they were trapped there once. But sooner or later I would bet the kittens will follow her to eat because she is not nursing them as much.

I have not seen her boxing their ears yet, she was still quite tolerant of them, eating out of the same dish, rubbing up against each other, ect last time I saw them. I will have to wait it out for now, and hope that they start following soon.

My cats went right back in teh trap teh day afetr tehy were spayed! I didn't know they would do that. I would use teh bottle method every time now after getting them used to eating in the trap. i had one mama that was so smart, she ate every bit of the food many times withoutever setting off the trap. She is the only one that would never go near it again too. she was the most expensive to spay, she was pregnant again when I brought her in, her third litter that summer. all the luck!

I think the black cat would probably go back in the trap right away too, once when I was trying to catch the tomcat, I had accidentally caught her but reset the trap because I thought she would be trap shy enough not to go in there for a few days, but the day after I caught her she went inside the trap again haha. Thankyou for the helpful post!

 

[fionasmom]

I had to relocate a mother and feral litter to my property a few years ago. They were born under my neighbor's house and she only wanted them to leave, not to hurt them, and I did see her point. The kittens were probably even older than 12 weeks when I saw the mother bring them to my yard for food. (I had been feeding her and the father on my property and trapped them there).

 

[Norachan]

In the option that I do not spay and release them, and rather trap them later and spay-abort, how far along are they likely to be with the pregnancy?

That depends on when you trap them. If there are intact tom cats in the area the female cats are likely to mate again soon after giving birth. It's easier for a vet to spay abort early in a pregnancy than it is to spay a cat that's in heat. That's because the womb becomes engorged with blood during a heat cycle.

Of course if the mother cat is very pregnant the vet may refuse to spay abort, because he would be delivering live kittens which would then need to be euthanized. No one wants to do this, but some vets will depending on the situation.

I've had feral mothers spay-aborted in the early stages of pregnancy, when you couldn't really tell they were carrying kittens. It's really up to you if you want to ask your vet to do this if the mother is close to delivering.

In your experience, do they usually bring the kittens at around 12 weeks, or is it also common to start bring them later than that?

Again, it depends on the mother and the kittens. All of the cats I TNR'd had been fed by local people in my neighbourhood for years before I moved in, so they were quite comfortable with coming close to people to get fed. The kittens just followed their mothers when they were ready to.

 

[dahlia]

With my cats, the moms seem to start bringing the kittens regularly when they are about 8 to 10 weeks old.

 

[RTR]

My friend has 5 acres in an isolated part of Town! I help occaionsally bringing out scraps, and commercial cat food! Sometimes people just dump unwanted cats and and they all stay! He feds them twice a day and provides water, and a few sheds he keeps open with straw for shelter! They all stay where food and shelter are provided. My Dad used to yell at me when I would feed a stray cat telling me you will never get rid of it! # ..Food and shelter, and they will settle in for life!

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

That depends on when you trap them. If there are intact tom cats in the area the female cats are likely to mate again soon after giving birth. It's easier for a vet to spay abort early in a pregnancy than it is to spay a cat that's in heat. That's because the womb becomes engorged with blood during a heat cycle.

I guess that this means that she/they are likely already pregnant. So it's a good possibility I would end up with a late-term pregnant mother cat plus the older kittens if I wait until she starts bringing her kittens to trap them.

Of course if the mother cat is very pregnant the vet may refuse to spay abort, because he would be delivering live kittens which would then need to be euthanized. No one wants to do this, but some vets will depending on the situation.

I've had feral mothers spay-aborted in the early stages of pregnancy, when you couldn't really tell they were carrying kittens. It's really up to you if you want to ask your vet to do this if the mother is close to delivering.

I would personally not spay-abort in late term pregnancy. I can see why some people would, like the video you linked pointed out, but I am able to care for another litter of kittens if I had to. I do not mind spay aborting early stages of pregnancy though.

If I spay and release them, do they have to be spayed by flank or is a midline spay also okay? Our vets usually do midline spay, although we had one done via the flank once. I was wondering if midline spay would be a bad idea with kittens trying to nurse.

Again, it depends on the mother and the kittens. All of the cats I TNR'd had been fed by local people in my neighbourhood for years before I moved in, so they were quite comfortable with coming close to people to get fed. The kittens just followed their mothers when they were ready to.

The kittens were probably even older than 12 weeks when I saw the mother bring them to my yard for food.

With my cats, the moms seem to start bringing the kittens regularly when they are about 8 to 10 weeks old.

So it depends on the individual cat when she starts bringing them.
Does this mean that there a chance that she could give birth to another litter of kittens before she started bringing the previous litter to the feeding station? Or is that very unlikely?

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

Ideally, I could find the kittens nest and trap them all at once like I hoped to. I'm not sure I can find the nest, but I have/will try anyway. I have looked all around our place in all of the likely locations, so all of the old sheds, structures and unburned bonfire piles. I didn't find anything, but I assume the kittens would stay quiet and hidden if I did find them, so I guess I can't be sure they aren't there, especially in the bonfire heap because I can't see in there. There were small trails in the grass around the bonfire heap that could indicate something is there, but it could easily be other wild animals. I didn't find any cat droppings in any of the places I looked, which I would assume there would be in the area around the nest site. I think that they may be on the neighboring property, because it is also a quiet place with long grass and lots of structures, but I'm not sure that the owner of the place would be willing to help us, so it isn't easy to go looking or set traps there.
If I trapped and did not release the kittens mother, what would the kittens do? Would they come out of the nest and go looking for food? If they do/did - are they likely to find the scent, or remember the location, of the feeding station, and come there?

I'm quite worried about the tabby mother cat, I haven't seen her at the feeding stations for around a week now. I hope she's okay.

 

[Norachan]

I didn't find any cat droppings in any of the places I looked, which I would assume there would be in the area around the nest site.

No, the mother cat will be very careful about not attracting predators to her nest site. She will go to the toilet some distance from the next. If the kittens are too young to leave the next their mothers usually eat the poop. When the kittens are old enough they'll be taught to bury their poop by their mother.

One thing that might work if the area is dry enough; get some flour and sprinkle that in the places you are seeing trails. If it's a cat you will be able to tell from the paw prints. Flour won't do any harm if the animals ingest it and it's biodegradable too.

If I trapped and did not release the kittens mother, what would the kittens do? Would they come out of the nest and go looking for food? If they do/did - are they likely to find the scent, or remember the location, of the feeding station, and come there?

Older kittens probably would do this, but if they are younger than 6 to 8 weeks I wouldn't recommend it. Have these kittens been to the feeding station before? You mean the older kittens that you saw a few times?

What are you feeding them, is it something that has a strong smell?

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

One thing that might work if the area is dry enough; get some flour and sprinkle that in the places you are seeing trails. If it's a cat you will be able to tell from the paw prints. Flour won't do any harm if the animals ingest it and it's biodegradable too.

I will try this, thankyou.

Older kittens probably would do this, but if they are younger than 6 to 8 weeks I wouldn't recommend it. Have these kittens been to the feeding station before? You mean the older kittens that you saw a few times?

Yes, those are the kittens I mean. They are around 8 weeks old now, and were at the feeding station once at about 4 weeks old and again at 7 weeks.

What are you feeding them, is it something that has a strong smell?

Currently they are just getting dry food with some not very smelly wet food.
I could buy and use something stronger smelling though, canned fish, smellier canned food, I also have hand feeding puree treats that smell quite strong. What would you recommend?

 

[Norachan]

Yes, those are the kittens I mean. They are around 8 weeks old now, and were at the feeding station once at about 4 weeks old and again at 7 weeks.

Are you planning to trap the mother and keep her overnight while she recovers from her spay? Or are you thinking of keeping her inside longer? The kittens might not move far from the nest if their mum is only gone overnight. They probably would eventually venture further as they got hungrier, but if the nest is a long way from the feeding station and there is a lot of wildlife around they would be quite vulnerable at 8 weeks old

Currently they are just getting dry food with some not very smelly wet food.

OK, the "secret weapon" that attracts pretty much any animal in the area to your trap or feeding station is Asian fish sauce, Nampla.

You can get it made from fermented anchovies or squid, any variety will work. You can dilute it with water, put it in a spray bottle and squirt the grass and bushes near to your feeding station. It smells really strong and will attract all wildlife. I've had wild boars sniffing around when I've used it.

The only concern I would have is that you might attract predators to an area where the kittens are. So I'd recommend using it when you want to trap a cat to be spayed or neutered, but not if you just want the kittens to come out of hiding. And don't get any on your clothes, you'll smell like a crime scene in a fish market

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

Are you planning to trap the mother and keep her overnight while she recovers from her spay? Or are you thinking of keeping her inside longer? The kittens might not move far from the nest if their mum is only gone overnight. They probably would eventually venture further as they got hungrier, but if the nest is a long way from the feeding station and there is a lot of wildlife around they would be quite vulnerable at 8 weeks old

Usually I do not return feral cats outside. Sadly, I believe TNR would be quite ineffective and inhumane in my area as people killing feral cats is extremely common - I live in New Zealand, where kill 'methods' are widespread and there is extreme hate for feral cats. Instead I have a very large cat enclosure I usually keep the ferals in.
So, if I could catch and not release her, that would be preferred, but I think that spaying and releasing - recapture being possible later, is probably best for the kittens.
You have a very good point about predators. If I catch her and get her spayed I will release early the next morning.

OK, the "secret weapon" that attracts pretty much any animal in the area to your trap or feeding station is Asian fish sauce, Nampla.

I will buy some of this. Thankyou!

The only concern I would have is that you might attract predators to an area where the kittens are. So I'd recommend using it when you want to trap a cat to be spayed or neutered, but not if you just want the kittens to come out of hiding

I'll remember this.

The tabby mother cat has been taking her kittens to the feeding station and is trying to wean them, I think. Leaving them on their own and sometimes hissing at them. They look to be around 10 weeks old. I have set traps and hopefully will catch them soon.

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

Hello everyone, I will give an update and also ask for any helpful tips or advice to help catch the last 2 cats.
Since my last message I have caught the tomcat, the black mother cat, all of the black cats kittens, and 2 out of 3 of the tabby cats kittens. I caught the tomcat, I've named Hedgehog, by luck, he just decided to show up and walk in the trap, no fear or caution at all really. I wasn't expecting to catch him that easily, but I can't complain, very happy that I've got him. The black mother cat who I've called Nyx wasn't as easy to trap as I had expected her to be. I think it was partly because of faulty trap setting by me, the trap got set off when she went inside but I didn't realize that one of the rods on this trap that has to flick up was being blocked by a tree, so only 1 of the 2 doors shut and she wasn't trapped, but did get a fright. But a few days later I caught her in a different trap. Both cats have been desexed, treated for parasites, vaccinated and microchipped and will soon be integrated to a large enclosure with some of my other feral cats I caught previously.
One of Nyx's kittens I caught when she took them to the food and the kitten went in the trap. I have dry food outside of the trap, so that they can still get fed if they are too cautious of the trap, or something has already been trapped. I bait the trap with enticing wet food like canned fish to try and lure them in, since they prefer the wet food to the dry food outside the trap. After I caught that first kitten I caught Nyx. With how difficult she was to catch, I'm not sure if I would catch her or even see her again if I released her, and her kittens were around 9 weeks old at the time and had visited the food only a few days before, I decided I would not release her. I baited the trap with strong smelling food and also used a salmon scented animal lure. Within a week both of the two remaining kittens made their way to the food and got caught. However even though they had only been on their own for a few days, both kittens had lost quite a lot of condition (but don't worry, they are chubby and growing well now), so it wasn't perfect and I would never do this with younger kittens, but i think it was my only choice and it ended up being okay. All three kittens are adorable little tabbies who I've called Cielo, Calypso and Callisto, 2 girls and a boy.
The two kittens of the tabby mother cat that I have caught came to the feeding station on their own. One I caught was the first cat out of them all that I caught, and the other I caught only a few days ago. They are both black girls with little white markings on their chest, who have been named Cleo and Clover. All kittens have been treated for parasites, and will be soon vaccinated and microchipped, and desexed when they are big enough.
Then there are the two cats left. The one tabby cats kitten, and the tabby cat herself. I have been feeling very disappointed with myself the past week as I haven't seen the tabby cat, she hasn't been coming to eat. I worried she had been killed, or had decided to move away and not come back - but, last night she came to eat on the camera. I can't explain to you the relief of seeing her!
The tabby mother cat is somewhat trap shy and quite a cautious and timid cat. Still, she walks up the the traps and eats beside them, and was even grooming herself in the entrance of the trap once. From now on I am going to make sure I use the best and freshest bait (I am currently using raw beef mince, cat roll wet food, and canned mackerel - although there was only mackerel in the traps last night when she came. I know when I have caught her before I had baited the traps with mince. Maybe she doesn't like fish as much. I will put out multiple types of bait next time) for the traps and hopefully that will be enough to catch her.
I am not sure what about the remaining kitten. There is a feeding station with salmon lure and strong smelling trap bait that I don't think is very far from the nest, which all the kittens had been taken to with their mother multiple times before. I know the two black kittens appeared to know where they were going and had came and ate on their own a few times before getting caught. The tabby (remaining) kitten appears to be the least independent kitten, I have never seen her go to the feeding station on her own. Because she hasn't been to the feeding station, I assume that s/he is still in her nest being fed by her mother? I'm not sure, although I believe that if the tabby mother cat had weaned her I would have already caught her. I suspect it might be like with Nyx and her kittens, that s/he will come out of the nest when/if (hopefully when!) I catch her mother.
For now I have all 3 of my traps set at different locations, all with food and water next to the trap and 2/3 with trail camera set up as well. I have seen the tabby cat at all these 3 locations before when she came to eat there, so she knows where they are. I will try and use the best bait and also use my salmon lure, and possibly get some Asian fish sauce to use as a lure too as Norachan suggested.
Thanks again for all of the helpful advice already given on this thread, it has helped me to save these 7 cats and hopefully also the last 2.

 

[Norachan]

Well done! That's great progress.

So the last kitten must be about 12 weeks old now? I expect her mother is still letting her suckle at times but may also be bringing prey back to the nest for her. How often do you see the last kitten on camera?

As you have several traps and plenty of food around I would suggest feeding a little less so that the mother and kitten have no choice but to go into the traps. You can leave water outside, but don't leave any extra food around. Get something really delicious, make a trail of tasty morsels going into the trap and then have the bait inside.

One thing you could try is KFC. Hot fried chicken has worked with very trap wary cats before and if it's something new the mother an kitten might be more interested in checking it out.

Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

[dahlia]

Way to go! Good luck on getting the remaining ones.

 

[feralcatsareamazing]

So the last kitten must be about 12 weeks old now? I expect her mother is still letting her suckle at times but may also be bringing prey back to the nest for her. How often do you see the last kitten on camera?

Yes I believe s/he is about 12 weeks old. I don't regularly see her on camera, I haven't seen her in around 2 weeks. I saw her a few times with her mother and siblings eating the food, before I had trapped most of the kittens.

As you have several traps and plenty of food around I would suggest feeding a little less so that the mother and kitten have no choice but to go into the traps. You can leave water outside, but don't leave any extra food around. Get something really delicious, make a trail of tasty morsels going into the trap and then have the bait inside.

Do you think that this will cause the tabby mother to wander? I would do this although I am a bit scared that she's going to wander off again if she thinks she can't get food. I suppose that she is more likely to get trapped rather than skip the food though.
Also, I often catch hedgehogs in the trap, unintentionally. I release them, but it means that sometimes the trap will be set off with a hedgehog inside when the cat comes to the trap. Do you think that she would come back again later when I've reset the trap, or will once or twice experience of getting no food make her not go there again?

ne thing you could try is KFC. Hot fried chicken has worked with very trap wary cats before and if it's something new the mother an kitten might be more interested in checking it out.

I will probably try this, thankyou.

Good luck, please keep us posted.

Thankyou so much, I will keep you posted.