The technique that Simkie described above is what I have done too.
We’ve tried that for months. I think Ralph, our barn cat, warns her off the trap. She won’t come any where near the barn when I trap him in the tack room. She is visible during my feeding time only when I get to the part where I’m cleaning the stalls. Then, she meows to Ralph while he sits on the fence. I pet him and talk to him while she watches. She inches closer, and then finally goes into the barn while I’m outside in the paddocks. She meows if there’s no food. Ralph shows her to the food after I leave. She hasn’t gone anywhere near food bowls if I place then near the cage, slightly in the cage, or all the way in. Believe me, we’ve tried everything. I can’t list everything here, but trust me. We’ve been playing the trap game with her for months. This cat wants nothing to do with traps. I thought she was gone or eaten because I didn’t see her for at least a month and then she dumped the kittens on us.
The only option I can think of for a trap savvy cat (that’s what the trapper called her after I described what we’ve done over the last several months) is to trap her in a room. I’m going to start feeding the barn kitties in the tack room and hope I can catch her in there. That’s all I’ve got. The trapper will try a drop trap when he gets a chance to come out. Regular traps will not work. Part of the issue is that fire ants get to the food within a certain number of hours so you have to put the traps on something if you want the food to be edible enough in an hour. It’s a pain in the butt.
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Waiting to hear back from two local cat cafes. I’m hoping they can take these two stinkers. So far, it’s sounds like they’re full, too.
More pictures….
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I got the best look ever at the mama cat. She was slinking through the pasture to the back barn gate. She is a long haired muted tortoiseshell.
The meowing confuses me. I would think feral cats would be silent. She’s meowed from the first time I saw her. She hides in the wall of brush behind the back fence and has a pitiful meow. I assumed it was for the barn cat, but would a feral cat meow at people? I wondered if I caught, could she be tamed? Was she tame once?
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Cute kittens! Fingers crossed you can find a good place for them
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Fair chance she was a friendly cat with people once and got lost or dumped. Lots of wandering cats were cute kittens that someone loved.
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Very very common behavior in an abandoned PET cat. She once was someone’s pet.
I so hope you can gain her trust enough to trap. You are awesome.
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Thanks for today’s pictures of the cute little stinkers! So so cute!
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I love Spike so much… So much…
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Her kittens are two months old. Gestation is two months long. How long does it take for a cat to go back in heat? She left her kittens when they were 3-4 weeks old. Also, I thought she looked small when I first saw her. I’m guessing she’s young still and maybe that’s why the kittens were dumped. Was she a quarantine kitty? That makes me sad. At any rate, how much time do I have before the next litter? If I can catch her, they can do the spay, even if she’s pregnant (sorry for anyone that offends). If she’s nursing, can they spay her?
My friend uses some sort of birth control meds in her feral cat colonies food. She has not been successful in capturing all of them and after 5 years she hasn’t had any new litters. You may want to ask your vet about this option until you can catch her. My friend does have to be careful and wear gloves when handling the meds. Good luck!
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They come back into heat before babies are weaned, so there’s definitely a good chance she’s already pregnant again. Yep, they should be able to spay her while she’s nursing.
Here’s an article about feral cat birth control, I assume this is what @3PonyFarm’s friend is using? Hadn’t ever heard of that, had to go Google. Sounds interesting!
https://www.alleycat.org/non-surgical-contraception-a-potential-lifesaver-during-covid-19/
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Thanks for the info!
Thanks for finding that info!
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yep what @simkie said. They get pregnant so quickly that during the summer most females who are trapped are either in heat, pregnant or lactating. Vets will know how to deal with this. Its not ideal, but its a sad reality that there just are not enough homes or resources out there.
You are doing awesome - keep up the good work!
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Found a home for the last two kittens! They wanted a brother sister pair. Great home, too. All set up with their vet and everything. Doesn’t want to pick up until after the Fourth because of the noise. Smart people!
I think she ate in the tack room. This might work. Here’s the best picture I could get (you can see Ralph, her protector, in the foreground).
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Could you trap her inside the tack room? I once trapped a cat like that: I left my front door open and when sneaky kitty came in I just came up from behind the sofa and slammed the door shut and she was trapped in the house. If door opens inward, tie a rope on handle and yank shut like a drop trap? Just brainstorming…they are stinkers sometimes. I’m still trying to figure out how to catch Mr TrapSmart at my house.
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That’s my plan. 
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mwa ha ha ha…
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