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If you know you would release the mom right away, the best thing would be not totrap her in the first place. It can be hard though, even for a skilled trapper, to avoidcatching any one particular cat when mass trapping a colony. Using a drop trap (seeChapter 10) or the bottle-and-string technique discussed earlier in this chapter, wouldallow you to decide which cats to trap and which not.• Litters of known age and known locationKnowing the kittens’ age and their location gives you more options if you end uptrapping their mother. Much will depend on whether you want to foster, socialize andadopt out the kittens, or leave them to grow up outside as ferals. Taking friendly cats andyoung kittens off the streets and placing them in good homes is always preferable, butresources do not always allow.(a) No foster resources availablephoto: Meredith WeissIf there is no one to foster the kittens while you lookfor homes, the best course of action is to delay thetrapping until the kittens are old enough to be fixed.Generally, the rule of thumb for pediatric spay/neuter istwo pounds, two months. Not all veterinarians,however, are trained in early age spay/neuter, so consultyour veterinarian to find out the minimum age she iscomfortable sterilizing.If the trapping can’t be put off and the mom ends upin a trap, you can go ahead and get her spayed whileyou care for the kittens in her absence. What kind ofcare is needed will depend on the kittens’ age. If theyare less than five weeks of age and unweaned, they willneed to be brought inside, kept in a warm place, bottle-fed and possibly stimulated topass urine and feces by gently rubbing their genital areas. It’s a big job and your life willbe easier if you can wait until they are weaned before trapping their mother.If the kittens are weaned and eating on their own, you’ll need to provide them withfood and try to keep them in as safe a location as possible, preferably somewhereenclosed like a garage or shed so they can’t go wandering off on their own. If necessary,consider bringing them inside and caging them for the short time their mom is away.Here are some guideposts for aging baby kittens by sight:their eyes and ear canals start to open at 7 to 10 days old. Teethcome in at two weeks. At three to four weeks old, they becomeambulatory and can start walking and even running. At five weeks,their normally blue eyes start to change color.85