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Unless a caretaker objects on religious or other deeply personal grounds,Neighborhood Cats recommends trapping a pregnant cat and aborting the kittenswhenever possible. This is because of the harsh realities of cat overpopulation. If thekittens are born and you find homes for them, it could mean other cats already in theshelter system will not be adopted and will be euthanized instead. If the kittens are bornand not adopted, but live outdoors as ferals, their mortality rate is likely to be high andmost of their lives short. Right now, with so many cats dying in shelters and on thestreets, more kittens only make the situation worse. If your veterinarian is veryexperienced with spay/neuter, cats can be safely spayed right up until the last days of apregnancy. Discuss with your clinic or veterinarian to find out what their policies are.If the decision is not to abort, whether for ethical reasons or concerns for the health ofthe pregnant female, then what happens to the kittens becomes the focus. Should youtrap the mom-to-be and let her raise the kittens in a cage, or leave her be to give birthoutdoors? Certainly, having her give birth indoors in a secure environment will be muchsafer for the kittens. Outdoors, they face numerous threats - anemia induced by fleas,disease from other cats which their undeveloped immune systems can’t fight off,predators, traffic, and more. In addition, if the goal is to eventually adopt out the kittens,it will be much easier and faster to socialize them if they are born indoors and handled bypeople from birth.If the mom and her kittens are kept indoors, use the Feral Cat Setup (see Chapter 12),then when the litter is eight weeks or older, spay and release the mom and spay/neuter thekittens before adopting them out. WildlifeIf you’re working in an area with wildlife, sometimes you may discover an uninvitedvisitor waiting inside one of your traps. They also like cat food and will wander in tocheck it out. You should release any wildlife immediately at the same location –remember, it’s their territory, too. Proceeding carefully and with the proper techniquewill prevent injury to the animal and yourself.Avoid having to release raccoons, skunks and opossum byoffering them food outside the traps which they like and cats don’t.In the traps' general vicinity, set out a few servings of the foodsthey like best. For raccoons, they love sweet foods like sweet corn,white bread and marshmallows. For skunks offer nuts, seeds,eggs, fruits and berries. Opossum adore fruits, tomatoes, acorns,persimmons, nuts and seeds. Remember, one nut or a couple ofberries won't get the job done. Be sure to leave ample food or yourfurry dinner guests will finish the appetizers you've thoughtfullyprovided, then go in a trap and eat the cat food too.88