Females strays that need spaying

Ok. So I had an assignment to round up the kittens of 4 stray female cats in a woman's backyard who called us to say she couldn't deal with more cats. She's already got a colony of sorts and spends what seems like much of her income caring for the ones she already has. So I got 7 babies and we'll neuter, vet, shot, etc and then adopt them out. 2 more babies are only 5 wks and she agreed to let them stay with their mama until 8 wks when we can take them and adopt them out. The woman will continue to care for the 4 mothers, she just couldn't swing paying for spay surgery for them so they won't have to be relocated.

The problem is that now that the kittens are rounded up, the mama's are very upset and not eating, very depressed. I need to set traps tomorrow night and get them to the clinic for spaying. How do you trap depressed mama's that might not go for the usual food enticement? I have the added problem of the mama with the 5 week olds looks very much like one of the mama's of the 8 wk olds that we already have. How long does it normally take for the mama's to calm down enough to stop being depressed and eat again enough so that they may be trapped? (they pick at food, not entirely on a food strike) Thanks.

enticement?

You could try using the kittens as bait. Put two or three in a carrier, place the carrier end to end with the back of the trap, and cover the carrier and part of the trap to make a 'tunnel' with only one way to see the kittens. A little food in the trap can be an extra inducement.

I have the added problem of the mama with the 5 week olds looks very much like one of the mama's of the 8 wk olds that we already have.

Go for a clean sweep. Catch that mama and her kittens, and keep her with them in a cage for a couple of weeks. The kittens are weaning, so she should be ready for spaying soon.

Otherwise you have no option but to monitor the traps and shoo her away if she gets close.

How long does it normally take for the mama's to calm down enough to stop being depressed and eat again enough so that they may be trapped?

Hard to say. Depends on the mama and age of the kittens.

Thanks for the advice. I got 3 of the mothers tonight, including the one with the young kittens. The kittens were both trapped after I left to run the 3 I had to the clinic, so they're being taken care of for the night. Only one more to go and hopefully the tom that hangs around there too!