Brief synopsis:

Apartment Complex with no-pet clause.  Unspayed stray female lives in
courtyard.  Circa Sept. 20: 5 kittens.  My patio.

My wife and I have since fed & made friends with mom (who's obviously a
dumped former pet) and have partially weaned & socialized the kittens.
Yesterday morning, by arrangement, they were picked up by a local
volunteer rescue/adoption facilitator.  I waited about as long as I
dared--as of last week they were outgrowing the barricades on our patio
(which has a half-height wall/fence) and the apt. managers had noticed them.

The problem is that mom is now inconsolable.  She does little else but
wander around our patio and underneath our windows (& neighbors')
"talking" to and crying for her kittens.  Apart from making her very
conspicuous (which very likely endangers her "tolerated" status here,
not to mention our own!) it's just killing us on a personal level. Even
though it was for the best, we feel as though we've betrayed them.

Since this kind of thing is unfortunately routine, I figure someone must
have figured out a few tricks for helping calm/distract mother cats
after a traumatic separation like this.  My wife bought her 3 small
stuffed bears, but she doesn't react to them.  Will catnip toys help?
How long before the maternal instinct fades, generally?

We need to get her patched up for next week's violation of trust: the
local spay clinic.

Adam Cole