I said I was a cat lady and I'm proving it...

Tonight, at about 11:50PM-12AM EST, I went on a walk with my fiancé. Our intent was to go to the park, which means going past a gas station near a busy intersection. I look over and see a little black kitten, who meows after I call out to it with the usual "kitty kitty kitty". Then two more, litter-mates and identical at that. Instant stupid idea: catch them, take them home for the night, and find a shelter in the morning. Well, they're feisty, fearful and only one is ballsy enough to come within a few inches of me for a piece of dangly string. Being it's October, they need to be inside. This isn't just me being a cat lady, this is being an animal lover. Two notes I must make: Mom was clearly not around, and hunting is scarce. They're old enough that they're eating hard food and eating very greedily; my Texas came to me a little younger than they are! They are also bonded so I can't take one at a time. They have to be together, because once one ran, the other two would follow.

TL;DR: Black kittens need to be trapped and brought indoors.

What can I do? Anyone on Subeta have experience with catching kittens/feral cats?

Is there a shelter or organization nearby that you can borrow a cat trap from? I volunteer with a rescue place that deals with a lot of feral animals, and the traps are generally the easiest way to catch them. If they're all bonded they should all head into the trap together if there's food inside, either that, or see if you can get a couple of the traps and get them set up close to where the little babies are.

Or you could try catching them inside a kennel yourself with some wet food/canned fish/smelly, good stuff and hope they'll go inside and you can nab them and get them all to safety.

Unfortunately, I don't have a kennel :( I wish I did, I would have had him go grab it and the food while I waited with them. I just moved to the area in late August so no idea where any shelters/rescues are that do TNR! I plan on looking tonight/today; we were stopped by a cop funnily enough but he left quickly when he realize it's just crazy cat people ( :P ) so I couldn't ask for any help.

We do, luckily, have a roommate willing to go out in the middle of the night for this so we have more eyes/hands and about four cans of wet food. I know a higher-value food item will certainly get their attention even more. I just hope they'll be there tomorrow and that no one freaks out about the food. Last thing I need is to find out someone harmed those little babies.

Dang. Even maybe a box or something would work, or just something with a lid, or that can close (but also with air holes, obviously).

I would definitely look into the shelters around there if you get the chance, most will help babies, even if they don't have a TNR program, or deal with ferals generally because... well, they're kittens, haha! And that's handy that you've got some help! And I hope so too because as you said, I would also hate to have something more happen to those poor little guys.

There's a shelter that offers loaning of traps but they seem to be closed majority of the time (whyyyyyy /sob), and another that rents them out. I have a box, with a towel in it, and I'll bring more towels to grab them because ouch, unclipped kitty claws! D: If I can't get them tonight, I'll talk to the place that rents, because they seem sociable from what little interaction we had.

Please let us know what happens to the babies!!

Absolutely will!

UPDATE They were right where I left them <3 <3 One is getting more trustful, while the other two are still very iffy. They all scarfed down the first can of wet food so I put out another to lure them back. No injuries, no eye issues. Everyone looks physically fine but that's only part of the battle. They did however recognize us! So that's a good start. Hopefully tomorrow we can catch them.

UPDATE2 In a rather short span, one of them (nicknamed Creep) has allowed for pets! It'll actually nuzzle into my hand now. Insta video. So delightful <3

So wonderful that you are helping these kittens!

I rescued some feral kittens and their mama about this time 2 years ago. I got the help of a local rescue society and the kittens were later adopted. Mama cat was spayed and lived in the backyard fat and happy.

Any updates since last week?

They're coming out for dinner much, MUCH faster so they're getting onto a schedule and the shy ones are getting more comfortable. Not comfortable enough for petting like their brother Creep, but they're not darting away quite as quickly.

That's good to hear! :)

When our kittens got socialized enough to catch we took them to the vet. Yours sound like they are getting pretty close. I read above that you are new to the area. Do you know any more about possible shelters/rescue societies? Of course you could always keep them ;)

LOL! I wish! 😧 In our rental agreement that we can't have more than two cats per tenant, and I already have a little black year-old. We do so want to keep Creep, because the other two are clearly bonded.

But I do know of one shelter, that's cats-only and hopefully they can take the other two and keep them together if I point out that they're bonded. I don't think Creep is bonded to the other two, but I couldn't find anything about a three-way bond.

I am so proud of you for not giving up on these beautiful little fuzzy babies! That's bloody amazing you've gotten them to trust you this quickly!! I've raised two ferals and cared for their mama, and it took us months to get them to come near for pets. I absolutely love that video you posted. Such a sweetie. Keep on being awesome with them - best of luck!!

I know, I was screaming on the inside because he was nuzzling our hands after smacking my hand the first night I saw them. He's a confident bugger!

I absolutely plan to be and thank you :DD