Spaying/Neutering + Ferrals

Question
Hi,

I have put 2 issues to you I hope you don't mind.

1. I have been reading information on the benefits of spaying/neutering cats, and they all seem to be positive, however I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm doing something unnatural to my kittens. I have 2 6 month old kittens, one male, one female, from the same litter. I keep thinking "What if someone came along and gave me a hysterectomy when there was nothing wrong with me?" as a human being. I know it may be better to spay her, to help with the cat population, but I can't help feeling that I'm taking away her natural right to bear children and to care for them. Cats can't talk back to us, but I feel very close to my kittens and understand when they are down or are feeling tired or cold and so on. Is it my given right as a human being to take away my girl's instinct to have children of her own? I'm having a moral dilemma about this. Also, what age can females start to get pregnant? Also, she recently vomited (only once) and she has been drinking a lot, could she be sick). We have wormed and flead them but they haven't been vaccinated against anything yet, what do cats get vaccinated against? Also, my kittens are brother and sister, but do they KNOW this, they won't try to mate when they get a little older will they?

2.We were feeding some ferral cats, we managed to tame them though to some degree, and we feeding them every day for about a year. They weren't tame enough to sleep them inside, they used to sleep outside on some chairs we had.

The female had kittens, but because I couldn't get her inside on the night she had them, she had them outside in a building site next door. I kept putting food out for her and I saw the kittens around a little bit, but when they were about 2 months old we had to move house and couldn't take her with us as we couldn't trap the kittens and couldn't take her away from them.

The house we left was left empty for ages, as they were planning to knock it down. So, after we moved, I went back every day or two to the old house and left the cats a lot of food and water. When I went back recently, the house had been knocked down, and the cats were nowhere in sight. The area has been fenced off and I can't see them anywhere. I have not been back there now for a couple of months, and have left a note and talked to people in the neighbourhood to call me if they see them.

I feel really bad about leaving them, I feel like I have abandonded them, but I have heard that cats generally go where the food is eg someone elses house. I want to know whether the cat and her kittens, which would now be 6 months old, would be ok, whether they would be starving or not, and whether they would be able to survive. Also, if the female cat falls pregnant again but she doesn't eat properly, would her new litter die? Should I go back and look for them again...I just don't know where they are but I feel like I need to rescue them and also to stop them from breeding, as there are now 5 stray cats in that neighbourhood.  If I call the RSPCA (that's what we have in Australia) they can provide cat traps but I don't know whether by now the cats would be gone. Where would they be getting food? There is one male, one adult female and 2 6 month old kittens. What to do?

Thankyou!

Answer
You will not find them now. They will get food where they can find it, or they will starve. Now you can see what happens when these poor creatures are left? You can only learn for the future. Please do!!
Yes, they will all breed each other, mother and son, father and daughter, brother and sister. Cats do not know or care about this.
If you are truly worried, then do call the RSPCA.
If you tell them this story, then I am positive that they will tell you the same thing that I have told you.
Forgive yourself, but learn this lesson well for the future.

Regards,
Barb