HK, in an ideal world of course we'd want the kittens to stay with mum a bit longer, but feral life is not an ideal world, is it? At 6 weeks a feral kitten is capable of surviving away from mum and they will get better access to quality food and health care in rescue than in the wild. They also come round a heck of a lot easier the earlier you get them. There is a dramatic difference between a kitten caught at 6 weeks than one left til 8 weeks. You won't tell the difference between a 6 week kitten born outside to one raised domestically after a few days of captivity, whereas with an 8 week old it will take over a week or so.
I don't understand why you think scruffing more traumatic than trapping. A kitten scruffed in the correct way and quickly placed in a carrier is probably less traumatised than one that has had the door slam shut behind it.
If these really were feral kittens, they'd claw her bloodless!
Not always. The knack is scruffing them in the correct way. Often, they come quietly as they are used to being scooped up like this by mum.
The is no genteel or completely stress-free way of capturing a feral cat or kitten, HK. You have to bear in mind they are wild animals, albiet ex-domestic animals mankind has let down. What really matters is your motivations for capturing them and putting them through that stress. I think scruffing a 6 week old kitten to give it proper food, shelter, healthcare and a welcoming lap to curl up on as opposed to letting it take it's chances outside is justified.
