pregnant stray cat

Question
I have been leaving dry food and water on my back porch since I noticed this cat was pregnant. I believe she will deliver soon. She eats ,then leaves our property,going I know not where.She has become accustomed to us,but is still nervous.I set out a plastic storage box with old t shirts in it,but she doesn't go near it.How can I help her when the birth time arrives,if she eats and leaves?She has been arriving for food more frequently in the past few days.

Answer
Hi Anne.  Thanks for stepping in to help!  I'm not sure how you feel about this option, but the ideal thing would be to trap her with a humane trap and keep her in a cage in the house, at least until her babies are weaned and she is spayed.  Local shelters often will rent out dog crates that are fine for this purpose.  This is what we do with the feral cats, and while they are not necessarily happy with it at the time, they adjust quickly.  We find that many cats are actually tame but afraid, and with a little warming up, they can be placed in indoor homes.  Those who can't are returned to the site where they were trapped once they are spayed.

If this isn't an option for you, the best you can do probably is to continue feeding her outdoors.  She may deliver her kittens somewhere away from your property, but as long as you keep feeding her, she will probably bring her babies around once they are old enough to start eating on their own.  The very unfortunate part is that at this age - about 4-5 weeks old - they will already be quite skittish and difficult to catch.  You will need to try to catch the babies as soon as possible to tame them and get them into homes.  Once their eyes change from blue to their adult color, they will be all but impossible to tame.  You can try following mom to her nest to find the kittens when they are much younger, and removing the kittens when they are newborns to bottle raise them.  This solves the problem of their becoming skittish at all.  However, once the babies are all removed, you will still have mama to deal with.  At some point, she will need to be trapped and spayed, or the situation will arise again.

Best of luck!

Jessica