feral cat that may have just had babies

Question
A siamese cat that I have seen in the neighborhood has decided to move into our backyard/deck.  I think she may have just had babies but I have been watching her and she never goes anywhere out of sight so I don't know where the babies are?  What should I do?  I am afraid that she abandoned them and I can't find them to take care of them?  Any advise would be helpful.  Also, she is a very friendly kitty, today she actually came up to me and rubbed against my feet and let me pet her.

Answer
Hi Kelly.  This is a tough one.  It's unusual for a mother of newborns to leave her litter for more than a couple hours a day.  She may venture out to eat a quick bite but will spend virtually all of her time keeping her babies warm and fed.  Your best bet is going to be to watch her from a window, if you can, and see where she goes.  Try to follow her without her noticing.  She might lead you to her nest.

You can search high and low for the babies, but one of the ways cats as a species survive is their ability to hide their litters well.  So no matter how much you look, it may be impossible to find an abandoned litter.  If it has been longer than 24 hours since she's has contact with the babies, then they probably have not survived.  In general, a newborn can't go much longer than this without feeding.

If you do find the babies, it would be great if you could move mama and kittens inside, at least until they're weaned.  It's estimated that about 80% of kittens don't even reach 10 months old because of dangers and diseases outdoors.  Also, this will ensure you can have enough contact with the babies to make them good pets.  I recommend handling kittens for a couple minutes a few times a day from birth.  Mama will not abandon them because of your scent, and kittens who get used to being handled young make the best pets later.  Once the kittens reach 3 weeks, it becomes even more urgent.  Kittens who don't have human attention before they are 8 weeks old can become next to impossible to make into good pets.