possibly pregnant feral cat. Need specific advice. Please Help!

A few years ago a friendly orange stray male cat sort of adopted my family. We fed him and named him Link. We tried bringing him inside but he kneaded with his claws all the time and was ripping up the carpet and furniture. He is also a wanderer, and hated being inside. Whenever we tried to keep him in the garage even over night, he still darted out whenever we opened the door. Now, I realize we should have gotten him fixed. We've gotten other strays neutered before and we talked about it, but because he wasn't in the house, it was something we kept putting off.  Well, obviously, that was a mistake, but now I'm hoping to do my best to make up for that.  

A few weeks ago we noticed another cat from the woods hanging around. Unlike Link, this cat was mostly feral, and would not let us pet it. It would however eat out of Link's bowl with him. The cat was skinny and hungry, and we didn't mind. We also thought it was funny that the new cat looked like a smaller gray version of Link and followed him around everywhere, so we named it Shadow. A few days ago, after trying everyday for weeks to get Shadow to let us come near her, we finally were able to pet her a little as long as Link was there, and find out that she was in fact a female. We also noticed she's put on some weight, but only around her belly. She also seems to be hungry all the time. I felt her stomach and it felt firm, and different than Link's. I realize she could have a parasite, but I figured if she had a parasite, Link would probably have it too, and their stomachs would feel the same. Also, my parents told me they think she is too big for it to be worms.  

Now, I realize this is our fault for not getting Link fixed, but I'm trying now to do my best to fix the situation. Assuming that Shadow is pregnant, I would like to make sure that the kittens are born safely, so that I can socialize them, get them vaccinated, and find good homes for them so they don't have to grow up in the wild. I would also (hopefully) like to get both adult cats fixed once the kittens are born. Now, I've never done anything like this before and I need advice. I'll try to be very specific. Most importantly I'm trying very very  hard to make Shadow feel safe around me. Usually she only allows me to pet her when there is food in the bowl  outside  and when Link is with her. Yesterday she came to the food bowl and allowed me to stand crouch less than a foot away while she ate. She would flinch and step back every time I tried to touch her, but came back to the food a few seconds later. Today she came over to me when I was petting Link and let me pet her a little bit, but mostly she stood about 10 feet away and looked at us. I'm trying very hard to take it slow and not upset her because I'm afraid she'll run into the woods and won't come back.  
 

I don't think I can get her to come into the garage or the house. We have a barn where I'd like to raise the kittens but its far from the woods and the house, and I don't think that I can get her down there. We have a gazebo tent in the light woods behind our house with zip up bug netting around it. We have a table and chairs, Christmas lights, and a fan in there. I hope maybe I could get her to have the kittens in there. I took two cardboard boxes and made sort of a octagonal nest. I arched the tops of the box inward to make it seem more enclosed, but not make her feel trapped. I put a bed that Link used to sleep in in the box. I figured since she follows Link around and rubs up next to him, she might like his smell. I thought maybe if I could get her to feel comfortable in there, she might have her kittens there instead of in the woods. I put the box and food bowls in the tent, then filled the bowls, opened one side of the netting and sat down in a chair. The cats came in, and I could see Shadow sort of eyeing the box. She walked around the gazebo a little, ate, then left. I closed the side of the tent but left the netting open up enough so her or Link could come back in later. When I came back later to check on them, Shadow was in the tent, but not in the bed. I backed away so I wouldn't scare her out of there, but when I checked again a few minutes later she was sitting 5 feet away from the tent, just sort of looking at it. I tried to call her over and she didn't come, but she didn't run away either. I opened half of the netting, and sat in the corner, she came over with Link, but didn't let me pet her again, and eventually walked back to the spot she was sitting in before.   

My current problems/questions: Because money is sort of an issue, I would rather save money to vaccinate the kittens and fix the parents than take Shadow to the vet now. The way I see it, if I spend all of my money before the kittens are born, I won't be able to help them once they are born. Is that ok? I would like to get Link fixed as soon as possible, but because Shadow is so attached to him I don't want to risk anything between him and her maybe not come back. I also wonder if Link will be a problem with the kittens. Do I have to worry about him hurting them? He and Shadow rub up against one another a lot, and share food, but there have been times where she's gotten in his way while eating and he's sort of nipped her. He is also definitely a predator with mice and snakes.   

I am pretty much clueless, and I have no idea what to do. ANY advice whatsoever would be very appreciated. I'm not even sure how long Shadow has been pregnant if she is at all. PLEASE HELP!!!  

Thank you.  

It definitely sounds like you are making progress in befriending her. Since she actually lets you touch her when eating, she probably at one time had some human contact , even a home but then got lost or was abandoned and went into a semi-feral mode. But I understand, you are not anywhere close to being able to get her to follow you inside, or just pick her up and carry her in. And she might be near term.

Can you borrow a humane trap from a shelter or rescue / TNR group etc.? Here is a link to Alley Cat Allies info on Trap/ Neuter / Return . and some of it might be helpful to you in this siutation. http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=285
Also here is ACA's page about connecting with others in your area who are helping feral/ stray cats. http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=379 You might find people who could help in various ways, like having a trap you could borrow/ rent, or knowing a vet who does spay/ neuter / vaccination at reduced price for rescue .

If you can't get Shadow to go in the trap at first , you can start putting her food near the trap, then in the trap , gradually move it back farther inside so she gets used to going in. Then get her trapped, and bring her into a safely enclosed room in the house.

It is definitely safer for her and the kittens to get her trapped and keep her inside and continue to keep her confined until you can get her spayed so she does not get pregnant again -- which can happen even though she is nursing. Cats have got pregnant again just days after giving birth! which is not good for the cat or the kittens.

If you can't get a trap, you might be able to try it with feeding her in a pet carrier / crate and then one day quickly shut the door. This is harder than the humane trap because it still requires you to be able to shut and lock that door on her.
Another possibility is throwing a blanket over her and very quickly wrapping her up and having a carrier / portable cage right there to put her in. The risk with this is that if you don't succeed, she may just be so spooked that she won't come anywhere near you for a long time. And if she is very big, you may not have a long time.

and yes Link will need to be kept away from the kittens . Tomcats often kill kittens. I experienced some very sad examples of that in the farm cats when I was a kid.
They're more likely to kill a rival tom's kittens. but sometimes even kill their own which biologically makes no sense, but I remember reading some research of studies of feral colonies that suggested they are more likely to try to kill kittens if they have smelled the scent of some other tomcat in the area, and maybe they suspect the other tom is the father.
But it can also happen that a tom might kill kittens because very young kittens can look and sound like little mice or similar animals that are prey to cats. And a male cat does not have the maternal hormones that inhibit the prey drive of the mother cat.
In any case, toms just should not be trusted around young kittens. There are a few who are good with kittens, even quite nurturing , but one can't depend on it so it is best to just totally keep them separate.
( Plus, even though I know their mom isn't vaccinated either, it seems to me it is better not to increase the risk by exposing them to any other unvaccinated cats. )

Shadow may not want him around the baby kittens anyway, so it is really better for Link and Shadow's future (hopefully platonic) friendship if you do not allow opportunities for stressful encounters between them when her kittens are tiny. Even if he is not trying to hurt them, she might suspect he is.

Some vets say to give worm medicine in pregnancy ( making sure you use a kind that is OK for pregnant cats). Others say give after the kittens are born. then start giving to kittens at about 4 to 6 weeks. The treatment has to be repeated at least a couple times. There is a question about it on here, the first question.
http://www.vetinfo.com/cpreg.html#b

Another issue is fleas. You can treat a pregnant cat with Advantage flea treatment , if she will allow you to part her fur on the back of her neck and squeeze the drops onto the skin -- which I realise right now is a big "if".