third day after bringing feral cat home

Hi everyone, looking for a little bit of advice.  My partner works in a building materials yard and last March a mum had 3 kittens in the yard.  The owner was threatening to get them taken away but I said we would take them to get neutered which we did, including mum and dad and then returned them all to the yard.  Mum and Dad and brother have gone their own way leaving 2 little girls which have been fed by the lads in the yard since then turning up every morning and night for food.   8 weeks ago one of the girls was killed by a wagon and now the other girl on her own has been spending lots of time with my partner, allowing him to stroke her and rubbing herself against him.  The problem was she was spending all day following him around and with the wagons in and out constantly she has had too many near misses so we decided to bring her home.  He has picked her up a couple of times but could not get her in a cat box so we borrowed a trap from a local animal sanctuary and brought her home on Wednesday.  I looked at all the websites saying she should have her own room but we do not have a spare room so on advice from the sanctuary we have placed her in a large dog crate in the kitchen with a hidey pyramid in and a fluffy blanket with a litter tray.  We also have 3 other cats which have the run of the house so I have turned the pyramid backwards so she can not be seen.  We waited til our other 3 had retired for an afternoon nap in the bedroom and closed the door and took the pyramid out of the cage into the living room, she had a little sniff then ran upstairs and sat on the dark landing. we just left her to do her own thing then when we had to go out I just offered the pyramid up to her and she climbed in and I put her back in the cage.   I am able to this for about an hour a day due to working hours but i feel she is depressed, I know this is probably normal as I have taken her freedom away. Can anyone give me any advice on if I am doing something wrong as I am wondering whether I have done the right thing bringing her home, but she didn't stand a chance where she was. Any advice would be greatly received.

thank you

jo

Patience  is going to be your middle name for awhile until she adjusts to everything.  Although, as far as being seen or not seen, I would let her see the other cats and visa versa.  She's safe in the kennel and your other cats will want to check out.  Kind of an intro to each other.  Safely.

That's great, thank you. Yes I understand it may take a while, I just don't want her to be holed up in a cage for too long, the idea of a room just for is great but its impossible.  I have placed a sheet over the top, back and sides of the cage so she can still see out of the front and the pyramid facing backwards so she can hide if she wants to and she is eating when no one is looking, I just hope I have done the right thing

You have done the absolute right thing.  She and your other cats will just need a little time to adjust to the new scheme of things.  If she has not had a check up at the vets, you may want to do that before the others meet her, just to be safe.

Covering the cage is an excellent way to keep her feeling secure during all the introductions.

well I have flead her today and wormed her, thought I would wait until she settles to take her the vets

Thank you

when you're ready you can let her out but make sure she has a safe place available for her to hide when she feels she needs it.  I left my closet door open for mine and when she was feeling threatened that's where she would go.