Stray cat in the barn

It's been awhile since I've been on here... I drew a fair bit of comfort from the posts on this site when a stray cat found its way onto my acreage. At the time I had two elderly indoor kitties, so I couldn't bring in a third, but my husband and I made a safe and warm place for him in a shed beside the house and we continued to bond...
Fast forward two years, my beloved kitties have since passed on, and Jaeger is enjoying his time as an indoor, spoiled and fat cat
My problem is that apparently when you live in an acreage within 25 km of a fair sized city, there seems to be a large number of cats that are dumped... last September we found a kitten at our front door... about 6 months old according to the vet. It was closing in on winter, I still had one elderly cat inside and Jaeger was living in our enclosed porch and didn't really want to share me with anyone else just yet, so I figured since she was young enough that she would find a good home, I sent her off to a cat rescue organization in town.
This afternoon my husband and I went out to the barn... and here is the newest stray to visit our acreage...
I'm calling the kitty Ghost for now and from what I can tell, she is a girl. She doesn't seem to be a feral as while she is fairly skittish, she did approach me and let me pet her. She isn't too skinny and her long hair isn't matted, so she hasn't been on her own long, I don't think....
I can feed this cat, and she can stay in the barn for now, where she is safe and warm, but I would like to know what the best way to introduce her and jaeger... to see if jaeger would allow this cat to be on his property, and allow me to feed and care for her.
I know that I will need to get Ghost vet checked before I let any kind of face to face interaction take place, but I was holding jaeger and let him see that there was another cat on his turf... he was quite... well... let's say, interested... puffy tail, a bit of hissing, but actually calmed down a fair bit when I allowed him to sniff her through the closed barn door...
I have read about ways to bring another cat into the house... their own room, screen doors... that kind of thing... but this one will be outside for awhile, if not forever, and since jaeger is allowed out by himself occasionally, I don't want them fighting.

First thing---have her spayed right away!!! Or there will be a lot more cats than just one . It IS spring after all.

I've found that most cats, as long as they don't have an extreme violent reaction at first meeting, will eventually at least get along, even if they never are best friends. A male/female pair especially.

Spaying and vaccines are an absolute must before doing any introductions.  Once the spay is complete and the new kitty has a clean bill of health you can then start with socialization tips.  There are plenty to be found here, but spaying/neutering should be done first.  You also don't want the new kitty around your resident cat if there could be diseases.

Ghost is gorgeous! Definitely trap and spay (or neuter - you never know!) but spaying asap is so critical...she could have been dumped because she's pregnant! The last thing you want is a posse to deal with instead of one more. Spay/neuter and vet first before even thinking about introductions. There are far worse lives for a kitty than a nice barn (particularly if you provide a comfy shelter in there - even one with a heated mat if you have power in the barn - - and a steady suppy of food and water for Ghost). I'd give my right arm for a barn for our feral colony! (of course I'd stil want to bring them all in the house anyway - it's the cross we animal lovers bear, right?) If all you got from your guy was a puffy tail and a little hissing and you were just holding, I'd say there's hope eventually for a peaceful coexistence. 

Keep us posted!

Looking good so far...
The appointment for a vet check is on Saturday... I definitely won't need to do any kind of trapping... she is sweet and friendly and let me pick her up today for a hug. I am worried that she may be pregnant, but I can't really worry about that until I get her checked out.
The introductions are going much better than I thought. Ghost wouldn't leave the barn until tonight. She saw my husband outside and followed him to our deck, which worked out well since we have a screen door and the cats could see and sniff each other through that. There was very little hissing or puffy tails and it calmed down quite quickly.
I will keep her if the vet gives her a clean bill of health and she doesn't have a microchip or ear tattoo, since I know that it is hard to find a home for an adult cat. I have a couple of heated beds already and it looks like she just might be able to be friends with jaeger. My husband insists she will be a barn cat... but he said that about jaeger too :lol3: All I want is for her to be cared for, and I can do that, even if it means she lives in the barn and visits us at the house when we are home.

So she seems to have moved on. I haven't seen her since Wednesday and she hasn't eaten the dry food that I've left out. My only concern, since I have had no experience with a pregnant cat and with all the fur she had, I couldn't tell if she was pregnant, is whether she is hiding because she had a litter...
The only place she could be is in the loft. We can't get around very easily up there, and there are lots of places to hide. Would she be very quiet if she just had a litter? We have tried calling her but can't hear a meow or any movement, bur she was hanging out up there before she started coming around the house.

I am not experienced with pregnant cats.. I hope someone chimes in.

It's been 3 days since your last post.. have you found her since then?

Nope, she must have moved on. Just waiting for the next cat that needs my love and attention, if even just for a few days [emoji]128521[/emoji]