Very Pregnant Feral

There's a feral cat that I think lives in the abandoned, fenced in property near my house. When I see it out there, I bring her some food. Today I was able to get sort of close to her (about 10 feet). That's when I noticed she's huge around the middle. I'm fairly certain she's pregnant. She's very skiddish and distrusting. She bolts when she sees people. She won't even come near the food until I'm out of sight.

What can I do to help her (aside from leaving food out). I should also mention I can absolutely not let her into my house even if I could some how get her near me.

Thanks. I've no experience with this, but I want to help this pregnant mama.

Put out a request for assistance in your area; look for a rescue / no-kill shelter / someone willing to take her in until kittens are weaned. They could then do a spay on her and return her to your area or if she is friendly adopt her out. After you find someone willing to help you can set a humane trap and catch her. 

  Bless you for caring for that cat! Here are a few of my thoughts : 

It is not too late to have her trap and spayed although the kittens will be lost - you can ask the performing veterinarian about that.  Hopefully, you have a TNR group that can pay for the surgery. If she has the kittens in the wild, there is a good chance that they will stay feral and some will survive to continue the overpopulation. Plus, since feral kitties get pregnant at such a young age and can go on to have frequent litters until too old, not all will survive giving birth without veterinary care.

If spaying is not possible, please try feeding her some kitten food as she will benefit from the 40% protein. I try to avoid any cat food that has corn and/or wheat as the first ingredient and my ferals have done well. I buy the Cat&Co Kitten Blend from Kmart and my different colonies prefer it to Purina Kitten Chow or MeowMix Kitten. Even some more expensive brands such as Royal Canin have corn. The best way to do a comparison is to look at the litter box/toilet area - the amount and extra odor are enough to let me know which cat food seems to be digested better. A better diet now means a healthier mom and babies

Is there any way that you can contain her in a shed or other area? maybe coax her into it then close the door. I realize that doing so will increase your work load in caring for her (litter box, making comfortable nests with boxes, etc.) but it will allow you to keep an eye on her when she delivers and also keeps the kittens close enough to take them in a few weeks so that they can be socialized and adopted out. It is heartbreaking to "steal" her babies but it is for their own good, although if they are all contained, you might be able to socialize them any way (it's a gamble, since feral mama kitties make subsonic sounds to warn their babies that we are a threat/predators whenever we get near).

I am so grateful that you noticed that poor cat. It is a difficult world out there, especially for a cat with no family and this world is blessed to have caring people such as yourself in it! Thank you for not just caring, but actually DOING!

Thank you. I've got Purina kitten chow & kitten fancy feast already so I can definitely give her some of that. There is no enclosure that I can coax her into - other than the property next door and if she has kittens there - no one will be able to help them. I started looking for rescue groups in my area that can help her, so far I'm unsuccessful. I do visit my vets office on a weekly basis so I can ask her and the vet techs if they know of a group.

I think the ideal situation would be to catch her, get her to a rescue place or some one who's willing and able to foster her and the kittens and then adopt out the kittens, and have her spayed.

Last night when my husband came home from work she was hanging out by my trash can so I think she's now seeking out people from my house to feed her since she knows anyone here will give her a meal. Since she's started doing this I think I'll have an easier time trapping her.