You have already had good advice on the questions you asked, but I thought I would tell you about the time we had a feral mother coming to our garden to be fed.

We didn't manage to trap her before she had her litter, although she was coming to the garden twice a day to be fed. When it came time to give birth, she hid herself away, probably in a wooded area close to our house. She still came 2 or 3 times a day for food. When the kittens were 9 weeks old she brought them to the garden to be fed. This time luck was with us and we managed to trap mother and kittens after about two weeks. Mother was spayed and the kittens got their first injections.

We then put the kittens into a pen while we tried to find homes for them. They used the litter tray instantly. It's amazing to me that an outdoor cat recognises a plastic box full of grit as a toilet, but ours certainly did. They didn't need any encouragement from us. Here's a picture of them in their pen.

Absolute darlings they were!!

Good luck with your Macy. I'd love to see a picture of her.