My Pearl was a semi-feral 'barn' cat who 'knocked' on my door when she was pregnant. I adopted her as an outside cat and began to feed her regularly.
After she delivered (where we never knew) I caught her in a doggie cage by using her food dish, moved it closer and closer to the door each day until she finally went inside it to eat. We finally also caught one of the other barn cats, a male, a year later and fixed him too.
Now they both are my "babies" and live on the porch or at the well house (especially in bad weather) where we've placed some soft pillows for their comfort. The are the most spoiled "feral" cats ever!!
Jan in VA
Pearlie drowzing on the well house steps.