The little feral cat I fostered for the animal shelter a couple years ago I ended up keeping-after she was spayed, she turned into Velcro, and is now my Midget girl. My cats live indoors-there are too many predators in these woods-outdoor cats are soon dead cats.
They thrive and are fed by "Advocats" people. They capture them and get them neutered and released. You can tell if they have been fixed as they snip off the tip of an ear. That's how we know both our outdoor guys were feral and captured at one time.
I had a feral Maine Coon that I took out of my father’s apartment the night he died. We had a tussle or two. After that, he became utterly devoted. He used to climb up on my side and wait for me to go to sleep at night. After my bypass, he knew without being told that my chest was hurt, so he’d stay off of it, until I’d sufficiently healed.