We have a feral that recently adopted us but is terrified of getting near us. It is obvious he never had any human contact as a kitten. He likes being fed and having a dry place for shelter when it rains.
He is a great buddy to our other semi-feral outdoor cat. The other guy, Puka, evidently did have contact as a kitten and likes petting and plenty of attention.
Outdoor cats are best. For me, anyway.
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.
A feral had kittens in our garage and wouldn’t let us get near them or her. We were feeding her because she got down to skin and bones. It wasn’t until the kittens got big enough to defy mama that she finally relented. She’ll tolerate head scratching and has let me pick her up twice. The kittens are hilarious and love as much attention as they can get. Open the door and zoom! they’re inside looking for their best friend, the giant slobber bucket. Nose to nose and running between his legs. Their mama still doesn’t quite approve of that friendship.
“We have a feral that recently adopted us but is terrified of getting near us.”
In June 2013 we brought in our kittens’ feral mother and she was basically a wild cat living indoors. (Thankfully, she did have perfect bathroom habits, is extremely sweet, and only scratches using posts.) Gradually she became more trusting. Finally, about a month ago she permitted us to pet her, but only for short periods of time as we walk along next to her, and not often. She’s coming around. Baby steps.