I live next to the feral cat lady, and much of their life is spent here in my yard and living under my house because they feel uncomfortable around her, and only go there at meal time and for water. (I don’t get involved with them, no food or water). I guess they are semi feral now, you can’t approach them, but they will sometimes sleep on my porch and only run if I open the door, although they often act calm and stay in place if I turn to go away from them, they seem to feel safer at my place, and the hanging out on my porch seems to be the feral cat version of trying to adopt a human, as you know that tame cats often do, tame cats will often have a second, or perhaps even more homes where they get treated as a visiting/part time pet.
At first I wondered if they would be a problem, but since the woman and some agency feeds them, and traps them for spaying and flea treatments, I see them as an asset.
The cats help make the Opossums uncomfortable at my place, and the flea killing chemical on them attracts whatever fleas show up from Opossums, and kills them. I think they also drive off the rattlers, and cut down on the noisy birds.
They work as mobile flea traps, and snake removers, Opossum harassers, and I have never seen a mouse or rat here, and they will drive off those noisy birds, because the roof and trees are all convenient to the the cats.
I do keep my cats-and dog-indoors, but that is because I don’t want them to become food for some wild hogs, a pack of coyotes or a mountain lion. My Husky is 16, and I’m pretty sure she would rather end her days in comfort in her sleep than be dragged off and eaten.
There is a neutered male cat that I feed every day, and he sleeps here nearly every night-he belongs to a neighbor down the road who is hardly ever home to feed or care for him. When I move to more acreage, I’m putting him in a carrier and he is getting a change of address-he will have company, food and a cushy life-all he has to do is what my three do now-keep out the rodents and such...