We have three feral cats here at the ol' homestead. One we brought from northern California when we moved back home to Utah. She still runs away and hides from everybody except for Ms. Judy and me. But, she's a purring machine when we're with her. We pick her up, pet her, and she'll roll over on her back so we can stroke her belly.
Our second one is like the one you described. I had seen her hunting around my woodshed about six years ago, but the minute she saw me, she'd take off.
It took several months of me talking to her while "ignoring" her as I did my chores. Eventually, she didn't run off when I'd look at her. Then months later, I was able to approach her, then months later actually touch her...but she bit me on the hand. Yep...just took a big chomp, but fortunately I was wearing my heavy elk hide work gloves. Didn't even break the leather.
Then, I didn't see her for a couple of weeks until one morning I saw her drag herself out from under the woodshed. There was a large patch of hair, a little larger than a golf ball, missing from her right hind leg. It looked as though she had been bitten by another animal. The area was hot, red, and oozing with puss. She couldn't put any weight on it at all.
She limped over to me on three legs and just flopped over. I started petting her, then retrieved my big horse first aid kit. Believe it or not, she let me flush out the wound, then I packed it with nitrofurizone salve. Bless her heart...she didn't even flinch during the whole procedure. Go figure. It must've hurt like heck.
I continued to do that every day for two weeks. She'd just lie there and let me work on her. A little over a month later, she was putting weight on the leg. Now, she follows me around the place like a dog. Really. I'll be out in the corrals and there she'll be. Or I'll go out to the pasture and she'll be trotting along behind me. And every morning, she's there waiting for me to feed her. She spends most of her time around the barn or fields with me when I'm outside. Goes into the garage for her breakfast and dinner, but prefers to sleep in the barn. I have her sleep in the heated garage with our other cat during the winter, but for the most part, she prefers to be outside.
And, miracle of miracles, she's exceptionally friendly with other people, too. She lets the grandkids pet her and pick her up. It's taken years, but she's changed.
Now, our third feral cat is at the stage where he doesn't run off when he see's me. He'll sit there while I walk by, but he still doesn't let me approach him. He's been around for a few years now. We've made some progress, but it's been slow.
Sorry for this long, boring story, but I just wanted you to know that's it's possible. It takes time, but it's possible. I think it depends solely on the cat. They're all different.
Good luck. It sounds like you have a winner.
