A couple of years ago, we started feeding an orange and white feral cat. He was an unneutered male, and we started calling him The Dude. Last spring, he suffered through two separate abcesses on his head from cat fights, and I decided before this year's breeding season, we'd get him neutered. By late summer last year, he finally began letting me approach him and pet him without the enticement of food. He figured out how to use the cat door to come into our garage, so we started feeding him there, and he slept in there most nights this last winter. He's very good-natured and gets along well with all of our other cats.

We were finally able to trap The Dude a few months ago and get him to the vet for exam, vaccines and neutering. Turns out he's FIV positive, but we decided he's just too sweet to be put down, so we'll take care him as long as he's with us. The domestication process with him progresses in baby steps. Last week, I was petting him in the garage and, twice, he let me pick him up and put him on my lap for 5-10 seconds, so I'm encouraged. Hopefully, by next winter, we'll have him staying in the warm house, instead of the cold garage.