She was quiet when I fed her this morning. She was on her bed looking at me, rather than hiding in her tunnel. I will need to scoop her litter box today. It’s up against the front. I can’t wait any longer. I’ll try to just quietly reach in, pull it out, clean it, and put it back slowly. The box is close to the crate door, but if she darts past or panics, I’m not going to try to contain her. I don’t want to get scratched and I don’t want her to get overly frightened.
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@moonlitoaksranch, what we did was slide a baricade between us and the back of the cage thru the cage bars. We used some sheets of cardboard.
Another trick is to hang a piece of fabric (towel in our case) so it covers the door opening (when the door gets opened) so you are sliding the litter box out of a small opening at the bottom and there is not some big opening that they see.
Fingers crossed your girl realizes you are not trying to hurt you.
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I’ll try the towel. There’s one on her cage already. Thanks!
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I’ve never had one try to dart. When they’re scared, they cower in the back. Running toward you is generally the opposite direction they want to go. I do boxes twice a day for crated cats.
Good luck! 
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She was fine. So, I can clean more regularly now. I didn’t want to stress her the first few days.
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Yay for progress! 
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Funny you should ask. I just consulted with the rescue and asked how long I should keep her in the crate. She is not hissing or showing any aggression, but she also isn’t progressing at all. She hides in the back peeking out at me when tend to her needs. I don’t want her to be a prisoner against her will. She thinks giving her another week would be good to make sure she keeps coming back to get food.
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I had a Tom cat that was extremely feral like your girl. It took 2 years talking to him and feeding him in the barn to tame him. He eventually turned into my buddy and became an indoor/outdoor cat. Lost him last year and still miss him.
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That does give me hope.
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Took me 18 months to get first touch on Sarge. He’s now quite pettable, although I still only reach for that one from the front. Wouldn’t want to surprise him.
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The one place I lived at had quite a few feral and stray cats. One of them was a nasty looking older bruiser with quite a bit of damage on him from fights. I was very leery of him as he seemed quite unpleasant. But I did want to do the right thing by him which was to get him de-nutted asap. I reached out one day to pet him and imagine my surprise when he threw himself on his back and was positively ecstatic about being petted. From there he was my snuggle bunny (he loved being carried around like a baby on his back with all four feet making biscuits) and great pet. He was the best and I still miss him so. RIP Mr Tuffy.
Thank you to everyone that helps these older feral boys. Give Sarge a pet and treat from me.
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Well, little miss Minerva is scared of me, but she is responding to our son. She came out of hiding while he was sitting there and meowed at him. I’m just glad she likes somebody. He’s a good boy and has a nice way with animals.
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Well, YOU’RE a menace clearly. 
Your son - not so much. At least in her eyes.
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She somehow knew how much I plotted against her, lol!
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She may come around yet - or never.
I have a feral female who was dumped, along with her mother and two siblings, seven years ago. Mama Kitty was perfectly tame, loved to be petted. The babies were feral from Day 1, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get them tamed. Two disappeared within a few months. Abigail stayed, but to this day is still totally feral. She is spayed, at least. Her babies, on the other hand, were sweet as could be from Day 1, and they sure didn’t learn it from her!
OTOH, I have a semi-feral tom, Simon, who took about two years to settle down - he went from running from the barn when I came in, to sitting at the door watching me, to slowly coming up to eat when he thought I was leaving, to eating out of a bowl I placed specially for him in the shadows, to finally eating with the other kitties, to one day giving me a surprise head butt and leg rub. He’s definitely no house cat, but he loves to be loved on!
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Minerva was released from her crate. She’s bolder about coming in for food than she was before her capture, but still waits until we’re out of the barn. I’m glad she stuck around for us to continue to feed her. Her crate is available with the door propped open but the food bowl is back where it was. She’s doing well.
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If anyone is still interested, Minerva is a little less shy. She hangs out in the pasture, instead of hiding in the bushes, while I feed. That puts her within ten feet, instead hiding in the bushes twenty feet away. She meows at me still. She looks better. Ralph, the neutered orange barn cat, gets happy scratches from me and then flirts with her. She rubs against him. She also rubs against the pony when she’s turned out in the pasture. It’s pretty cute.
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I’m glad she’s still around and doing well. Maybe she’ll get more tame over time. Can your son get closer to her? Just curious since she seemed to like him.
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Oh good! She will probably get even better as time goes on. Sounds like it’s better already!
I’m glad she’s doing well and you get to see her anyway.
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