Our feral, Blackie, has made quite a bit of progress since we took him into our home in September 2006 and has become more and more comfortable. Last week I was crouched in front of a kitchen cabinet with the door open. He became curious and wanted to sniff it out so he came right next to me, which was really something. Then I took that opportunity to pet him once for the first time. He looked at me, backed away and hissed!! Since that day last week he hasn't been wanting to play with me, even though I played with him every single day (I used either a cat dancer or a long stick with a string and a ribbon which he loved to chase). I so regret petting him!!! Any words of advice?