My Very Wild Feral Cat Is Now “flirting” With Me. What Shall I Do Next?

[Echolane]

First a little introduction: i decided to feed a small all black feral cat about 6 months ago. Then a neighbor discovered she had three kittens! My neighbor trapped the father and had him neutered. I trapped the mother and had her neutered. We finally trapped two of the three kittens. They had eluded capture until they were nearly five months old, but luckily an experienced rescue person managed to tame them and they have both been adopted. The fate of the third kitten, all black like the mother, is unknown, presumably lost to predation as we have coyotes and mountain lions in our neighborhood.

The mother cat has been very wild, very wary, but lately she has seemed less fearful of me. Then quite rapidly, she has started waiting for me at feeding time, and then just in the last two weeks, making eye contact and rolling over again and again, while vigorously marking everything in the area. Though she will typically run away at the slightest extra movement on my part. A week ago, she started moving toward me instead of away from me when she saw me and as the week advanced, coming closer and closer. Even letting me sit next to her while she eats! Yesterday, she started circling me and brushing against my legs! I was absolutely thrilled! At first just the lightest touch and then the next day she is touching me more firmly. Today I tried touching her lightly as she circled me, but she isn’t quite ready for that.

I’ve never done anything like this before and I have no idea what to do next to gentle her. Am absolutely dying to touch her! She is the cutest little thing. Only 6.5 lbs at time of spaying, so unusually tiny. She has funny little habits like picking her feet up and down like she’s prancing in place, sometimes vibrating her tail, which I assume means she is nervous, but her interest and attraction to me is unmistakable. She seems to be flirting with me because she is always making eye contact while she goes through her funny little maneuvers. I’m in love with her. How do I get her tamer? How do I get her to let me touch her?

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would get her into a carrier and bring her home! It's easiest to work with them in a room of their own that is cat proofed. Of course a vet visit will be necessary at some point just to be sure all is well.
Here is a really good article that might help you out.

How to Socialize Very Shy or Fearful Cats

 

[Echolane]

Thanks so much for helpful info on the blog!

But there is another issue I’m facing which is that I have two indoor only cats, a brother and sister, 18 months old, whose easy relationship and wonderful companionship I am wary of disrupting. I fear adding a third cat to the mix. Also, though I don’t know if it matters, but they were motherless bottle fed fosters from only a few days of age, so they are naive to other cats.

One real obvious difficulty is that my indoor cats are trained to the bathtub and there is no litter box. How in the world would I train a feral cat to do the same? And, no, I do not want to return to the mess and expense of a litter box, and I don’t know how to solve this biggie.

So, in the absence of any obvious solution, I think I need to work with my darling little feral outside. I am feeding her inside an unused chain link dog fun. It has a roof. She can’t escape I’d I were to close the door on her.