Donna - good job, looks great!

I have some questions.

To what age range can you apply this advice? A three-month old kitten is going to be a more established feral than a 4-week old. Would you still reach out with your bare hand? Would you still look them straight in the eye, blinking? The older the feral, the less I am inclined to look them in the eye for a while since it makes them uncomfortable. But perhaps I should do it anyway? I was advised to wrap feral kittens in a towel and hold them close but unfortunately the ones I was working with were about five months old and it didn't work out very well.

As well as talking to them softly, I try to keep my voice in a lower register and don't vary the tone very much - as you said, keeping things very calm. I also try to radiate calm, acceptance and good-will.

At what point do you introduce toys and attempt to play with them? Ferals haven't a clue about toys (though my work has been with older ones and this might not be true of the really young) and don't know how to play with you and the toy for a while. It's such a thrill when they first start to play with the toy and then connect you with that play.

Do you also try to keep to the same times each day to visit with them? Cats do have a sense of time, I know - we all know.