For the past 30 years I have had 4 feral cats....three have crossed the rainbow bridge and so I have one remaining who is 18 years old. Each of them had different temperaments and different lengths of time before they became more comfortable. I never forced them to do anything. I would talk to them and have food available. Sometimes I would walk around the house leaving a trail of treats then sit on the sofa with a treat 3 feet away. When the cat became more comfortable I would place the treat closer to me. This process did not happen overnight . It was a journey of two years. At the beginning of the third year, she would come to me and lie down and expose her belly for a rub. She never liked being picked up. That was something I respected. She always had to be the one who determined when she would come closer. By the time she was 9 she would sleep at the foot of my bed every night.