Words are inadequate

The discussion of living with an F1 reminds me of when I've made unwilling ferals into house cats (usually because they were partnered with willing ferals who wants to come in now, please and thank you). The cat who lives in the house but is not your pet and doesn't want to be touched and isn't quite domesticated is similar to how my ferals have been during their initial adjustment period. The cat who didn't come out for months sound very familiar (Orpheus got that name because he hid in the basement and I kept hoping he'd come up from the underground one day. That and he tended to yodel).