I think I'm developing a communication skill with the ferals
Spooky has always been VERY aggressive, in the morning, hissing and spitting at everything that moves. For the past two days I gave her a stern lecture about being so mean. She'd back way off and wait for me to put down her bowl while giving me a death glare.
This morning, instead of hissing and spitting, she MEOWED at me. Not an aggressive meow. Just a 'please may I have my food' type meow. And when I started to put the bowl down she didn't back off. She just sat down, gave me another meow, and then started to eat.
I always give her a little extra wet food as a repayment for all of her beautiful kittens.
I've also notice if I use a very moderate tone of voice and say 'you're ok' to them when they start to get nervous and run, they seem to calm down.
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That’s awesome understanding between the species makes life much easier. Some animals are very empathetic perceiving our emotions and responding in kind. A loving pat or a stern voice can have positive results. You laid down the law Spooky appreciated it and showed you he does.
I’m greatly enjoying these reports of yours, Siwsan! Almost feels like I’m getting to know these kitties personally, too.
Please keep ‘em coming!
I rescued an orange feral kitten that has been living with me for over 2 months now. Sometimes I feel like a tiger tamer in the circus and have to be careful about turning my back on him. Other times he'll jump on my lap and cozy up to me for petting. Usually if I put the hand that feeds him anywhere near his head, I lose some blood for my misplaced trust.
He likes to hide and pounce on me as as I walk past, wrapping both paws around my arm and attacking. It's usually just love bites, but he often gets carried away. Maybe as a inner city Youngstown feral stray he likes to play rough. I'm ready to take him on Springer as an abusive relationship. "But I love him".
My arms and hands are scarred to the point I joke that I was repairing my garbage disposal.
This is Sparky in the police car where he was found at the scene of a road rage shooting. After some questioning the police released him to my friend who works for ODOT and ended up on my lap.
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You're correct about the kitten adapting, many adults will too but it takes a lot of dedication and patience.
Your little guy looks like a feisty, wild-beast, aka - male orange tabby. He'll always be feisty and a bit aggressive, perhaps a bully to other cats, definitely alpha type personality. Just remind him of the parameters and you'll get along fine. He's really smart and you can train him to do things like walk on a leash and he'll probably come to love it in a short time.
Have fun with it, and patience, it'll be worth it.
Ferals can’t speak English. But they see a friend who slow blinks. 
Not just ferals!
I have kitty-sat for a bunch of years for both of my sisters' cats and I do that all the time with them if I have them and/or if they are out and about when I visit, and are sprawled on the floor - and especially if I see them start to do it. It's sortof a signal (hard to describe) like "It's all good. We are both content and at peace". 
to give them a hint that it is "nap time".
We moved our current house kitties back and forth, and they had no qualms. Only one liked to ride in the car, but thankfully it was a short trip.
Good luck teaching your kitty the guidelines 
We had a routine at the old place and, fortunately, some of the same conditions exist here, we're only two miles from where we were, his mom is now an hour away and out on the range.
It's going better than I expected, because he loves me and I soil the shit out of him, how can he argue with that?
I know you and so many others are the "pros" at this and I have been following your updates the past year.
But one thing I have read (that I used as good info when I was first cat-sitting and needing to research since we never had cats growing up) was that normally, cats are not really vocal except for certain instances, and as kittens, the mewing was mainly to get their mother's attention. But after that, they don't really "talk". But with humans, they discover that we respond to audible vocalizing (like how their mothers would) so they learn to do that to us.
One of my sisters has a feral tuxie who "adopted" them almost 2 years ago and the past year, I had the opportunity to take him here at home and watch him a few times while my sister went away. And over those times, I observed how his vocalizations evolved. The last time I had him back over the summer, he finally meowed, and would do it as soon as I brought out his treat bag and put some in his bowl. He would meow again right before eating them too. He never did it when I gave him his regular dry and wet food. Just the treats.
I also know the previous 2 times I had him, I experienced what was a wild low register growl that he would do when upset, but he didn't do it that last time I had him. He got spoiled when I bought him a nice pet step ladder thing that would let him be able to climb up to perch and look out my back door's storm door window. In fact, as soon as I opened the door to set the ladder up, he would come running between my legs and up the little steps while I was trying to move the thing in place (me trying to move heavy ladder thing with cat attached - 
).
isn't much of a vocalizer either although when I first started watching her, she would "whine" at the door to the basement hoping I would open it so she could go down (that didn't happen until a few more "stays" here).
But the sister who has the tuxie previously had a puffy himmy - OMG she was mouth almighty. I used to have a coworker who had Siamese cats and he would describe how "vocal" they would be and I had read that although Himalayans are their own breed now, some time ago there was Siamese bred into the line to introduce color points. So my sister's cat would literally pace back and forth and just run her mouth when she wanted something and would literally purr like a loud motorboat.
The tuxie who is now about 3, does the repetitive paw lift if he wants to play and he purrs with and vibrates his paws (which was cool to see for the first time). My sisters' other cats never did that although they kneaded.
It took me a bit to not only get used to a short hair cat believe it or not, but a young male too. All 3 cats did mark territory by scenting objects and all did some sort of equivalent of a (insert appendage) "bump". The himmy literally would do a "head bump", the tortie did an "arm bump" and the tuxie a "hand bump". The tortie would also present her butt with tail up to blow on. 
I bet there were some noteworthy conversations! 
and that was the first kitty that I ever heard that kind of sound from - and usually if he kept going underfoot and got accidental knocked. It wasn't loud but it was like my other sister's black lab who will do a low growl if you reach over to playfully try to take his bone away while he was chewing on it. I would occasionally mess with the lab to hear him do that. It was like a "warning" growl even though he was happily chewing and scraping his bone that I certainly did NOT want!
when confronting her "room mate" - a young male black lab. And she is a big puffball (although really doesn't weigh much but has a lot of fur), so when she would rear up and hiss at him when he wanted to "play", she became a gigantic thing from hell confronting him and then would take off upstairs. The two of them never got along although the past year, things have calmed down considerably and they will now actually lay on the floor in the living room together without the stare-downs - but only a respectable distance from each other.
When they say "torties are temperamental" I have seen it first hand! I think that is why we get along. I leave her be and let her come to me if she needs something, where my niece always wanted to pick her up and carry her around and play with her, etc. Bzzzzttt... not happening. She does give me the deep long stretch greeting when I pop by my sister's house and she is out walking around... and she was a prolific kneader when she was younger.
was the first male that I was exposed to for an extended time and had wondered if the "growl" was something that the males did more than the females... And there was something "puppy" about him too! When he wasn't napping, he was always following me around right on my heels.
I used to have a neighbor years ago when I was in an apartment with balconies and she had a female short hair (white and ginger) who was not spayed, and she would let the cat out to wander from balcony to balcony. She would visit me often and chill out by my balcony plants and was very friendly. But there was one time when she wandered down while in heat and the howling was unnerving. She even tried to get in from outside while howling, after climbing up and down the screen door. 
The kids told her you're alright. That is a major breakthrough!
Something came to mind while reading your post... have you tried sitting down where they can approach you at their leisure? Can you sit on the porch step and let them come up and approach you while you are relaxed and sitting? that may move thing along too. By not standing you are showing an attempt to see them on their level, it's a body language thing.
Some time ago I had the opportunity to "meet" some half wild wolves, they were ambassadors who toured the country helping to educate the public about their species. It was a well conceived and conducted program and I approved funding for it more than once with my org. Anyway, I had the opportunity to visit the tour bus and meet these beings. There were two, glad my fellow org officer was there with his camera, but what I was instructed was to squat so that I was at face level and they could look at me eye to eye. It was fantastic, I had to win their trust but once they decided I was okay it was kisses and snuggles. I fed them some cooked meat and if I hadn't held my hand flat, I would might have suffered some injured fingers. The point being, sitting down and letting them come to you on their terms on occasion can move the trust needle in your favor in a hurry, especially if you offer them treats.
Just a thought. 