Medicating my rescued feral cat

Question
Hello, 10+ years ago we rescued a litter of 6 feral approx. 3 month old feral kittens.  3 of those are now very lovable lap cats (to me and hubby only!).  The other 3 I call my "shadow cats" as they are out and about in the house but very hard to approach.

One of these 3 cats (Julius) was diagnosed with diabetes last week.  So far, I have able to coax him with the smell of warm shrimp, and pick him up to give him his shot. I have tried first sitting in the chair and talking/petting him before the shot, but he just struggles to get away...and as the days have gone on, he has become more leery of me.  I fear that it won't be long before he won't let the scent of food lure him out.  

My vet has suggested confining him to a room, but I know these cats very well...being in a room with the door shut freaks them out..even the three lovable ones.  Also, Julius would still hide in the room under something and I would have to try to corner him, etc.  Over time, he would totally not trust me and I can't live with making a cat lived confined like that.

So, I have two questions...

Is there any food that cat's can't resist the smell of?  Any other suggestions on how to better build trust/bond with Julius?

This has been a real wake-up call for me regarding my other two "feral" cats.  One comes on the bed almost every night once the room is dark and quiet and lays besides me and give me kisses and lets me pet him.  However, if I try to sit up, etc. he is gone.

The other is a little tortoise girl and she keeps her distance also.

Is it too late to better bond with them in preparation for the day they need medication etc.?

I really fee like I have failed these three cats....the song "killing them softly with my love" comes to me.

I know this is lengthy and I apologies for that.

Thanks for any help/suggestions you can provide.

Answer
Hi Kristine,

The best way to try to build a bond with these cats is to hand-feed them special food treats. I like bits of chicken, or if the cats will let you hold them at all, putting a dollop of baby food on a plate in my lap, and holding the cat while she eats it. Getting to the point of holding them is very important. They will be very resistant for a while, which is why confinement is important at first (it should be to a room where there is no furniture they can hide under or behind). It's natural for them to run when they are first being acclimated to something they're uncomfortable with. But this will generally pass after a few weeks of positive reinforcement. It's true some ferals are harder to tame down than others, and the longer they go without social interaction, the harder they are to tame. But most any cat can become manageable with a lot of dedication. It does take tough love, though, and that means pushing the kitties outside their comfort zone for a while - breaking what little trust exists (in order to build more later), forcing positive contact, and starting your relationship from scratch. I have tamed ferals estimated to be older than 13 years old, so I know it's never to late to start. But we do have to go against what would feel right when dealing with a person and understand we're dealing with frightened cats. These creatures of habit will keep their distance unless they have nowhere to go.

As for your diabetic, my cats generally like seafood flavored Fancy Feast foods better than most anything. If you can try to give him his shot while he's eating, this might work out. If not, and depending on how high his blood sugar is, you could try controlling his diabetes with diet alone. However, this again would mean confining him, at least for meal time, and feeding all the cats on a schedule so he can't share their food. Also, you could talk to your vet about trying an oral medication to help lower his blood sugar, such as Glipizide, and trying to mix that into his food. About 70% of diabetic cats, though, will require insulin despite these treatments.

Best of luck!

Jessica