Mark, the day Mikesch will sit on your lap you let us know and I will open a bottle of sparkling wine. ;) We all can adopt a tame cat, that is easy but a feral cat is the challenge. When they start to respect, trust and love us, that is the moment we never forget ! My Morris for example bit me that the blood was running down my hands or arms ( no overstatement) whenever he had the chance and it took me almost a year to stop that but.......he became the sweetest cat in the world.
Yup 2catts -- that's about as pure a feline as you can get right there. That's pretty much what the hunter-gatherers were staring down about 1M years ago -- just a much bigger version! Can you imagine that expression in a cat to our ancestors about 30x bigger? I feel totally privileged to work with this cat. To earn his trust and loyalty is going to be HUGE. Storm was the alpha of the litter, and was easy because he did all the work. This one is the challenge. When he sits in my lap, I'll have accomplished something...
We've all been waiting a long time to see this picture. It makes me feel good to know that you can touch him. He is a beauty. Over the years I've typically had five cats and often one would be a total outsider - co-existing for many years but never hanging out or sleeping with the other guys. It is what it is.
Also, the big cats don't interact with him at all. They eat with him, and share a nest with him, but they otherwise totally ignore him. No nose touching, playing, vocalized greeting. Nothing. They'll walk by him by inches like he's not there. The only reason this works is because his brother is one of them and wants him here.
He's still totally feral in the open. The best I can do is sometimes inch my way close while he's playing with a string, and then if I SLOWLY move my hand close, he'll bat my finger with his paw.