He was a feral out to about 6 months old. Picked him up outside my house, during a bitter freeze in Atlanta a few Decembers ago. We left dry food out and water, but the water would immediately freeze. He would complain LOUDLY, about the cold, about the water, but never let us get too close.
On the third day I just so happened to cook steaks, and we (spur of the moment) decided to try to lure him with the meat. We went outside, and he got closer and closer, and my girlfriend at that time (Angie) snatched him up.
We brought him inside and obviously he freaked. Took a few days. But even as he cowered he showed a weakness for petting.
As it turns out, the order of his priorities goes:
Because of the frozen water in his youth he also has a thing about water.
My farm cat was 3 months and at first preferred to run hide behind the fridge, she must have liked the warm coils. Figured out later when introducing a new cat to confine them to one room initially.