Practical cats

My husband and I are trying to "adopt" some feral cats. He feeds them and tries to talk to them, gently. They're extremely skittish. The primary stray is a tortoise-shell cat, whom we've started calling Shelley. Her friends we have named Keats and Jones Very. We also have George the Possum who visits us at night. Right now Keats is cuddled up in a pile of leaves in the side yard. It's quite charming.