Feral cats hate being petted?

Its been a while that I'm feeding 2 feral cats who hang out near my house.

At first they were very scared and didnt get close to me, but recently they get close to me and even eat from my hands and rub their cheeks against my legs to mark me as theirs (lol)

However, I tried a few times gently petting their back or head as they were near me yet they always did me a negative sign, as if they didn't like it or something.. one of them even hissed at me once as I tried petting him. I do manage to pet them but after a few seconds they always do a sign of displeasure so I'm stopping.

What do you think is the reason? They are no longer afraid of me so I dont think it's a trust issue.

If they really don't seem to like it - do you think they ever will start liking it? Or should i even stop trying..

Thanks.

Feral cats are cats who were born outside and not socialized to humans while a kitten. If a cat isn't touched by humans during their first 3-4 months, then human petting is generally something they never feel completely comfortable with (though some will learn to tolerate petting, and will understand that the human's motives are good). The fact that your cats are rubbing against you is a very good sigh, and they very well may learn to accept your petting them, but I wouldn't force the issue too much or too often.

A good time to pet is while they are eating--brush your finger across the cheek. Also, before attempting to pet, place your hand out low in front of them in a fist, and if they sniff your hand, try a pet around the head. If you raise your hand above their head, they will instinctively react defensively.  

I understand, Thanks Aimee. I'll try that.

By the way - I'm using gloves cuz i'm still afraid of them biting/scratching me.

Could that have a negative effect over that? cuz i guess those gloves may already have some different cat scents of different cats i was feeding.

Yes, the gloves could retain the other cats' scent.  Can you get a second pair for this group alone?

MsAimee is correct, too.  Feral cats are not used to being touched or petted.  It is actually a little frightening to them because they aren't sure of your intentions.  Showing your fist at their face level looks to them like another cat wanting a head bump, so they will respond to that.  Once you bump them, you can slowly ease your hand over their head and back, a little at a time, until they accept it.  Ease off if they react negatively and take things slow and easy.

Thank you for helping them!

With my first feral, Shadow, it took me 8 months to pet him.  I worked with him every single day multiple times each day.  It was painstakingly slow.  A trick that worked for me was to really play with him.  He loved the laser pointer and also the wand toy with a feather on the end.  I made sure the wand toy was long enough that he felt safe with my arm being close to him.  As we would play with the feather wand, I began to gently touch the feather to his body.  I started with just a quick touch and gradually started to pet him with the feather.  He loved it.  I did this for a few weeks.  One day as I was sitting on the ground with him, I was petting him with the feather wand and I pulled the wand towards my body replacing the wand with my hand.  At first when he noticed he was startled, but he loved it so much.  For a few days I always had to start with the wand, but he quickly grew to love pets.  It wasn't long before he next enjoyed brushing. 

It just takes lots of time and patience.  I would also guess the gloves do scare him.