My feral keeps biting me

My feral is at the point where he is coming up to me and rubbing against me.  He loves head scratches.  I do it very gently.  But it always ends when he bites me.  This time, he broke the skin.  I am ashamed to admit this, but I am afraid of him.  Does anyone have any experience in this?  I always say "no" when he does it, and the petting then ends.  Will he always be a biter?  Btw, I do not see any "signs" from him before he bites.  I only pet him when he initiates it, and he seems to still want to be petted after he bites me.

He is biting because he is still afraid.  At this time I would stop petting him.  Did you ever try the pet petter that I showed you in a different post.  It will still allow him to be touched, but you can do it from an arms length instead of up close where he can bite you. 

He is very confused right now as he enjoys the touch, but is still afraid and his instinct is to bite.  The feral I am still working with used to swat me.  He swatted very hard and my hand was covered in scratches.  I stopped petting him with my hand and only used the pet petter at a distance.  I did this for a few weeks and then tried my hand again.  It went much better.

Here is the picture again.

His fear may also mean he is getting overstimulated and bites to stop it. I would cut the petting sessions short - don't wait for the bite. If you can figure out how long he's allowed the pets, cut the petting off before the. For instance, if he usually bites after two minutes, pet him for one. Better for him to ask for pets than bite you.

If the timing varies, keep all sessions short and sweet. One or two scratches and done ...

I would do this whether you use the method ShadowsRescue mentioned or your hand.

ShadowsRescue:  I did try the stick method...and he seemed terrified of the stick.  He cowered in a corner when I brought it out.  Ondine:  I am going to try this.  Two pets, and I'm done.  I hate being afraid of an animal in my house.

I would say he is overstimulated too, my Chrissy only allowed 2 strokes and then she bit. Try just stroking one or two times, or head scratching and then backing off, you will both be much happier. Just because they bite or scratch when overstimulated, I have NEVER had one attack me on their own, I don't think you have to be afraid. Your little one still loves and needs you, he just needs his space too. All the luck!

It could be that he has very sensitive skin, due to flea bite sores or dryness from the weather, or just because that's the way he is. One of my cats, Sonny, is completely domesticated but sometimes nips me when I'm petting him too long or in certain places. Although he's been an indoor cat for over a year, he still has some issues with his skin because when I took him in, he had a very bad flea infestation and sores all over his body. Your feral cat may have similar issues. I wouldn't take his nipping at you in a personal way, it's amazing that he even lets you pet him at all (the outdoor feral I've been taking care of for over 4 years still won't let me touch him at all). As others have suggested, I'd recommend continuing to pet him with your hand but only one or two pets at a time. Are you able to drizzle some Frontline on him between his shoulders? That would help if he does have fleas. You can do it when you're feeding him his favorite food and he's preoccupied. Don't be afraid of him, though, it's great that you're bonding with him and he trusts you enough to rub against you and allow you to touch him at all, and I really don't think he's intentionally trying to hurt you.