I know from personal experience fostering feral kittens, they are indeed able to be rehabilitated. With some time, love, and a little effort, these kittens can definitely become wonderful pets.
In fact, one of my feral fosters, Violet, a lovely torbi kitten, is now living at a Victoria law firm, with a new family of seven people who love and cherish her, and is as friendly as any "tame" kitten. She is in fact, quite insulted if any of the delivery people don't stop and lavish attention on her.
It breaks my heart to think that if she had been taken to the SPCA, her fate may well have been death. In my personal experience with the SPCA, it has been unwilling to take any initiative in dealing with the feral cat problem in Victoria (or elsewhere in the province apparently).
In the past, volunteers at the Victoria SPCA asked about the possibility of a feral cat sanctuary, and were answered with an unequivocable "No".
No thought, no discussion, just "No". Instead, small animal rescue groups are doing their best to trap and fix all the cats they can. The SPCA SHOULD be a community leader in this regard, but instead are turning a blind eye to the problem. I have long since stopped sending my money to the SPCA. I hope people are becoming aware of what a fantastic job the small rescues (like the Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders http://www.animalcrusaders.ca/) are doing and support them all they can.
Speaking of feral rehabilitated kittens, check out my foster still up for adoption - Liam on Victoria Adoptables website http://www.victoriaadoptables.com/. He is a real sweetheart!
Lynn Crandon
Victoria, BC