A kitten followed me home in the rain when I was at school one Summer in Connecticut. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a fraternity during Summer session. I had never had a pet but I named this one Kit and gave her her freedom, i.e. she could stay in my room but also roost on the fire escape where the litter tray was. She was developing her personality, perspicacious and affectionate. In the morning she would bounce off my chest and jump into the metal dustbin and rattle around.
You can persecute a cat and teach it fear. You can wreck its personality if your personality is warped in that way. But there is a native cat endowment of curiosity and courage, and a willingness to fight solo against unknown odds. I've seen a roll of film where a bobcat goes after a large rattlesnake. They appear to be evenly matched, the cat has no reason not to simply back away, but it goes after that snake, nails it dead, makes sure its dead, then puts its head up and walks away. It was a thing to be killed not eaten.