Kitten's Confidence

I adopted a kitten and he's been apart of my family for a few months now. He wasn't socialized with humans much so he's still weary of me and probably always will be.

However, the thing that I think needs looking into is that he has no fight in him. He's about 6-months-old now and when I pick him up it is obvious that he doesn't want to be held. But instead of putting up a fight or wriggling around he puts his paws over his eyes or hides his head in my arms. I really wish he had more confidence and at least a little fight in him. It is SO sad to see him cover his eyes and look so hopeless. As well, he doesn't always cover up his poop. I have another 1 year old cat and they get along really well...best friends. But even though they play and chase each other, the kitten never plays by himself and rarely plays with me. He is overweight and eats a lot. He seems a little mentally slow but not handicapped. I should mention that he has a brother that was born mentally as well as physically handicapped (an arm that was turned inward.)

Anyway, my question is this: Is there any way to increase this kitten's confidence? Is this something that he will probably grow out of or will he always be, for lack of a better term, a wimp? And, will he ever play by himself and is this a sign of something wrong?

PS, one thing as well, even though he's only six months, his face still looks flat and he's not the type of cat to have a flat face. It seems like his muzzle should begin to show by now. I know this sounds ridiculous, but is there a form of down syndrome for cats? Flat face and mentally slow and no "oomf" in terms of spirit and personality...

Is he a persian/persian mix? They have flatter faces. But I don't see you really changing his personality. I've had shyer males (a few) who would rather hide their face then deal with a lot of people.

Can strangers handle him and pick him up?

You said he's overweight (at 6 mos), but why? You are in charge of his food and if you just leave it out all day, he'll obviously continue to eat all day, so change your methods and just give 2-3 feedings daily, then remove the food.

Hi, Larke. The issue with removing the food is that the other cat, a 1-year old male, has different eating habits than the kitten. As well, he doesn't eat much. So if I took away the food, I'd be worried that my older cat would not get enough to eat in a day.

as well, he has no persian in him. Maybe he's a late bloomer. Its just every other cat I had always started getting their muzzle around 6 mos. Yet, my kittens fce is just as flat. It doesn't bother me, I love him no matter what, but it does make me wonder if he has some handicaps.

Also, others "can" handle him...he just hides his face. Sometimes he'll shake a little in fear. At that point I always ask the person to put him down. But, most of the time he doesn't seem scared, just shy. And shy is ok, but I just want him to have the most enjoyment out of life as possible.

As for the food, any ideas how I can control his diet without letting the other cat go hungry?

Your other cat will learn to eat more at each sitting - certainly he'll never starve himself, and you're not taking good care of the younger one by letting him eat too much.