Shy/scared kitten

Since you found him so young, I think it's just a matter of time. He may have been abandoned early on or mistreated, but young kittens tend to forget those things very easily when they are put into a good, healthy environment where they can be happy.

My Holland is also very afraid of people, and I've had her for two years. She was a 5-month-old kitten when I adopted her, and while it only took her a few days to warm up to me, she will not let any other human near her. I too thought at first that she had been abused in the past, but now I believe it's just her nature to mistrust humans.

She has gotten to the point where she will not run away and hide from the people that she recognizes, unless they come near her. She also doesn't especially like being picked up, but she will let me pick her up and cuddle her (briefly!) from time to time.

I'd say that you just have a shy kitty, and while I know firsthand how great it would be for him to be a "people cat", it may not ever happen. I've gotten used to the idea that nobody will ever understand why I love my Holland so much, as all they see is a scaredy-cat, but she is very sweet and loving.

Mr. Tumbles is about the same age as your kitty and he was about the same age when he was rescued. When we first got him, he didn't like to be held and he would run and hide when we went into his room. Once he got used to us and our voices, he would come out from under the bed immediately and then he eventually got to where he would wait at the screen door for us to come visit. He was easily overstimulated when we would pet him, so we had to be careful that he was almost asleep or just waking up to pet him. I think that's somewhat normal behavior for a kitten.

Over the months I've tried to pick him up at least once a day at various times and places (in the living room, in the den, and etc.) so he gets used to being picked up. I don't try to hold him for an extremely long period of time, but I always love on him a bit and tell him he's a good boy. I don't want him to run from us if we ever need to pick him up for an emergency or something like that, so I've been working on him. He's getting better. He no longer resists, but rather he resists initially but then goes limp. When I go to put him down, he doesn't even try to hop out of my arms!

In just the past couple of weeks, he's started to tolerate being petted better and more "normally". We still have to watch him for overstimulation and be careful to not try to pet him when he's in full on play mode, but he's getting better.

We don't have a lot of people come over, so I don't know how he reacts to other people. We're taking him with us to my dad's house after Christmas when we visit, and I'm sure he'll spend much of his time in hiding.

I'd say just continue to work with him and let him dictate things. My oldest cat, Callie, used to run and hide when someone knocked on the door. Now, 11 years later, she's not afraid to be out and about if someone comes over.