Fearful cat, how do i get her to play?

Ive mentioned in this board about an outdoor cat i am adopting, Elsa.... She is starting to get comfortable in my house. But she is so fearful, every noise terrifies her (a drawer, a loud voice, something falling), and it gets her heart racing and heading for cover. I dont know what she went through outside, but she is incredibily affectionate and loves being petted. She even lets my 4 year old niece pet her, but as soon as my niece gets overly excited and starts calling to her loudly she runs in fear.

Anyway, i want her to feel comfortable in my home. She has her own room, where she knows she can escape to.

Today, i tried playing with her, as i do with my own cat, with a toy on a string. But again, she became terrified even looking at it, and ran for cover. Even after watching my other cat playing with the toy.

How do i turn this fearful cat, into a confident cat?

Time, patience, and this safe room will work with time.  You are apparently doing it along very nicely.

But using a Feliway diffuser may help too. Its my suggestion.  There are also other preparates along these lines, which may help, but Feliway is the most wellknown.

Feliway is essentielly one of their cheek feromones, when they touch everything with their face, to spread around the feeling of wellbeing, of feeling nice and safe.

Good luck!

Have you tried rolling little balls for her? We start out with foam rubber ones with the ferals at the shelter, first rolling them or putting them where they can be knocked down, then graduating to throwing them. Round treats work, too, with most of them. Make sure to sit on the floor when playing with her, too, so you seem less threatening.

Just like people, some cats are more timid than others.  Some cats have experiences that make them hesitate to join in.

We have a cat, Gracie, who was abused as a kitten.  I do not want to think about what she went through.  She is a very affectionate cat, loves to cuddle, loves to groom us, loves to lay next to me.

But she would often go into her "fraidy cat" mode - hiding, startling at noises or movements.  Sometimes, they come on when my husband or I get up to go to the kitchen.  We can never tell what will set her off.

I used to despair wondering how to help her.  I decided to allow her to be herself.  If she's afraid of something, we try to remove it or quiet it.  It helped but even now, she bolts under the bed at odd times.  She's allowed to stay there as long as she wants.

Now, when she's in the mode, we pretty much ignore her.  It doesn't take her long to join us.  I guess she's learned that we accept her the way she is.  Just like with other quirky cat behaviors, sometimes acceptance is the best approach.

Of course, you're going to want to minimize the things you've identified as stuff that scares her (like making sure she has someplace to bolt when your neice becomes excited, as kids do).  But in a normal household, you may not be able to do that all the time, so give her her space when she needs it.