nervous cat advice needed

Question
My husband and I got a cat (Sam: 1 year old) and a kitten 12 weeks old) from the Animal rescue in late June. Now three months later, Sam is still very skittish. He was at the shelter for over 9 months, but although he eats well and sleeps a lot, he won't let us pet him easily, and we definitely cannot pick him up. he sleeps on the bed with us at night, but only get on after we have turned off the lights. lets us pet him, but at an arms length. What can we do to get him to trust us more? He really seems like he wants to be pet, but is too nervous. Any advice

Answer
Vera,

This may sound counter intuitive, but the best thing to do with Sam is ignore him unless he "asks" to be petted.  Let him approach you on his terms.  Do not approach him, do not try to pick him up.  

The problem with shelter cats is that it is not an environment conducive to human bonding and you do not know the history of the cat.  So, let Sam come around at his own speed on his own terms and he might surprise you.

Best regards... Norm.