kittens afraid to be touched

Question
My family adopted two 12 week old male kittens about a month ago.  They were feral cats rescued by a vet at about 4 weeks of age.  They stayed in an animal hospital with daily attention, handling, socialization, etc. until we adopted them.

The kittens have adjusted very well to our home.  They eat well, use the litter box, play with us and each other without any problems.  However, they are very afraid to be petted or picked up.  They will sometimes let us pet them and pick them up while they are in a very quiet mood and sometimes we can pet them while they are eating, but most of the time they run away in fear when we reach our hand toward them.  They will eat a treat from our hands and play with toys with us, but as soon as we reach our hand to touch them, even slowly, they run.  They also usually run away when we go near them, for example if we come in a room where they are standing or we sit next to them on the floor.

On the rare occasions that we can pick them up (less than once per day for about a minute at a time) they seem happy -- they are relaxed and they purr.

How can we get them to trust us?

Answer
Lesley,

This may seem like strange advice, but I would totally ignore them unless they come up to you.

Cats, in general, prefer to do things if they think it is their idea.  It may be that these kittens have made this into a game.  You approach them and they run away to see if they can get you to do it again.  

If you do not go after the kittens or even reach out to touch them, they should, in time, begin coming to you to see what is going on and to get affection.  

So, my advice is to ignore them unless they come to you.  If they think it is their idea to be petted, they will be much more receptive.

Best regards... Norm.