It takes time with some of them. You’re making good progress.
It took me 18 months to touch Sarge. And not that Rascal is/was feral, but for the first six months I knew her, six days a week contact including feeding her, I couldn’t touch her. Then one day, I guess I finally passed inspection.
With my crew I notice low-pitched growling is a defensive vocalization. The cat that has retreated to the chair or table will growl at the cat staring up silently from the ground. (Fortunately the worst offenders seem to be getting over it in my household.) So growling would be in keeping with hiding – both related to feeling unsafe/threatened.
Agree with @avjudge! Studies have shown that in multi-cat interactions, the cat making the noise is the underdog (undercat?) who is feeling insecure and trying desperately to keep everyone away by sounding tough, so I’m not surprised or worried that TurboTater is vocalizing. 
This should all fade slowly away as he becomes more confident. You’re doing a great job so far!
Tater came trotting out of the cat room early. He started off through the kitchen toward the back of the house. I didn’t see him again till late into the afternoon. I heard a small disagreement in the bedroom, so I knew he had made contact with one or both of my other cats. I saw Bug over by the big closet, so I went there. Sadly, my closet would be on par with Fibber McGee’s. I looked into the corner and saw him. I reached down to pick him up, and he moved into the other corner, behind a bookshelf. The bookshelf has no back, but it is large and difficult to move. When I reached for him, he had pulled his phantom move and disappeared again. He has eaten very little in the last couple of days, but I can’t just leave little packets of food around, because the dog will find them. When he was closed up in the cat room, he wasn’t eating much either. If I can get my hands on him again, I think I might just chuck him into the dog crate. It is roughly the same size as his room at the shelter. I did buy new litter boxes and want to put one in there. But I don’t want to do it till I have him in there. It is getting very depressing, and he is still terrified of me.
With semi-feral (or just scared/overwhelmed) cats, I have found using a large dog crate or one of those tiered cat cages is very helpful for giving them a safe space while they adjust to the environment of the household. When they can hide and avoid contact they often remain freaked out so the crate creates security while allowing the cat to observe and acclimate.
I have a giant sized wire dog crate that is large enough for a litter box, a small enclosed sleeping/hiding spot (upside down box with an entry hole works fine), food and water bowls, and a soft sleeping/resting area outside of the box. I often cover the back half of the crate with a blanket for enhancement of the “safe space” feeling for the cat.
This kind of set up gives them sufficient opportunity to have a safe place to withdraw while they remain able to observe at least part of the household environment and have easy access to food, water, and litter. Depending on the situation, I have started with the crate in a quiet room away from the other animals. In other cases (where the cat was more anxious than terrified and my other cats and the dogs were very good about leaving the newbie relatively undisturbed), I have set up the crate is a part of the house with a bit more activity. Offering special treats to entice the cat and allowing the cat to initiate any contact helps to reinforce a positive, non-threatening relationship with the caretaker(s).
Eventually the cats figure out the routine, become curious about what is going on and begin to engage with the caretaker. Since this is not a feral cat, but one that was traumatized by the transitions between original home, shelter, and new home, he should come around fairly easily.
Good luck with this kitty.
thanks for that. It is a large wire dog crate, and I thought about putting a blanket over it for him to stay out of sight. There is room for a litter box, but maybe not another box turned upside down. Since it is a dog crate, it is not two-tiered. I have let him sort of free range, mostly because I can’t get a hold of him. The ONLY problem with the dog crate idea is that it is in my bedroom and much too heavy to carry to the cat room. When I open it to feed him or clean the litter box, he may very well escape and then be gone again.
Bug has been showing really strange behavior lately, maybe because of Tater, but it started before Tater came. I think he is missing Dickens…
I’m going to suggest what worked for me & my 4 Years in Hiding Cheeto.
Ignore the appearances.
Hard, I know, but let him come to you.
Be encouraged he’s leaving his Safe Place to explore, but don’t seek him out.
Unlikely he’ll starve, so don’t overthink the amount eaten.
I predict once Tater feels comfortable exploring his new house he’ll make himself visible.
And then he’ll eventually approach you.
No seeking him out or reaching for him.
Let him sniff a hand if he gets close enough, but not by sticking it out. Let a hand hang & if he comes close, let him decide if it’s sniffable.
IME, this could literally take months
Reminder:
Cheeto after 4yrs in my basement, in Look Don’t Touch mode in my Catroom:
I was going to suggest this as well.
Ignore him. As hard as it is to do, ignore him. Put out food at set times where you can keep an eye on it to make sure the dog doesn’t eat it, then put it away. Don’t stress if he doesn’t eat. When he gets hungry enough he’ll come out and have a bite. If you do see him, give him a casual, “Hey, Tater” but otherwise let him make the moves to come to you.
The only other concessions to consider would be to possibly add additional TEMPORARY litter boxes in rooms where there currently aren’t any, and maybe an additional water bowl in another location.
As @2DogsFarm farm said, it could take months, but I don’t think it will be that long in your case. But it could easily be weeks. It’s worth it, though, because these kitties, IME, turn out to be the best, most loving lap cats when they decide to trust you, and I’m sure Tater will be the same!
I agree with the above posts. It really hasn’t been that long. Some people have said it took months or YEARS for their feral or semi-feral cat to come around. For you it has been 1 week or 2 weeks?
I don’t think you should keep picking him up, moving him, messing with him. I agree that you should let him come to you. I know you want to love on him but he’s not ready yet. It’s encouraging that he’s already coming out and making appearances. He’ll come around. Try not to worry. 
update
Tater is slinking around the house. He has had an unfortunate meeting with Bug. He still is terrified of me. Tater walks back and forth from the living room to the cat room, and back toward the kitchen. I have just discovered cat pee on something lying on the dining room table. This is unacceptable. I have discovered cat pee in the shower and was troubled by it. None of my other cats have ever peed or pooed outside of the box. Ever. I am keeping them clean, and there is one in the living room(!) at the moment, and there is no reason for this. Is he afraid to share the box with the others? He apparently dislikes being shut up in the cat room, so being out should be better. I think he is actually looking for an escape which makes me sad. He isn’t running away when I chirp to him, but if I make any move at all he does run. Should I keep kibble handy to toss to him? Last week, I was able to catch him, and I put him in the dog kennel with a blanket over it. Unfortunately, the litter box took up almost half of the kennel and with water and food bowls added, there was very little room. When I opened the door to take him out, he shrunk away, so I just left it open and he left on his own accord. I have tried to ignore him since then, but it is difficult.
I am very depressed about all of this. I guess he is doing better since he is at least allowing me to see him, and walking across the floor out in the open, I just want so much more for him. 
I would not necessarily assumed the random pee is from Tater. The stress of him being there might have someone else peeing in weird places.
As far as tossing kibble - does he eat kibble well? If he does not think kibble is amazing I can’t see that working.
At this point it might be worth getting him a large cat condo cage where he can be safe, and you can subject him to humans until he is not so scared.
Is there any way to put him in a bathroom or bedroom by himself so he can get comfortable with you before he has to interact with cats in their territory?
He sounds like a shy kitty that’s scared and I would let him get comfortable before he meets the other kitties again.
Or the big condo like @trubandloki said.
Exactly, I’d try to take this a step back. He’s showing signs of being over-faced, so bring it back to square one.
OP - I forget the layout of the house, but is there a reason why Tater can’t just hang out in his own room and ONLY interact with you for a week or two? The stimuli of exploring a new house and meeting the other critters seems to be overwhelming him. I had a friend who adopted an adult cat and it took her 3 months to integrate him to her very dominate male (neutered) cat. She took her cues from the kitties and it all worked out fine in the end.
There is also the option of better living through chemistry. Feliway diffusers might help. Or kitty paxil could help if things get dire. Regardless, I recommend testing Tater for a UTI which can be brought on by stress, so its best to eliminate the medical reasons before we assume its purely behavioral.
Jackson Galaxy has good ideas as well.
there is no room for a cat condo. I did have him in the cat room by himself for a week or so, and he seems to have not liked it, as he bolted out when he got a chance. I can try to keep him contained in there, that seems to be the best solution, but then the others are upset when they cannot enter their sanctuary. You know how cats are with a closed door…I have never actually seen him eat. One day when he was the only one in the cat room, where he had been overnight, the kibble had been eaten. He hasn’t eaten the canned food, but I don’t quite know where to put it. I feed Bug on a countertop in the cat room, and Puddin eats on a shelf there that is about 2 feet off the ground. I don’t quite know where to put a bowl for him, so I have put the kibble in a bowl on the table. there is a bowl of canned food for him, sitting on my albums, because that is where he was hiding the first week. But the food never looks like it has been eaten.
looks like we were writing at the same time. Are the cats being fed up high because of a dog? Maybe Tater was fed on the floor before in his previous life and is confused by the food being up high?
Does he play with toys at all? Like a feather stick or lazer pointer? I know you got him since you wanted a lap cat, but play might be a better introduction until he can get more comfortable. Maybe get him a bed or a kitty hut where he can shelter that is new and does not have the scent of your other cats on it? He’s a boy with no territory right now, so he needs an anchor space.
the cat room is really the only place. The bathroom barely has the room to turn around, but it does have a door. Those two rooms are the only rooms that have doors! I may have to have a door reinstalled on my bedroom. Then I could try to keep him in there, and the other two could have their room back. But that would take time. I think I will try to encourage him back in there and close the door. But he is still very frightened of me.
I just took this. Sorry, but my home is NOT Brave SCs’s!
Batcoach, I haven’t tried toys. Yes they are fed up high because even though he KNOWS he isn’t allowed in there, Sam is a dog, and he will go where he smells food. I do have a laser pointer, so I could try that, but Bug may see it and go for it. I have seen him T, go for the cactus. He did scratch it so that is a good sign.
Yes, if you could get a door back on your bedroom that would be ideal. It took one of my cats three weeks to come out from under the bed and stay out while I was in the room.
He turned out to be one of the sweetest I’ve had and the only one that actually liked being held and having his cheeks kissed. I would have never guessed at the beginning though.
With time he will settle down and not be so scared.
Try meat tube treats. I’ve tamed feral barn cats with them.
I left spots of it in their area. They ate when I was gone. But soon recognized the smell and started coming to it. He’s not feral so should work way faster.
Churus and Temptations are great!! I just rattle the temptations container and all the kitties come running.
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