My cat, Ashton, is confident and relaxed at home. She never hides from strangers, but comes right up to them and their belongings and sniff them (although she doesn't like them touching her). And I've been regularly inviting people over so that she gets regular "practice" of meeting strangers and doesn't lose this confidence.
But I want to make her more confident in UNFAMILIAR places as well. It all stemmed from her first visit to the vet a while ago - she was really nervous, probably because of 1) an unfamiliar place (i.e. not her territory) and 2) there were so many smells of other cats and dogs. This made it hard for the vet to handle her, and having a stranger handle her added to her stress even more.
So I started training her to wear a leash, and has taken her to the balcony to explore. I also let her out of my apartment to explore the hallway sometimes. She likes it, smelling different scents, but as soon as she hears footsteps, she darts right back home, and sits away from the front door until the hallway is quiet again.
Once she gets better at leash walking, I plan to take her to my building's rooftop to explore. But what else can I do to help her be less skittish around strangers in unfamiliar places? My ultimate goal is that she will be less nervous in unfamiliar places and allow strangers to touch her.
But I want to make her more confident in UNFAMILIAR places as well. It all stemmed from her first visit to the vet a while ago - she was really nervous, probably because of 1) an unfamiliar place (i.e. not her territory) and 2) there were so many smells of other cats and dogs. This made it hard for the vet to handle her, and having a stranger handle her added to her stress even more.
So I started training her to wear a leash, and has taken her to the balcony to explore. I also let her out of my apartment to explore the hallway sometimes. She likes it, smelling different scents, but as soon as she hears footsteps, she darts right back home, and sits away from the front door until the hallway is quiet again.
Once she gets better at leash walking, I plan to take her to my building's rooftop to explore. But what else can I do to help her be less skittish around strangers in unfamiliar places? My ultimate goal is that she will be less nervous in unfamiliar places and allow strangers to touch her.