Covid kitty shyness

[Juniper_Junebug]

Does anyone else have a kitty adopted during covid that is seemingly more shy than she otherwise would be? I adopted Juno at 4/5 months during the pre-vaccine days, when I hardly had anyone over. When she met me, she seemed very bold and not shy at all by temperament, but her whole kittenhood was spent just with me.

I just had a small get together and, naturally, she hid the whole time. When I have one or two people over, she mostly hides too, though she'll occasional allow herself to be lured out for treats by a patient guest that loves cats.

Curious what others' experience is with this (Juno is my first cat). If this is just the way she is, then that's ok, but I am not convinced she couldn't come to like other people. I would have loved to get her used to other people when she was a kitten (my main regret in her rearing), because I think she would have totally been open to that, but covid made that not a prudent option. Is there anything I should be doing to help her feel ok, for example, trying to acclimate her to one or guests repeatedly? If I leave her alone, will she ever reach a point where she feels comfortable coming out of hiding? It makes me sad to think that every time I have people over, she will feel put out the whole time, but I'm not sure if there is any alternative (or if maybe time will help?).

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi.
I think it is best to not try to get her to interact with people. She will in time when she feels more secure, or she may never. Its not like a dog that you can make more social. There are things you can try to not stress her to much when people are over,
There is an old saying about how in a party the cat will pick out the person who is allergic to cats and jump in their lap. The reason for this is that everyone who wants to see the cat will be staring at the cat. The cat sees this as aggression. or at the least as a challenge. So the cat will go to the one person who usually isn't looking at them. So, if the cat does come into the room, make sure everyone isn't staring at the cat.

Let the cat chose when and who to come to.

Make sure the cat has plenty of safe high up spaces to observe the people that are over.

Don't expect cats to change their behavior patterns quicky. They can change but it has to be at their own speed and can't have setbacks or you are back to the beginning.

No matter what you do. don't go dragging the cat out to see people. This is a huge mistake people make when trying to introduce a cat to people or other pets. The cat has to make the choice and have the freedom of escape if they chose to. So, no picking up or holding,

After a year or so, your cat may decide they like company. As long as everything feels safe to the cat.

 

[Meowmee]

Does anyone else have a kitty adopted during covid that is seemingly more shy than she otherwise would be? I adopted Juno at 4/5 months during the pre-vaccine days, when I hardly had anyone over. When she met me, she seemed very bold and not shy at all by temperament, but her whole kittenhood was spent just with me.

I just had a small get together and, naturally, she hid the whole time. When I have one or two people over, she mostly hides too, though she'll occasional allow herself to be lured out for treats by a patient guest that loves cats.

Curious what others' experience is with this (Juno is my first cat). If this is just the way she is, then that's ok, but I am not convinced she couldn't come to like other people. I would have loved to get her used to other people when she was a kitten (my main regret in her rearing), because I think she would have totally been open to that, but covid made that not a prudent option. Is there anything I should be doing to help her feel ok, for example, trying to acclimate her to one or guests repeatedly? If I leave her alone, will she ever reach a point where she feels comfortable coming out of hiding? It makes me sad to think that every time I have people over, she will feel put out the whole time, but I'm not sure if there is any alternative (or if maybe time will help?).

It could be from not meeting other people during that time. My cats are all scaredy cats and don't like strangers... (some are not touchable and have come in from outside and are scared of me too) post pandemic we still mask and no one comes over anyway so I doubt they will ever get used to strangers. It is mostly repair people here and there as needed and I either put them away in a room in advance or they run to my room or elsewhere to hide if I don't manage to do it in advance. It is odd because my previous cats were mostly not scared of anyone and liked people coming over. I would just let her lead the way. If you have the same people coming over on a regular basis she will probably get used to them.

 

[arr]

We acquired two kittens and their stray mother the first year of the pandemic. We too never had people over for almost three years. Our girl is very shy and nervous and hides if people come over. Our boy has no fear and greets visitors, rubbing on them, laying on their feet. So I’m thinking it could partly be a personality thing. We don’t try to make her more sociable, we keep our bedroom off limits to the guests so she has a sanctuary space to retreat to. The vast majority of the time, she will eventually come out and observe things from a safe distance. We know her well enough to know that she will never be completely comfortable with strangers, especially because we are introverts and rarely have anyone in the house, pandemic or no pandemic. So not a lot of opportunity to practice.

If you are more sociable, your cat will have more opportunity to get used to other people being around, but let everything happen on her terms. She’ll come out when she is comfortable. She may never be the cat that is greeting people at the door, but eventually she may get to the point where she can comfortably hang out in the same room in a spot that she considers safe.

 

[Alldara]

I 100% think this is an issue for many COVID kittens..it certainly is with our two.

One of my first posts on this site is about that.

We started trying to have one or two people over. They were used to us seeing people at the screen door.

We play cat calming music, or maybe have the person over for a movie. Something calm. Give treats when they come out.

It may also sound weird but we talk a lot to them about what will happen. Say that friends with come over and give them treats etc.

When my family came for 5 days Cal hid most of the time but Magnus started to come out. Cal is better at shorter visits.

My second cat Lily many years ago hid even from me at first. It took many years but she became a lap cat. Just keep trying to associate people with positive things and enlist some help from some friends.

I'm immunocompromised so we still struggle with this. Our in-person events are limited still but even so the cats have improved.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think it's because we're talking about cats . Poppycat did not like strangers at all, for all of the 13 years he was with us.

Captain won't go hide, necessarily, but is extremely wary.

 

[cmshap]

COVID definitely created a huge problem of separation anxiety with my (currently) 10-year-old cat. I was home with him 24/7 for almost 2 years, and then returned to the world.

I know that's not the specific problem in question here, but I'm just commenting that the huge change in routines and social exposure definitely has had an effect on a lot of pets. Thankfully, it all can usually be worked on and repaired.

Edit: I just happened to talk to a friend who was telling me about behavioral changes with his dog, after COVID. His dog was destroying things and hiding from people after 1-2 years of my friend being home alone with his dog all the time, and then returning to work. Pets were definitely impacted by the pandemic, like we were.