Easily spooked kitty?

[dustytiger]

I have two cats, one 10yo female and a 2yo male, both fixed. They get on well most of the time except when he has a whoole lot of energy and she can't keep up, but they play and cuddle and the like.

The boyo, though, is very highly strung. He's loving, he'll come for pets and cuddles and then zoom off and play and investigate. However, he seems low confidence? He gets scared by everything in the room sometimes. Sometimes he'll be sleeping in my lap and then get up and take off in a panic to hide with nothing having happened. He's also incredibly jumpy, with small noises startling him. Sometimes I'll catch him wandering the apartment with his tail tucked and he won't bring it straight up until I talk to him and soothe him.

I really don't understand why he's like this, nothing is happening to him on a day to day basis. He gets pampered, treats, catnip, toys, scratching posts, hide-y holes, the works, so I'm a little confused as to why he thinks he's in an active warzone?? You could run head on towards our other cat and she won't even budge because she KNOWS you won't hit into her. She'll even steal chairs AS you're trying to sit on them because she knows once she's in it, she won't get sat on. Literally fearless with regards to any of us hurting her. This little dude, though? Scared of his own shadow, sometimes he'll play with a toy and then later get scared of that same toy.

I dunno what to do. It really pains me to see him get so afraid of stuff.
I tried like those calming scent sprays and they didn't do anything for him. Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable?

 

[ArtNJ]

My current kitten was home raised, and is super friendly and playful . . . but very skittish. Some cats are just that way. Yours does sound more extreme than mine, but I'm not clear its at the kind of truly abnormal level where medication might be warranted.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How long have you had him? If not for long, then you might not know his history and what kind of environment he came from. Which means that over a longer period of time, he will realize he is in a different, safer place than he once was, and he will likely relax more. If you have had him most of his life, and he has always behaved this way, then he is just one of those cats that gets easily anxious over things that we often consider inconsequential. There are likely sounds that he hears, which you may not be able to, that concern him causing it to seem to you as if nothing happened to correlate to his reaction.

And, based on the way you describe the older female cat, there could be occasions where he is innocently bugging her and she is scaring him to stop it, which with his skittish nature could really be upsetting to him. See if you can pay better attention to interactions that might be going on 'behind your back, so to speak. Maybe she swatted at him for playing with that toy, making the next time he sees it remind him of what previously happened? Walking around with his tailed tucked could be the result of a recent interaction between them - or a noise/activity outside that you just didn't notice.

If you can tolerate it, you might try to play some calm music to help drown out outside noises that he is picking up on. When you say calming scent sprays - have you tried some of the calming diffusers which run all the time as opposed to occasional spraying? There are also calming collars, but I know nothing regarding their effectiveness - or, even if he would be comfortable wearing one.

There also might be some information in this article that could help. Not all of the tips relate solely to newly adopted cats.
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats