Extreme fear of new people

[bg2000]

My 9 month old kitten is absolutely terrified of any new people coming in the house (I have very few guests). He was born at my friend's house (his mom was a stray she took in) he stayed there until he was 8 weeks old, at which point I took him in, and he's been at my house since. He's never had a negative experience with people ever.
Today a plumber came inside my house for 15 mins. He hid behind the couch. I coaxed him out a couple hours after the plumber left. He then hid under the bed. I coaxed him out again, now he won't leave a corner of the living room. He's even spooked by me. It's been 7 hours since the plumber left.
When he was a younger kitten I tried socializing him. I would bring him to my parents house ever week. He was fine the first couple times, but every progressive time he became more skittish until I couldn't bring him.
Is there anything I can do to make him less fearful?

 

[Kris107]

Does he love food? Could visitors give him a treat? I'm a bit at a loss because I had a cat who was very skittish (had her since she was small) and it never changed. I did, however, try to put her in a safe space/room before people came over so she wouldn't have to be as traumatized.

 

[bg2000]

He actually doesn't love food, and it's a struggle getting him to eat a lot of times. Is this something I have to accept and just minimize by putting him into a quiet bedroom?

 

[Alldara]

Cat calming music, patience and time.

Bring cat up to a safe place and make sure all his needs can be met. For example, when guests I put a litter box in the bedroom and close the door 75%. I put some cat calming music on and some treats just outside the door. It gives them a safe place to hide or retreat to but encourages them to venture out.

I also take out a toy with a jungle or rattle and wiggle it if they come down. Build confidence through play. Magnus is very scared of men and that works best for him.

I also keep some low music on in the downstairs so that even if they come down ever they aren't startled by every little sound.

It took my cat Lily years to slowly increase her social skills. Eventually she was brave enough to be super social and even an ambassador for cats. That won't happen for every cat.


Ps. You might look in to a different food if he doesn't like to eat much If you're interested, many people on the nutrition forums would be happy to help you brainst.

 

[bg2000]

Ps. You might look in to a different food if he doesn't like to eat much If you're interested, many people on the nutrition forums would be happy to help you brainst.

I've tried literally every food imaginable and have spent vast some of money on vet bills trying to figure it out. The vet has never seen anything like it. He's completely healthy, he's not skinny, and he does eat. He's just not food motivated in any way whatsoever.

 

[bg2000]

Take out a toy with a jungle or rattle and wiggle it if they come down. Build confidence through play. Magnus is very scared of men and that works best for him

He has less than zero interest in toys when people are around. It's pure fear and panic. It's only gotten worse the older he's got, which I don't understand because no one has been anything but nice to him. The older he's got the worse it's got.

 

[Kris107]

My girl never got over it and everyone was only kind to her. If people got a glimpse of her they felt lucky. I think for now it might be more important that he trust YOU, so giving him a safe space might be the way to go. I always left the door open though so she could hear the noises and voices and could choose to venture out if she wanted. Sometimes when conversations and activity were low, she would.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

How often do people come to your house?
If it isn't often it is a possibility that it is just because all he really knows is who lives there and he wasn't socialized properly with strangers..
My girl is the same way she has been since she was a rescue and was 1 when I got her. We hardly have people over mainly just workers like hvac, plumber, people like that. So what I do is put her in her room and when they leave she is fine when she comes out. If you need to put him in a small room to prevent him being stressed out that might be your best option. Unless you can figure out some way to get him socialized with people..
My situation is also a little different because my baby girl was abused by her previous owners . So knowing we don't have people over, knowing her background, and not wanting to stress her we didn't try to get her used to strangers coming over.. we couldn't anyway because we don't have people over haha..
Anyway I hope you figure out what will be the best plan moving forward with your little boy.

It is ok if he isn't food motivated my girl is the same way she does however like plain boiled or baked chicken and eggs she hates every kind of cat treat imaginable and only likes one type of food for now I'm trying to work on changing that...
If you can see if he likes chicken that could become his jackpot treat and he can get it only when people come over and they give it to him.

 

[Alldara]

I've tried literally every food imaginable and have spent vast some of money on vet bills trying to figure it out. The vet has never seen anything like it. He's completely healthy, he's not skinny, and he does eat. He's just not food motivated in any way whatsoever.

I feel for you! We've got one of those too..we did find he had a beef and beef by-products allergy..but it didn't really increase his eating. We still have to watch that he doesn't get too energetic that he looses weight.

We use a lot of play motivation with him. Harder to train but it works!

 

[bg2000]

He was still skittish this morning. I was late for an appointment and walked quickly from room to another, something I've done a million times before and which he's always ignored, and this made him go feral, hiding in terror from me.
Is it really normal for a kitten to get spooked for this long from a new person in the house a day prior? Or is something else going on? It just seems incredibly extreme

 

[Alldara]

bg2000 Yep! Especially from workmen with loud shoes and stompy feet. Mine have been jumpy for a week sometimes.

One didn't even come in the house. He just changed the screen. It took a few days.

These are people I know are good with animals too. I've had the pleasure of being their neighbor for years and they have well-kept, well socialized animals and are trusted to watch other people's pets nearby. Any socialized pet is happy to see them.

Do you run Feliway for him?

 

[bg2000]

I do not use feliway. Does it have a high level or effectiveness?

I've also read about Jackson galaxies ointments for water or food.

 

[Alldara]

bg2000 Many people use it. I personally find it makes a big difference. I find the Multicat formula works best for my home. The original formula worked, but I found a huge difference in lowered stress for the Multicat.

Studies show good results: Improving the feline veterinary consultation: the usefulness of Feliway spray in reducing cats' stress - PubMed.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...wQFnoECCIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2SpgVllSCoUE5-oeUsRus6

I am unsure if Jackson Galaxy has any data to back his formulas. He has a tendancy not to share source material as to where he gets his info. Which is partially fair as it's based on his experience in the field.

I'll admit I haven't looked in to his products. They are very expensive.

 

[Alldara]

Oh I should add, Feliway on its own doesn't fix all. It should always be used with other training etc. It simply lowers the stress response to make some of that training possible.

 

[bg2000]

Awesome, thanks

 

[game misconduct]

its normal not all cats are social butterflies just let him hide and feel safe to come out on his own time. my baby sisters rag doll is like that hid from everytime i walked in the door at my dads when i still lived there until finally one day he wasnt spooked anymore.

 

[bg2000]

I was late for an appointment and walked quickly from room to another, something I've done a million times before and which he's always ignored, and this made him go feral, hiding in terror from me.

Hours later and he's still terrified of me.. All residual from a guy coming in my house 24 hours ago. I guess everyone is saying it isn't abnormal, but it sure seems like something is amiss

 

[war&wisdom]

I don't know that it's normal, but it's not unheard of, obviously. A friend of mine has a super anxious kitty who has been completely transformed by Prozac. I never used to see her out when I visited, but now she's always around, even if she is still a little hissy.

 

[Alldara]

bg2000 it's certainly always great to consult a vet if you have a gut feeling about a situation. Your vet may even recommend a behavioralist to reach out to. If you have the funds for that, I've heard good things.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

bg2000 I completely agree with Alldara
If you ever come to find yourself thinking that something might be wrong, consulting a vet is a step that shouldn't be avoided. Even if it is just discussing things over the phone.

You know your kitty better than the lot of us. It could just be that he is still a little scared but if you really think it is more, then I say follow your gut.

I truly think this is the best step because my girl is going through some stuff and the only sign I had was her being a little more vocal than normal (she us normay real vocal so that was hard to notice) and the sound of it seemed whiney.
Something was off with her when I took her to the vet. I am telling you this because honestly her changes were so subtle.. but I had a feeling something was off

You know your little one.
I hope he starts to come around soon.