One Skiddish Kitty

[Iwasnormal3catsago]

Hello fellow kitty lovers
I'm a catmom of three; Mitzi, Tiny, and Lily. Mitzi was my first of the pack, then about a year later I took in a litter of kittens whose mom was killed by a coyote. After they were old enough I found homes for most of them. I decided to keep Tiny so that Mitzi could have a friend and ended up having trouble finding a home for Lily so I kept her too. Lily has always been so shy. I give her equal amounts of love as the other two but she never really comes out of her shell. Has anyone had experience with more introverted cats? I'm very slow with her, I let her come up to me and so on, I'm just wondering if this is a normal personality trait? Is there anything I can do to help her be less skiddish? Thank yiu in advance!

 

[rubysmama]

It could be just her personality, however, TCS has a couple articles that might have some tips for you. Here are the links:

10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats

 

[catlover73]

Some cats are just really shy and can be slow to warm up to people. I adopted my 12 year old female Starbuck as a 6 week old kitten. When she was a kitten she loved everyone and wanted to explore everything. She also had some health issues and had to go to the vet quite a bit when she was young. The health issues all resolved with treatment when she was still young. Once she became an adult she started hiding from anyone but us. Just recently with in the last two years she has decided that my cat sitter is now allowed to pet her. She also decided she would only cuddle with us upstairs. She would come downstairs to eat and use the litter box. She would sometimes hang out in the living room but just ignored us down there generally. Within the last year she comes down stairs to cuddle regularly with us on the couch. When Starbuck became scared of our guests we asked everyone to ignore her. Our guests listened to us and interacted with our other cats who wanted attention from them.

It is possible that this is Lily's personality. It is also possible that this behavior could change over time. The best thing to do is be patient and move at the pace Lily is setting. Do not force interaction it has to be on Lily's terms.

I also rescued a an abandoned adult cat years ago that was scared of everything.
If Lily has a room she likes to hide in sit down on the floor and just read or play with your phone without making any eye contact at all. You can also try sitting on the floor in the room watching tv or talking about your day. The reason I am saying to sit on the floor is it makes you seem smaller and less scary to Lily. Try making this a routine for now.

 

[lucifur]

When I adopted my guy, Linky, he was completely terrified. Before I adopted him, I had another cat named Toki. Toki was young, fearless, and borderline hyperactive. In an attempt to ground her a bit, I turned my guest bedroom into the Cat Room. Bed, litterbox, two cat trees (one by the window for feline "television"), toys, and some empty cardboard boxes for playing with and hiding in. it started as sort of a joke, but it was a huge success. Toki would spend a couple hours in there every day, and it actually seemed to help calm her. Now, with Linky... when he first arrived from the shelter, he made a beeline for the cat room and stayed hidden in there for a bit over three weeks. I moved his feeding bowls in there and left him alone. when he finally came out I felt like a hero.

sorry: got side-tracked. point is, the cat room has really helped my two felines. I don't know if it would help you, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

good luck!

 

[Gizmoandsooz]

My cat gizmo is extremely shy. He’s trying to come out of his shell a bit but as soon as i try to go near him to pat him he hisses and runs off.