Skittish Cat

[QFar]

Hello guys!
I'm a new cat owner, but I've been around cats my entire life. A month ago, while I was in college, I adopted a very skittish kitty. She opened up to me fast, but she's still very scared of everything else. I recently came back to my parent's house for winter break (they only live an hour away) and bought my scaredy-cat with me.
However my parent's house is a whole lot bigger than my small college apartment, and the first time she ventured outside of my room, she got lost downstairs and had a hard time finding her way back. Because I'm the only one that lives on the second floor, the majority of noise comes from the first floor so I would like to keep her on the second floor for a little while until she opens up to the noise a little more.
Is this a good idea? Or am I doing more harm than good?
Thank you so much y'all!

 

[CatladyJan]

Hello guys!
I'm a new cat owner, but I've been around cats my entire life. A month ago, while I was in college, I adopted a very skittish kitty. She opened up to me fast, but she's still very scared of everything else. I recently came back to my parent's house for winter break (they only live an hour away) and bought my scaredy-cat with me.
However my parent's house is a whole lot bigger than my small college apartment, and the first time she ventured outside of my room, she got lost downstairs and had a hard time finding her way back. Because I'm the only one that lives on the second floor, the majority of noise comes from the first floor so I would like to keep her on the second floor for a little while until she opens up to the noise a little more.
Is this a good idea? Or am I doing more harm than good?
Thank you so much y'all!

I think she would be much happier staying in your room secluded from the rest of the house and family.

 

[daftcat75]

It's a great idea to keep her world small until she's more comfortable in the new, larger house. You could bring family members up to spend time with her. They should be told not to approach her but to let her approach them--if she feels like it. And if she doesn't, don't force it. Once she's had some time to adjust to the new surroundings, you could let her out into the rest of the house for an hour of supervised time. And I mean supervised. If you can't keep an eye on her, follow her. Make sure she's not getting into anything harmful since your parents likely haven't cat proofed the house. But you're also watching to see if she is more curious than fearful. If she's not looking for places to hide, then you can let her out for longer, unsupervised periods until you're both confident in her ability to navigate and integrate into the larger home.

 

[sabian]

daftcat75 nailed it. I would add though. You could actually use this as an opportunity to help bring her out of her shell by letting family members spend time with her. I absolutely agree with what daftcat75 outlined but this could actually be good for your cat if handled correctly. Best of luck! Hope it goes well!

 

[di and bob]

Some cats will be scared all their life, it is their nature. I have 8 year olds and they run and hide at every knock and are not seen until company leaves. I had another cat that was raised with them from a different clowder and he was very interested in meeting and greeting strangers. I agree your little one should be kept in a smaller space for a while until she gets more used to the surroundings, do NOT force her into anything, like interacting with strangers unless she makes the first move. If she gets too far from her comfort zone she may panic and get hurt.

 

[ArtNJ]

Traveling & visiting with cats tends to be hard because cats don't like new or different. As a college student, you may not have any choice, but don't have unrealistic expectations of how the cat will do. Agree with others to start with a single room (your room), and not necessarily expand beyond that unless the cat seems to want too.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on being a new cat parent. In addition to the helpful information others have posted, I'll add the links to some TCS articles that might have some tips for you.

10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat – TheCatSite Articles
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding? – TheCatSite Articles

 

[MoochNNoodles]

So much excellent advice here. My "soul kitty" Glory was nicknamed Beanse by my Mom when I was a kid because she was so skittish she would jump (like a jumping bean) at anything. I definitely agree with limiting her to your room and following her lead. Glory opened up to some people; but others she never did. When my mom remarried my younger step siblings learned to respect her space. She always kept my room as her preferred place but ventured out to eat and use a litter box as she wanted to. She had a spot behind the irises in the garden that she loved. So she was happy. She would just dash across the house to my room when she was ready to be there. We moved together several times and she always adjusted fine. But we let her set the pace. Most of my cats have preferred to explore new places at night when it's quiet.

As a generally reserved and quiet (introverted) person myself; I've always resented being pushed to be someone I'm not. I don't generally project human emotions onto animals; but in this case I do. Give her small opportunities; but let it be her choice where to go from there. She'll love you more for being her safe place.