My Cat of 10mths is still afaird of me and my family.

by nsubahwon
(New York, NY)

Hello,

My Husband and I adopted a Cat 10mths ago. She is a beautiful cat. When we first got her she hid behind the stove and under our bed for 4mths only coming out at night to eat. She has then coming around a great deal and is now a big part of our lives thanks to our new cat addition to the family a younger kitten.

Yet we still cannot hold her or touch her she will sit next to us for food. Nibble at our legs if she is hungry, however should we attempt to touch her she runs away. What is the cause of this or will it take another year for her to really gain trust. Or may she never gain trust.

Reply
Hi
Well it has a lot to do with her life before you got her. It sounds to me like she has either never been around many people before or may have had some bad experiences with people in the past which has made her very untrustworthy of humans.

This is one of the challenges we take on when we re-home a cat where you do not know the background of the cat so that you are able to understand how she reacts. However either way she needed a home and regardless of her personality etc will still be an excellent pet who will over time learn to trust you more. However do be prepared for the fact that she may never be a cuddly cat.

I have had many cats in my lifetime, some have been people cats, some lap cats and some who keep their distance and are very independent. Just like people i suppose you just have to work with their personality and characteristics.

The only things you can do is to try and gain her trust over time. How you approach a cat and interact with them can help greatly in earning their trust. I have a web page about how to do this here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

Also make sure they have plenty of things to interact with to help them settle into their new home and lifestyle and also to help distract them from any anxieties they may have. A varied selection of toys is very important. This page will give you lots of ideas for the many different sorts of cat toys available

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-toys.html

Also for some very nervous cats there are herbal medications and sprays which are designed to help a cat relax and once they do this they become much happier in the long run. These calming treatments only need to be used for a short period of time or during particularly stressful times. Please see my page here for more on these

scared-cat.html

Best wishes kate

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