Cats seem confident and fearless. But in reality, they can be shy and fearful of their surroundings. There are several reasons for this, but sometimes it’s simply a case of genetics. Other times, it’s due to a traumatic past. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can interact with timid cats.
When interacting with a shy cat, move slowly so that you don’t scare it off. Create a comfortable environment that includes plenty of hiding spots and keep loud noises to a minimum. Always wait for your cat to come to you and use soft, gentle tones when talking to it. Creating a consistent routine will help your cat feel more comfortable, as will using positive reinforcement every time your cat interacts with you.
Shyness in cats manifests itself in various ways. Some timorous cats appear nervous and skittish, while others tuck themselves away where they feel safe. Even if you’ve created a safe and secure environment for your cat, it might not be enough to stop it from feeling fearful.
Why Is My Cat So Shy?
There are many reasons why cats feel nervous and hesitant. It’s commonly down to their:
- Genetics: Some cats are naturally fearful.
- Upbringing: Cats that haven’t been socialized properly may become shy and afraid of humans.
- Past experiences: Trauma and abuse can make cats scared and nervous.
Similarly, environmental triggers can cause your can to become shy and withdrawn. These include:
- Other pets within the home
- Loud noises
- Boisterous children
- Moving to a new home
- Unkind owners
Other times, cats are shy because they’re unwell. While all cats are different, the most common signs of shyness include:
- Frequent hiding
- Dilated pupils
- Flattened ears
- Cowering
- Running away
- Hesitation whenever you’re near
To provide your cat with a comfortable, happy life, you might want to think about teaching your cat to be less shy and more confident when in your presence.
How To Increase A Cat’s Confidence
With effective socialization techniques, you can boost your cat’s confidence so that it feels less shy and more comfortable around you. It’s vital to remember that not all cats will become confident. But you can make them feel happier within their environment, regardless of their personality. To increase your cat’s confidence, follow these steps:
Offer Physical Contact
Whether your cat is fully grown or a kitten, handle and stroke it as much as possible or as often as it can tolerate this interaction. While the cat might be wary of this at first, it’ll eventually get used to your presence and allow you to touch it more often.
Aim to spend around 10-15 minutes a day petting your cat. However, if it feels uncomfortable or attempts to swipe or bite you, stop and try again at another time.
Create A Routine
Some cats thrive on routine as it prevents any unwelcome surprises. A study conducted by Ohio State University found that healthy cats are just as likely as chronically ill cats to refuse food, vomit, and leave waste outside their litter box in response to a routine change.
To prevent this, make your cat’s routine is scheduled. This means feeding it at the same time every day and cleaning the litter tray. Cats also spend most of the day sleeping, so they need some time during the day to be left alone.
Not only does this help stop cats from being as shy, but it sets boundaries between you both, which will help build trust long-term.
Safe Environment
A cat’s sense of smell and hearing is sensitive. Things that don’t bother us may cause your cat to become distressed, making it seem shy and withdrawn. As a result, be mindful of your pet’s personality and create a safe environment for it. To do so:
- Make sure the TV and radio aren’t too loud
- Try to avoid other loud sounds, such as yelling or door slamming
- Don’t use scented candles or pungent cleaning materials around the cat
- Ensure your cat has easy access to food, water, and a litter tray
A good environment will make your cat feel more comfortable, helping it to lose its shyness over time.
Hiding Spots
As described by PLOS One, cats hide to make themselves feel less stressed. To help your cat feel more confident, provide hiding spaces so that it has somewhere to go every time it feels overwhelmed. Cats like to hide:
- Under the bed
- Behind curtains
- Inside cardboard boxes
- Behind furniture
- Inside a wardrobe
- In the bath
While it might seem counterproductive to allow your cat to hide when you’re trying to make it feel less shy, your cat will become stressed if it doesn’t have somewhere safe to go. In turn, this will exasperate its fearfulness, making it impossible for you to weed out its shyness.
Whenever your cat does hide, leave it be. This is a warning that it’s had enough and wants to be left alone.
Pheromone Diffuser
Pheromone diffusers can help your cat feel less stressed. Cats have a sensory organ on the roof of their mouths called the Jacobson’s organ. This is what they use to pick up pheromones, which gives the cat information about the environment.
Diffusers work by imitating the F3 facial hormones that cats deposit when they rub their faces against things. The pheromones emitted by the diffuser tell the cat it’s a safe space, encouraging it to feel more relaxed.
Place one wherever your cat prefers to hang out and make sure it’s turned on whenever you have many people in the house. Similarly, if you move to a new environment, plug in a diffuser until the cat gets used to its new home.
How To Get A Shy Cat To Trust You
Building a bond with your cat is a rewarding process. After all, it’s probably the reason why you chose your pet. But it’s not always straightforward to do, especially if you’re dealing with a shy cat.
However, all’s not lost. With some time and patience, you can get your cat to trust you. Follow these steps to get started:
Respect Your Cat’s Space
Your cat needs time to get used to you. As far as your cat knows, you’re a predator, so its first instinct is to keep itself safe. If you move too quickly with socializing your shy cat, you’re likely to spook it, potentially damaging the way it sees you for good.
That means you’ll need to give your cat as much time as it needs to settle in. Try not to invade its personal space and stay out of the room it’s hiding in. This should prevent your pet from thinking you’re trying to chase it.
Cats enjoy their independence, so don’t be too offended if your cat prefers a bit of space. Similarly, try not to get too discouraged. It’ll come round in its own time.
Don’t Get Angry
The worst thing you could do is shout at your cat out of frustration. Not only will this cause your cat to become even shyer, but it’ll also develop a fear of you. Even if your cat’s doing the opposite of what it wants you to, maintain a soft, quiet, and gentle tone to communicate with it. Anger can also cause unwanted behavioral problems, including:
- Accidents outside of the litter tray
- Scratching at furniture
- Excessive vocalization
- Chewing on wires
- Jumping on countertops
These are common reactions to a poor environment, which you are a part of.
Observe Body Language
Frustratingly, it’s not always easy to read a cat’s behavior. That’s because cats are experts at hiding their distress. However, you can work out when yours is feeling shy by monitoring its body language using these tips:
- Ears: Shy cats will pin their ears against their head, while happy cats will keep them upright and facing forward.
- Eyes: Wide eyes and dilated pupils signify shyness, while relaxed pupils or slow blinking indicate a calm cat.
- Whiskers: Shy cats will put their whiskers against their face and lick their lips. Relaxed cats keep them to the side or forward.
- Body: The body will be hunched and tense when fearful. Happy cats will look relaxed and may expose their bellies.
- Tail: If the tail’s completely tucked, your cat is stressed. The tail should be held up.
Your cat may not exhibit all of these behaviors at once, but one or two are often enough to give away how your cat’s feeling.
Learn Your Cat’s Limits
Take a slow and steady approach when working out where your cat enjoys being touched and where it doesn’t. Some cats are particular about where they’re happy to be stroked and will bite or scratch if you attempt to push these boundaries.
If your cat becomes particularly angry, limit the amount you stroke it. This should help improve your trust levels. In time, your cat will become less shy and might even allow you to stroke it more often.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement techniques are a good way to help your cat feel less shy. While positive reinforcement is most commonly used to fix bad behavior, it can help you train your cat to do anything you want it to.
Shy cats are sometimes afraid of strange noises, so clicker training might not be a good option. However, you can reward your cat every time it shows a bit of bravery with its favorite treats. Similarly, use toys and games as a fun way to teach your cat that it has nothing to be afraid of.
How To Get A Shy Cat To Come To You
It’s only natural that you want to stroke and play with your cat. This is difficult to do when you have a shy cat, so you must encourage it to come to you when it feels comfortable. Maintain a quiet, calm presence at all times. That way, your cat will begin to feel less shy. Encourage your cat to come to you with these easy methods:
- Sit quietly near your cat for a while, allowing it to sniff you.
- Talk to it in a calm, gentle manner.
- Remain still if your cat approaches you. Sudden movements will scare it off.
- Give your cat a treat after it walks over to you. Gradually increase the time it takes for you to give your cat a treat.
- Gently throw a ball or a scrunched-up piece of paper to play with.
- Move onto a fishing rod toy once the cat seems less shy. This helps you interact without getting too close.
If your cat runs off, don’t chase it. Try again when it seems calmer and less anxious.
What Are The Best Cat Socialization Techniques?
To prevent or minimize your cat’s shyness, aim to socialize it as early as you can. Kittens are most receptive when they’re two to seven weeks old and are relatively easy to introduce if you use a consistent approach.
However, older cats that have been rehomed or have had a traumatic past are much more difficult to socialize and may remain shy forever. This isn’t a problem – it’s simply part of your cat’s DNA. However, you can make it feel more comfortable by following these techniques:
- Play the radio or TV quietly to allow the cat to get used to sounds.
- Make eye contact and blink slowly to communicate.
- Talk to your cat using a soft, soothing tone.
- Spend time with your cat simply sitting or lying near it, being careful not to make sudden movements.
- Invite your cat to play, paying attention to its behavior and stopping whenever it feels stressed.
Always move at your cat’s pace – don’t try to push your cat into being more outgoing and gregarious. This is likely to have the opposite effect and may damage your bond.
How To Introduce Shy Cats To Each Other
Despite common misconceptions, cats aren’t solitary animals. While some prefer to live alone, VCA Hospitals describes how cats often do well living in pairs or small groups. All cats fight from time to time as they have feelings and emotions, so this behavior is expected. However, fearful cats will take a little more time and effort to socialize.
The best combination of cats is littermates or cats from two different litters who are only young. Before you introduce the cats, make sure that you have:
- A safe room that you have cat-proofed
- Plenty of hiding places
- A couple of scratching posts
- Toys for entertainment
- Food and water
- Blankets and bedding
Introducing two shy cats needn’t be too difficult if you follow these steps:
Introduce The Smells
Before allowing your cats to meet face to face, let them get used to each other’s smell first. Introducing them too early can cause them to become aggressive and scared. This will destroy the relationship beyond repair.
Instead, let them sniff each other from a distance, preferably underneath a doorframe separating them. If they begin to paw at each other, attempt to stop them. However, they’ll eventually get used to the scent.
After a few days, swap their bedding over so that they can have a good sniff of each other’s scent in their own time.
Similarly, swap your cats’ food bowls. This will allow them to associate the positive act of eating with one another. Once you’re happy they’re becoming more tolerant of each other’s scent, you can set up your first meeting.
Organize A Controlled Meeting
Before letting them loose on each other, allow your cats to have visual contact while retaining a safety barrier between them. To achieve this, use a screen door, baby gate, or cat carrier. If you don’t have any of these things, open the door ever-so-slightly so that they can look at each other without being able to touch.
Keep these visits short at first, as you’re bound to experience some form of aggression. This is normal, but don’t let it continue for too long. Give treats to your cats and play with them simultaneously, allowing them to associate these positive behaviors with each other.
Once the growling, hissing, and spitting stops, organize a proper meeting between your cats.
Let the Cats Meet Properly
The next step is to leave the door open and allow the cats to meet each other at their own pace. Because you’re dealing with unassertive cats, they’re likely to be very hesitant at first. As a result, you must supervise your cats throughout this stage in case you need to step in at any point.
Similarly, don’t pick them up or force them to interact. They must be able to move at their own pace; otherwise, the integration process won’t work.
Limit these meetings to a short period of time at first and gradually extend them until the cats become comfortable with each other.
Hopefully, they’ll learn to live in harmony, but you must bear in mind that there’s always the chance that they don’t get on. Similarly, the shyest cat of the two may become bullied. Have a contingency plan in case that happens.
Why Is My Cat Shy Around Strangers?
If your cat is afraid of everyone but you, it’s only natural that you’d want to help your cat feel more at ease, especially if you have regular visitors to your home. Unfortunately, some cats are simply timid around strangers and always will be.
However, there are steps you can take to try to make your cat feel more comfortable around your friends and family, including:
- Place your cat into the room you’re in and ask the stranger to enter slowly, keeping their distance from the animal.
- Reward your cat with a treat if it remains calm and non-anxious.
- If the cat becomes stressed or attempts to hide, ask the stranger to increase the distance.
- Once your cat stops being fearful, give it a treat.
- Do this a few times before ending the session. Try it again another time, as you don’t want to stress your cat.
- The next time the same friend or family member comes round, attempt the session again, decreasing the distance each time.
- Eventually, you can start moving your cat’s bowl closer to the stranger.
- Add a new step each time, like playing games or making movements.
This is a long, drawn-out process, but if you’re consistent with your approach, you can train your cat to become comfortable around your visitor. Similarly, try the process from scratch every time a new stranger goes into your house.
How To Help A Shy Cat Adjust To A New Home
Helping a shy cat adjust to a new home requires some forward-planning to ensure it has somewhere to escape whenever it feels stressed. If you fail to provide it with the right environment, it’ll become distressed and scared. There’s also the chance that it’ll never feel comfortable in its new home.
We’ve already mentioned that providing hiding spots is one of the most important things you can do for a skittish cat. However, you should also aim to restrict the amount of space your cat has access to – at least while you’re in the initial stages of getting your cat adjusted.
Too much space feels overwhelming for your cat, so only give it access to one or two rooms at first. This will help it feel relaxed while giving it plenty of time to bond with its family before you allow it to have unlimited access to the house. When creating a stress-free environment for your cat, provide:
- Climbing spaces
- High places for it to explore
- A dark, quiet spot that it can escape to
Once your cat starts to become more confident, give it access to more of the house, allowing it to explore these new rooms in its own time.
Similarly, make it feel more at ease by using food and tasty treats. Blocking off access to the outdoors is wise for the first few weeks to prevent it from escaping.
Similarly, ensure no neighborhood cats have access to your house through any cat flaps you might have installed. This will make your timorous cat feel even more scared.
Otherwise, following the steps we’ve already provided on how to increase your cat’s confidence also applies here. As we’ve already explained, always work at your cat’s pace and never force it to do anything it doesn’t want to.
Bringing an unconfident cat out of its shell is rewarding, but it’s not always possible. A shy cat can still make a good pet, but you’ll need to respect its boundaries and be gentle whenever you’re interacting with it.
