Introducing friends to my kitten

[Jacob Steel]

Hey,

My two little ones follow me everywhere but when someone comes over James is just gone. Hes super hard to find and wont leave the little hole hes crawled into to hide. Even if he just hears someone enter and not see them. He wasn't like that when I first got him, he used to enjoy playing with strangers. Now he is only confident when its just me and him and Jessie, if anyone enters hes gone.

How do I help him be more confident around strangers?

 

[Rob1984]

my cat was the same way when i first got him and im not sure it this is what happened but i had to work out of town for a few days and my sister came to my place to feed him for me and ever since then he doesnt run away anymore he actually sniffs everyone that comes through the door

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

How old are your little ones? What can be important is to "start as you mean to go on", so when you get a kitten and you want them to be comfortable with strangers then from the start you should make sure they have regular visits... it can be a pain to do. When we got a puppy years ago, we had to go out of our way to make sure he met lots of people and other dogs and new situations... we unfortunately at that time didn't have many friends with babies and so he grew up quite scared of babies.

In terms of working with James now, it might be that you had to get friends to stick it out... where is that hole he hides in? If it is in the living space then having them play with a favorite wand toy with Jessie might tempt him out over time. Some treats that he loves that only visitors offer...they shouldn't require him to take it from them, but putting the treat down just outside his hidey hole should work. And then they should know not to pay him attention if he shows his face at all. Just ignore him and keep playing with Jessie or talking with you and letting him see there is nothing to fear. Once he's gotten this distrust of strangers it may well take a lot of time to get over though...patience and understanding from some friends will help!

 

[Patti]

Agree with Brigitte's suggestions. When a kitten first comes home, the world is new and fresh and he 'doesn't know any better', but as he grows up - for whatever reason - he can lose that innocent trust that he came home with. Most times if you work with him as Brigitte has suggested he will come around, but I have a couple of adult cats who remain mistrusting to this day.

 

[Jacob Steel]

He's 7 months old and I had my mom look after Jessie for a week (during the day) when she had her cone and my mom would feed that and sit around all day and in the week she said she didn't see James once.


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