Shy, inactive cat

As y'all may have read, Willie is neurotically shy. If I come home with someone else in tow, he hides (he hides from my son too, and Mio doesn't play rough or terrorize him, I think he just doesn't like Mio making sudden moves... Mio is six, he ONLY makes sudden moves, lol). If I don't pay attention to him, 9 times out of 10, he goes and hides. He rarely plays and even more rarely shows interest in the toys I bought him. If I try to roll a ball to him, he ignores it and starts begging to be petted. I'm worried that he'll soon be one of those fat kitties that only moves from the bed to eat. I'm going to be building a cat tree for him and taking Mary Anne's suggestion about putting his food at the top soon, but is there anything else I can do? Would the Feliway plug in calm his anxiety any?

I wish I could give you a definate answer on this one. Depending on the reason for the anxiety, the plug in might work. If he's been anti social since he was a kitten, it may just be the way he is. Like people, cats can be on the shy side. Sometimes with age they can settle down a little bit. I have 2 of these shy guys, and when they feel uncomfortable, I let them go and hide. I spend time with them when they come to see me, and let them decide when they have had enough

i can only share my personal experience:

When i first adopted Daisy , she used to hide under the bed as well. She was from a household of male kitties who chased her around so much, that she used to hide and not play. i think she was in a depression stage when she first arrived.

So, to encourage her to socialize and interact, when she goes into hiding, i would tickle and tease her with a feather that i bought before her arrival. She came out of her hiding, and even started playing with me.i discovered she likes the snake toy as well.

Also, i spent a lot of time with her, just playing and interacting. In addition, i bought her different small toys (catnip sack with bells, mouse that squeaks, furry animals, balls, etc.) Not long after, she stopped hiding.

These days, she is a brave soul , i tell ya! She even jumps on the dining chairs and tables. Oh, yes, this baby often helps herself with whatever she likes when we are eating.

So, what works for Daisy in the beginning was the tickle feather and the slithering snake (this works for Venus as well.) It seems like interactive toys work pretty work for most kitties (the kitties at SPCA love them as well.)


Cheers, and give Willies a kiss on his forehead for me!



:flash: :flash: :flash: :flash: :flash: :flash: :flash:

He sure sounds feral to me- and his behavior is quite typical. A good interactive toy for this kitty might just be a peacock feather, stimulating his prey response.

We just had a new cat merchant sign on with us, and he offers complete cat tree plans at a reasonable cost- check it out.....

Cat-Tree- Plans

Hmmm, some more detail may be in order. I do try to play with him with toys, and he does occasionally play with things around the house, but it's rare. I got him one of those mice on a "fishing pole", and he likes to bat at the string, but more often than not, it seems to frighten him! And I don't make sudden, threatening movements with it. The other toys, he just has no interest in. He doesn't hide as much as he used to... most of his day, if I'm with him in the house, is spent rolling around on my bed. He likes to watch cars go by through my window. However, when I'm not home, he generally goes right under the bed and stays there. He seems to be getting braver, coming to greet me at the door when I come home alone (one of the ways I know he's been under the bed is that he does a big stretch to loosen his muscles... I've only seen him do that after coming out from under the bed), and exploring and running back and forth at night. The running is good exercise, I'm sure, but he doesn't keep it up for very long before coming to bed. The funny thing is that you say he sounds feral, but he's been a housecat all his life, his first owner gave him up when she went into a nursing home and the rescue organization told me she pampered him. Of course, he went to a family next, and his reaction to my son makes me slightly suspicious... but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, thank you for the replies... I think I'll look for a feather on my next trip to the pet store, and work a little harder on the Mio-Willie relation.