Scaredy Cat

Maybe. My Scaredy has come around a lot - she was feral. She tolerates us all, and loves me. But she hid for her first few months inside.

My Jake was a rescue cat and hid behind the furniture when we first got him. We had to move the furniture into the middle of the room, an inch at a time, until we coaxed him out. If he's playing, he still likes something, usually one of his toys, to be behind.

Like you my cat loves my husband and puts up with me. I alway say he would step over past my dying body to get to his daddy!

Jake goes outside a little now. At first he went out with hubby but now he goes out on his own. It has to be dark outside, because he's scared of birds, and calm, because he doesn't like wind or rain! He usually stays out no more than 10 minutes and we have to leave the door open for him. When he comes in his tail is always stuck out like a bottle brush. It's really impressive!

He had a cold a few weeks ago and we had to take him to the vet. I think he thought we were taking him back to the home because he had a fit in his box. I honestly thought he was going to hurt himself. He was scratching, trying to get out to the extent that he made his paws bleed. But - after we got him back home (and coaxed him out from behind the settee with some chicken) he has really relaxed and it seems like he trusts us a lot more.

We have lots of cats round us, all the neighbours have at least 2 cats each so we can't have a cat flap. Leaving the door open for Jake when he's out can be a bit dangerous as the neighbour cats all seem to live outside so if they see an open door, they go for it. This has happened a couple of times. Jake comes bustling up with his magnificent tail fully fluffed then, when the other cat doesn't back off, he retreats to the safety of behind the chair and waits for me or hubby to evict the unwanted guests.

I sometimes wonder if he would like a friend as he doesn't go out but I think I'll wait for a while yet before thinking about getting another cat. Luckily hubby only works part time so Jake isn't on his own too long each day. That's probably why he prefers hubby to me too!

So, all I can say is, be patient it really is worth it.

KKW

I have a scaredy-cat. Holland has always been scared, since I adopted her at around 5 months old. She took to me relatively quickly, she was snoozing on my lap mere days after I brought her home, but the living situation was just the two of us for a while. Financial troubles caused us to have to move in with my mom last year, and my sister and BIL went through bankruptcy, so they are also living there with their 3 kids and their dog.

Holland has spent enough time around my nieces and nephew that she will not run away from them if they're just in the room, but she still will not tolerate anyone in the house but me approaching her. She will run away. And while we live in the basement, she is comfortable coming upstairs at night after the girls and the dog go to bed. But she still "slink" around, starting at every noise.

I think Cocoa will eventually get to be comfortable with you (sounds like she already is with your husband), but there may always be a part of her that wants to run away at any sudden movement, odd sound, etc. Holland can be sleeping on my lap and if I sneeze, she freaks out and runs away, I've gotten some painful claw marks on my legs in the process... I've had her nearly 2 1/2 years, so I've just learned to go with it. I know she will always be a scaredy-cat, but she trusts me, so that's really all that matters, as far as I'm concerned.