Hi, all! I've been a lurker for a while, but I finally got around to creating an account to ask for some opinions on a matter that is rather sadenning to me!
Last September, we adopted a 5 month old shorthair grey tabby from the shelter. We named him Crumb, after the artist R. Crumb.
Crumb was and is a fantastic cat... affectionate, playful, and smart. When we first got him, he was a social butterfly. He loved other animals whether we went to their house or they came to his, and never met a person he didn't like. We'd have large parties at our home and he'd be the star, wearing t-shirts and showing off his trick of playing mouse fetch to anyone who would play.
Between December and April, we didn't really travel or have many visitors due to my work schedule and the harsh winter in NYC. Then one weekend, I had a friend stay in the apartment. Suddenly, Crumb was petrified of strangers. He hid under the bed, in the closets, and under the tableclothes. Since then, we have had several guests come over and a party, and Crumb has also hidden under our bed all the way in the back the whole time. My friends are very understanding and eager to help him overcome his fear, so we take him out, give him treats, and let people pet him affectionately -- but Crumb clams up, freezing and sometimes even shivering in fear. Just last month we got him a kitten to try to help with his socializing. While he took to the kitten immediately (he grooms it, snuggles with it, plays with it...), if a stranger is near, it's every man for himself. The kitten, Harvey, is incredibly outgoing and fearless. He is as confused as we are when Crumb reacts so strongly! Once the stranger is gone, everything is back to normal, easygoing Crumb... until the doorbell rings again. This week, we are at my parents' home for a visit, and while he is fine with their cat, he is now petrified of my parents and family... all of whom he has met before. No matter how many doors we shut to try to keep him out in the open, he finds a new place to hide.
Is there anything we can do other than keep exposing him? Has anyone successfully turned a cat around from this? Nothing traumatic happened to him, no one has ever mistreated him (he was found in a parking lot as a baby and handraised in a nokill shelter). The only thing we can think of is a noisy Jack Russell that lives downstairs that spooks him when she passes by in the hallway, but the two have only ever come face to face once, and the dog just sniffed him and ran away. :/
Any help or thoughts you may have would be greatly appreciated!
Last September, we adopted a 5 month old shorthair grey tabby from the shelter. We named him Crumb, after the artist R. Crumb.
Crumb was and is a fantastic cat... affectionate, playful, and smart. When we first got him, he was a social butterfly. He loved other animals whether we went to their house or they came to his, and never met a person he didn't like. We'd have large parties at our home and he'd be the star, wearing t-shirts and showing off his trick of playing mouse fetch to anyone who would play.Between December and April, we didn't really travel or have many visitors due to my work schedule and the harsh winter in NYC. Then one weekend, I had a friend stay in the apartment. Suddenly, Crumb was petrified of strangers. He hid under the bed, in the closets, and under the tableclothes. Since then, we have had several guests come over and a party, and Crumb has also hidden under our bed all the way in the back the whole time. My friends are very understanding and eager to help him overcome his fear, so we take him out, give him treats, and let people pet him affectionately -- but Crumb clams up, freezing and sometimes even shivering in fear. Just last month we got him a kitten to try to help with his socializing. While he took to the kitten immediately (he grooms it, snuggles with it, plays with it...), if a stranger is near, it's every man for himself. The kitten, Harvey, is incredibly outgoing and fearless. He is as confused as we are when Crumb reacts so strongly! Once the stranger is gone, everything is back to normal, easygoing Crumb... until the doorbell rings again. This week, we are at my parents' home for a visit, and while he is fine with their cat, he is now petrified of my parents and family... all of whom he has met before. No matter how many doors we shut to try to keep him out in the open, he finds a new place to hide.
Is there anything we can do other than keep exposing him? Has anyone successfully turned a cat around from this? Nothing traumatic happened to him, no one has ever mistreated him (he was found in a parking lot as a baby and handraised in a nokill shelter). The only thing we can think of is a noisy Jack Russell that lives downstairs that spooks him when she passes by in the hallway, but the two have only ever come face to face once, and the dog just sniffed him and ran away. :/
Any help or thoughts you may have would be greatly appreciated!
