My cat only likes me!

I have two cats. One of them seems to have no problem with being afraid when people come over. She sniffs everyone and rubs her face all over their feet. She has been known to swat at them and try to bite also, but that's a whole other story.

My other cat is a different story. He is very affectionate and constantly demands my attention when it is just the two of us. If anyone comes over though, he is very skittish and will immediately run under my bed and hide. He will generally not come out of hiding until about an hour after the person has left, and then he will slink to the ground and move very cautiously. It usually takes an hour or two to return to his old self and start climbing all over me again. I live alone--just the cats and me, and rarely have people over. I can be kind of a loner and like my peace and quiet. My relationship with him is great, but I would like to have family over without my cat being traumatized every time. Any ideas?

Could you have family members come and feed him sometimes when you're not home? Jamie was like that with just about anybody but my husband and me. Once my in-laws started coming to look after him when we were away, he decided that they were acceptable, too. If we had guests staying at the house, I'd have them feed him, and he'd be less skittish after a few days. I don't think he saw them putting his bowls down, but he could get their scent.

The extremely shy (feral) shelter cats gradually lose some of their fear of new volunteers once the latter start feeding them regularly.