Are your cats afraid of strangers..the reason I ask is well, my older cats R & F are more social and love people who come over here..even if they have never seen them before..I know Ash is still young, but my x has been over here before here and a little friend of Sam's came over but he didn't want to have anything to do with them....Ash is very outgoing and playful at home all the time, but until some stranger (to him) walks in the door, he is not....he doesn't hide, he will go and sit at the kitchen table and glare at the person who is there....it's like he has to keep and eye on him to make sure he or she isn't going to do anything or something....are any of your kittes like this? I am just not use to it yet...R & F have always been such people cats..Rocky more than Fluffy though....
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Stranger shy
- Thread starter rock&fluff'smom
- Start Date
I think it's just a matter of personality and just depends on the cat. My oldest, Katie, has always been shy and immediately heads under the bed when company comes, even if it's someone she knows. Gracie doesn't usually hide but she's very wary of people she doesn't know and takes a while to warm up to people. Peter, the youngest, hides initially but his curiousity get the better of him and he warms up to anyone who plays with him. Willy was my friendliest cat. He loved everyone he met right away and liked to go visiting the neighbors in my old apartment building.
I agree that it depends on the cat's personality.
Grizzly was around so many people when she was younger because of her litters-she likes the attention. Bakker at 9 months is also an attention fiend.
Ox is a senior now and it depends on who it is he's not the type of cat to run up to strangers to begin with. Bobber will hide except she is used to my sister and my parents. Others my see her but won't be able to pet her.
Grizzly was around so many people when she was younger because of her litters-she likes the attention. Bakker at 9 months is also an attention fiend.
Ox is a senior now and it depends on who it is he's not the type of cat to run up to strangers to begin with. Bobber will hide except she is used to my sister and my parents. Others my see her but won't be able to pet her.
Rosie is very shy and runs up to her room when someone comes into the house
She sometimes comes out after 15-20 minutes for a nose at who's in, but if she recognises the voice she comes straight downstairs.
Now Sophie on the other hand is the complete opposite, she'll go to anyone!
Now Sophie on the other hand is the complete opposite, she'll go to anyone!
Aerowyn is not afraid of strangers. She will look at them for a minute, but will not run away, and then will go up for pettings. Elliot however, is afraid of strangers! He will run a safe distance from anyone and look at them. If you are a woman he might let you approach him, otherwise he will approach you. He will not attack women though. If you are a man, he is a bi tmore wary, and probably wont let you approach him. If a man or woman wearing a hat comes in our house, I made sure to tell them not to touch him, because he will hiss and hit and bite. Yes... ELLIOT IS AFRAID OF HATS!!! Mostly because my mom's boyfriend is the only male he has contact with. My mom's boyfriend wears hats. My mom's boyfriend does not like cats!!! The only reason aerowyn ahsnt followed elliot's example is because for some reason he likes aerowyn a bit. My mom's boyfriend expecially does not like big orange males for some reason. Yeah. My uncle and grandma were over for mothers day, he sniffed my grandma, but when I tried to see if my uncle could pet him, elliot hissed and swatted him, because he was wearing a nascar hat... even though my uncle and grandma have been over alot of times. Elliot still runs from my mom's boyfriend, though he is over most every day. Sometimes he will sneak over and rub on my mom's boyfriends legs, and then run off. its cute.
Yeah. My uncle and grandma were over for mothers day, he sniffed my grandma, but when I tried to see if my uncle could pet him, elliot hissed and swatted him, because he was wearing a nascar hat... even though my uncle and grandma have been over alot of times. Elliot still runs from my mom's boyfriend, though he is over most every day. Sometimes he will sneak over and rub on my mom's boyfriends legs, and then run off. its cute.Yeah, my one is that way, Nunny. Simmy isn't, he'll rub up against anyone, lol. Nunny will check them out, but he's very uncomfortable and will leave the room and that's ok with me.
My Mom's cat, i've never even seen him. He doesn't like strangers. That's OK, too. Can't force a cat to be outgoing and friendly if they're not. It's not my personal preference, but I can respect differences in them.
It seems to be pretty common to come across a shy cat. Gandalf is my shy cat and will hide even if they're not strangers that come visit. I take him over to my parent's house on weekends and he loves playing with my Dad and getting lovings from my Mom but if they come over to the apartment he hides under the bed for a good half hour. Now strangely my cousin's boyfriend can coax him out in a matter of minutes even though he's not around that often.
Samwise on the other hand will go up to anyone and everyone that comes in the door. I really do need to get around and harness train him as I think he'd love to be out where he could see people and socialize.
Samwise on the other hand will go up to anyone and everyone that comes in the door. I really do need to get around and harness train him as I think he'd love to be out where he could see people and socialize.
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Good question,
Both of my cats are extremely stranger shy. Every time a guest comes over, they run into the bedroom, hide under the bed and won't come out until the guests leave. What's really strange is the fact that they weren't always like this. When Chichi was a kitten she was fearless and let anyone pet her or play with her. After about 2 years of age she gradually started to shy away from people and this behavior seemed to get worse and worse. First she would just initially run under the couch for about 10-15 min and then come out, then she would only hide sometimes and be OK other times and little by little she would hide away more and more. Now, not only she disappears the minute someone new comes in, she won't even come out until 30 min to an hour after they leave.
Wesley, my other cat is the same thing. He used to be very friendly with everyone! I mean seriously, I couldn't get him to leave people alone. Whenever people would come, he'd be all over them, jumping on their lap, purring, rubbing against them, etc. Then gradually over years (they are both 7 now) he became just like Chichi -- running and hiding until people leave.
We did move a few times since we had them and I think moving to a new house might have a lot to do with it. But Chichi became that way even before we moved the first time. Wesley started to shy away from people (not as much though) at our first house too. I don't know if there is anything I can do about it, and if there is, I would sure like to know what. It is sad when our friend's kid comes over to see the kitties and gets really disappointed because he can't. Both cats are fine when it's just us at home.
Both of my cats are extremely stranger shy. Every time a guest comes over, they run into the bedroom, hide under the bed and won't come out until the guests leave. What's really strange is the fact that they weren't always like this. When Chichi was a kitten she was fearless and let anyone pet her or play with her. After about 2 years of age she gradually started to shy away from people and this behavior seemed to get worse and worse. First she would just initially run under the couch for about 10-15 min and then come out, then she would only hide sometimes and be OK other times and little by little she would hide away more and more. Now, not only she disappears the minute someone new comes in, she won't even come out until 30 min to an hour after they leave.
Wesley, my other cat is the same thing. He used to be very friendly with everyone! I mean seriously, I couldn't get him to leave people alone. Whenever people would come, he'd be all over them, jumping on their lap, purring, rubbing against them, etc. Then gradually over years (they are both 7 now) he became just like Chichi -- running and hiding until people leave.
We did move a few times since we had them and I think moving to a new house might have a lot to do with it. But Chichi became that way even before we moved the first time. Wesley started to shy away from people (not as much though) at our first house too. I don't know if there is anything I can do about it, and if there is, I would sure like to know what. It is sad when our friend's kid comes over to see the kitties and gets really disappointed because he can't. Both cats are fine when it's just us at home.
This thread is 7 years old. I don't think anyone is still tracking it after this long
Just curious, I noticed you registered in 2005 and haven't posted since 2007, so I was wondering, what made you respond to this post from 2005?
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Oh, I didn't even look at the date. I just did an online search for my cats about them being shy and came back here. Maybe I should start a new thread.
I signed up with this site 7 years ago when I just got my cats. They were both 3 month old at the time and I used to post here almost every day. Then life happened and I stopped after a while.
I signed up with this site 7 years ago when I just got my cats. They were both 3 month old at the time and I used to post here almost every day. Then life happened and I stopped after a while.
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I have one cat who just loves everyone. If they sit on the couch she might just try to take a nap while lying up against them ( something she does regularly). My other cat is the opposite, when people enter he will always retreat to the bedroom. After a while, when he is confident the situation is safe, he will come back in. In the past he always used to remain alert around others, now he just relaxes. I guess that he has learned that worst case scenario is that someone tries to pet him. He wont come out from under the bed when there is small kids or babies in the house though.
EDIT: haha , just noticed that this topic was made over half a decade ago
EDIT: haha , just noticed that this topic was made over half a decade ago
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