Shy Kitty!

Hi everyone.

Out kitty Tiger, who is one years old, is very shy and hides when anyone other than us is in the house. How can we break her of this? Any ideas out there? We found her outside this past November and we assume she was abandoned. She was only about 8 months old and so scared and cold and hungry. Now she is spoiled and she loves us apparently but when someone comes over, she runs for cover.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

If she's still doing this after this long, I think you have to assume that's just her personality. Therefore, since that's just the way she is, there's no "cure". My guess is that the longer she lives with you, the less shy she'll be, though, especially if she has some positive experiences with strangers.

It depends on what you are doing now to get her "over this" If you are fetching her out from under the bed, or asking her to sit on your lap or accept pats, she will just keep hiding. Ignoring her is the best way for her to relax- see to her needs, but don't expect her to do anything other than be in your home, and she will come out of her shell (usually). Sometimes terrible things happen to stray kitties and they just can't quite trust anyone for a very long time.