My cat gets Scared for no reason

She constantally wants to be in our laps, she purrs an kneeds my boyfriend and I. But when my boyfriend is up and walking around she runs away afraid of him. she is completely terrified of him unless he is sitting and she is in his lap. she isn't like that with me and we cant understand why she acts like this. does anyone know what we can do?

Some cats are gender-preferrential. By which I mean, your cat may dislike males. She may be okay with kneading because it's a comforting thing, and if he is sitting she feels less overpowered by him. Does she tend to sit in your lap first, like he's a second or last resort?

Does she come from a shelter? She may have an abusive background.

There are things that he can do to win her trust but it might mean that she comes to prefer him to you!

Get him to take charge of feeding her and giving her treats. Smelly food such as tuna (in spring water if possible, not brine) will work well for this as most cats cant resist tuna.

Get him to bend down to her level and talk to her softly.

When she begins to trust him a little, he can start playing with her. A fishing pole type toy would be best as its far away from his body.

Eventually she will come to assosiate him with good things and trust him.

Question - do you walk around in bare feet (like I do) and your boyfriend in big clunky shoes (like my husband)? The shoes always scare my cats, but feet don't, so consider the possibility if the cats are scared off.

Originally Posted by catnipwhiskers

Does she tend to sit in your lap first, like he's a second or last resort?

Does she come from a shelter? She may have an abusive background.

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Well, she prefers his lap when we all are sitting together and even when he is sitting accross the room from me. We got her from a private home it didnt seem to be a bad home.

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

Get him to take charge of feeding her and giving her treats. Smelly food such as tuna (in spring water if possible, not brine) will work well for this as most cats cant resist tuna.

Get him to bend down to her level and talk to her softly.

When she begins to trust him a little, he can start playing with her. A fishing pole type toy would be best as its far away from his body.

Click to expand...

We have been doing these things since we got her. I work a lot so he has more time to snuggle with her feed her and play with her and she does prefer him when we are sitting but is terrified of him if he is standing or walking. but she is constantly under foot with me if Im up and moving around.

Originally Posted by Larke

Question - do you walk around in bare feet (like I do) and your boyfriend in big clunky shoes (like my husband)? The shoes always scare my cats, but feet don't, so consider the possibility if the cats are scared off.

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we both walk around barefoot. My boyfriend is large but I could run at her stomping and it doesnt phase her. he goes out of his way to be gentle and quiet to see if it helps and it doesnt.