How Scared Should My Cat Be? And Is My Cat Too Scared?

[jorgelourenco]

I wanted to ask this to more experienced cat owners or vets. I have two female cats. One I picked up as a kitten on the street and she's now about 1 year old. She is very playful, likes to interact with people - even strangers - and always follows me and my wife around. Things are ok with her. I'm not sure about the other one.

Céu is older, I picked her up as an adult already. Vet says she is around 3~4 yrs old. Whenever I was going to work, I'd stumble upon this affectionate and calm street cat by the train station. I asked around to see if she had an owner and brought her home. As everybody knows, the first days were a bit stressful, but things got ok eventually.

Céu is very gentle and calm, in general. The kind of cat you can bathe, trim nails and vaccinate without any problem, she hardly complains. She is still a bit playful, not nearly as the younger one, as has been with me for a bit more than a year. She likes to be petted sometimes, rubs herself on my feet all day long and only sleeps when I sleep. In general, she seems pretty happy and ok. Problem is: she is scared as hell.

Sometimes we are playing and a sudden movement scares her. She stops, runs away and hids on the top of our wardrobe. Loud noises on our building draw our 1 year old to the door instantly while Céu runs away in panic. Whenever we have visitors, she hides for most of the day. If they stay for many yours, then MAYBE she will show up and look around from a distance.

I mean, is that normal? Are some cats just more scared than others or am I doing something wrong? Should I do something to help her or that's just the way she is? I ask this specially because I have a friend whose cat is old and terrified of everything - including bugs - and I didn't want Céu to end like this.

 

[maggiedemi]

It sounds like she was feral. My feral cats love whoever lives in the house with us. But they are scared to death of any strangers, even the mailman. They run and hide and are afraid of loud noises too. I don't know if there is any way to change this.

 

[orange&white]

Sounds like shyness/skittiness is normal for Céu. I've had really social, outgoing "life of the party" cats, one extremely shy/skittish cat, and everything in between. They each have unique personalities, just like people do. You can tell she loves you by her actions, but other people and sounds scare her. So she's sort of a wall flower, but clearly feels comfortable with you.

For all my cats, I try to create as stress-free environment as possible, then add in good food, fresh water, clean litter, a little play time, and lots of love. There isn't much more you can do aside from enjoying the uniqueness of each cat.

 

[jorgelourenco]

Thank you for the answers you two!

Yes, Céu was born on the street, so she may be called a feral cat. Maybe that's a big influence on her behavior.

I also had this thought that cats were different from each other in terms of behavior, but I was worried if she was too scared or something. Since it's the first time I adopted an adult cat, some things are new to me. Thanks a lot!

In case you wanna see, here's the two of them a few months ago:

 

[maggiedemi]

Pretty girls. If you picked the first cat up as a kitten, then you were probably able to socialize her in time. The second cat that was already an adult, it will be a little harder.

 

[orange&white]

Awww...how very sweet. They love each other...and love you too! Your little social kitty is probably a very good influence and a comfort to Céu.

 

[IndyJones]

It is really hard to say without knowing her history.

I used to have a Chartreux named Kitty who was abused by her previous owners. This was a cat who was afraid of everything and would hide behind the sofa all day if we had company. She also had a fear of bags, boxes, shoes pretty much everything. We eventually wound up putting her on anxiety medications which did wonders. She even came out when we had our whole family over for a pool party.

There is a timeframe during a cats life where they learn social interaction and if they are abused or neglected during this period they can be scared for life.