Rescued Cat is super close/affectionate to me but TERRIFIED of visitors to my home - help!

[the_food_lady]

Hello,

In Sept 2012 I rescued a sickly/injured 10 wk old Maine Coon kitten.  A lady in town had found her, she'd been hanging around their house, was obviously very friendly with her.   Poor kitten had eye infection, bad diarrhea, dehydrated, thin, and previously tail injury where the the latter half of it was either accidentally or intentionally cut off and the end was badly infected.   This lady didn't want a cat and was rather useless (didn't even know to feed her) so I took the poor kitten to my Vet, never intending to keep her as I already had 5 indoor cats....but of course that changed LOL.    $2000, tail and spay surgery, meds and treatments for her other issues and she was mine :-)

The first night I had her with me, I kept her isolated in my ensuite bathroom.   At one point in the night I felt so badly for this poor sweet little girl being all alone in the bathroom so I let her cuddle on the bed with me.  She immediately snuggled up on my upper chest, under my chin...kneading and purring up a storm.   She never 'made strange' with me at all.......it's like she trusted me immediately.

She's been the MOST affectionate cat ever.   She's almost a year old now and she still snuggles up under my chin, gives me nose rubs, kneads on my chest, will sleep on my chest.   She's a darling and my other cats love her and she loves them.  

BUT......if ANYONE comes to my house, she is gone...........hiding somewhere and will NOT come out until they leave my house.   I've tried to bring her into the same room when company is over (not a house full of loud people, just my Mom or my sister) and have her sit beside them and they pet her, with me petting her too......to show her that it's safe......and she seems to warm up a bit but the minute I let go of her she's GONE.

She was so friendly to me the day I rescued her, I never dreamed she would be a cat who was skittish of humans.  She was obviously friendly to the lady whose yard she was hanging around in, and she didn't run when I was in the yard checking her out.  

Is she just so friendly with me because she knows I helped her?

How can I get her used to other people?   It's a shame because she's so cute and funny but nobody gets to see that...plus if someday I need to hire a cat sitter if I have to go away for a bit, she'll be mortified.

Her name is Hootie, by the way :-)  You'll see her below.  She's a polydactyl, too.   If she can't snuggle with me she will immediately go flop across one of my other cats to get some love from them.  She's so sweet! :-)

Thanks

hobee and hootie.jpg

• the_food_lady
• Jun 16, 2013

 

[tulosai]

First, as regards the pet sitter, in my youth I pet sit for many a cat who wouldn't even come out to see me.  I used to feel bad about it because I'd have loved to play with the kitties/give them some attention, but when I came back every day they had eaten and drank their water, and when the owners came back they were just fine, so I don't think it would hurt your kitty to have a sitter- she'd probably just ignore him or her  then eat her food when they were gone.

Second, I'd stop forcing her to come out when you have company.  That's usually not the way to approach it and may have made her more anxious.  Most people, I think, never force their kitties to come out when company is over unless they choose to.  If you really want her to get used to humans, I'd recommend closing doors that can be closed so she has to be in the general vicinity and then letting her hide if she wants and come out at her leisure, maybe trying to lure her with some favorite toys or treats, but not forcing her.

Can I ask if there is a particular reason that it is important to you that she be sociable with other humans? Some cats just aren't, or take a good long time.

 

[the_food_lady]

I'm just perplexed about this fear of hers.   I've had cats for 25 years; cats from all walks of life/backgrounds, some I rescued that I suspect had maybe even been abused....and she's the first I've ever had that started out seeming so so friendly and sociable (with the lady who found her originally, when I first met her, with all of the Vet staff when I adopted her and was getting her various health issues dealt with), but now seems to have gone the other way.

She is super super super affectionate and friendly with me, the most any cat has ever been.....wants to snuggle and cuddle with me, loves to be petted, gets along so well with my other 5 cats (she grooms them and they groom her and shes always curled up sleeping with them, playing with them).....but just so afraid of other people.  

All of the other cats I've had in the past, including my current other 5 cats....they all love it when people come over.....they're very friendly with company, want to sit on their laps and be petted and have chins scratched......and they're not nearly as affectionate with me as she is.....yet she is terrified of other people.  I just don't understand it.   I feel bad having company because when she hides I know she must be very stressed when she's hiding and I feel bad causing her that much stress.

I'm just trying to understand it.   Based on her super affectionate, curious, cuddly personality with me and the other cats (she took to them and them to her within 2 days of being introduced), I just never would have guessed that she'd be so mortified of other humans.   That's all.
 

 

[catspaw66]

My oldest cat, Silly, is friendly to the vet and all my other cats, but when anybody comes over, even the pet sitter, she heads under the bed. I would like her to be sociable with some people, but if she doesn't want to be, I let her choose.