Nervous,timid puss

[jan]

Maisie is 3 this May -she was 8 weeks old when I had her and came from a family home,a young child maybe more than one, and other cats and kittens. She did nt seem overly nervous or timid, but she got markedly so as the months wore on.She came into a three cat household (she s the 4th) and was taken to by my others no problem. She runs off if you go to pick her up, she hides if the bell rings, she hides away behind furniture if I have a visitor. In fact she wont even come out for food then til she is sure they have gone. She does come and sit on my knee occasionally, lets me stroke her but it s as if she is terified of life! She shrinks away from going outside,tho my cats are house cats occasionally Felix and Tess go out in the garden with me, she won t. She hides! (Max is totally deaf so I wont let him out now.) I hate to see her so timid,she also doesnt play much, yes she runs round at night having a game of tag with felix which is good, but she s not playful generally. Just wonder if there s any advice out there to help make her more secure? We are a quiet household really, no arguments or party s lol ,so its not us! Guess she s just a scaredy cat! Bless . Jan x:roll:

[Leesy]

It is quite strange really how all cats and kittens are so different, my 2 are half brother and sister with 3 mths between them, I am a childminder so they are used to loud noises and people coming and going picking up and dropping of children and are very sociable but when they are outside with me in the garden Maxi only has to hear a noise that he sounds different and he flies into the house like a scolded cat :roll: :roll: , and Maisy just dosen`t bat an eyelid :lol: .

[MrsH]

My Molly has never been a confident cat. She doesn't seek out human company, likes to curl up under the spare bed next to the radiator and more or less lives upstairs. Some days she never comes down at all. She backs away and runs and hides if you try to reach down and stroke her but if you approach her while she's in her basket, she will purr loudly and roll over for a tummy tickle. It's just the way she is!
She enjoys playing by herself, galloping along the landing "killing" her toys and tossing them around, but ignores our attempts to play with her. To be honest, it used to bother us a bit but she's happier if we just let her be the way she wants to be!

[dandysmom]

Some cats just seem to be congenitally timid. My Siamese boy always fled when company came, as did my tortie girl. You might take a look at SmokeyTopaz's posts about her Koko, who is a rather extreme case, although getting much better.
Have you tried using a Feliway diffuser to calm her a bit?

[jan]

Hi all, I have nt tried one of those diffusers yet, no, might look online to get one. I have tried the reiki with her or should I say have tried to try the reiki as she will sit on my lap occasionally when SHE decides she will but when I touch her she seems to get uncomfortable and takes herself off quickly! So I don t get the chance! Like you all say,they are all different but shes worse than Tess and I thought she was bad enough years ago! She never ran from us tho, just the door bell or strangers coming in. Think she needs some valium (joke) Jan x