Some cats are more shy than others. Quite often, those cats missed early socialization with humans and-or have not been exposed to a variety of different situations.
Those cats lack confidence and have not developed the tools to easily adapt to new situations, such as a new environment.
Le chat timide a besoin :
- De se sentir bien dans son nouvel environnement avant de pouvoir faire confiance à l’humain.
- De temps pour s’adapter et cela peut prendre des semaines, parfois des mois.
- D’un environnement calme et stable.
To ensure a successful adaptation, it is important to follow the rules, and not skip any of the steps. Otherwise, the adaptation time will be longer and more difficult for the cat.
1 - Adapting his environment
A closed and quiet room - far from the hustling of the household
Place his food and water bowls in a corner of the room and his litter box in the opposite corner
Provide attractive hiding spots such as cardboard box with woolly blanket, small cat tent, open pet carrier, etc.
Place the hiding spots in a way that you can have a look inside from a distance, ideally away from the entrance to the room to prevent scaring him and keeping a good distance wi th you
Provide the cat with elevated observation points, ideally at a height of at least 1.5 meters
2- Respect his pace
Frequent visits are in order, while maintaining a certain distance at first
Use a calm and soft voice to address him
Sitting down on the floor and respecting is height is advisable
Do not try to touch or pick up the cat
The cat will let you know when he is ready to establish contact
Use food to make your visits a positive experience
The cat is busy eating in front of you, you may want to take the opportunity to reduce the distance between the cat and you
Always play while keeping a certain distance. Using a stick, cord and feather at the end is an ideal game for the cat.
How do we know when the cat is ready to establish a contact ?
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It will come out of hiding and be curious
It will eat the goodies in front of you
It will keep a ‘high’ posture, i.e. body, head, ears, even its tail.
It will play in your presence
It is up to the cat to make the first steps towards you, and not the other way around
3- The power of goodies
Food is the best incentive we can use for training a cat
Finding his preferences is a game of trial and errors
Use goodies every time you pay your cat a visit
It is possible for your cat to not eat in your presence at first
The better the goodies, the easier the adaptation will be.
Goodies examples you may wish to try:
- Cheese
You can find ‘Creamy cat it’ (cats love it !) in an pet store
Tuna
Sardine
Canned cat food.
‘Temptation’ or other types of goodies for cats
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Dried fish
Always use small quantities at first, because chances are you will be giving out some more often.