Scared Cat

[brionon]

My Grandson's Cat hides away,never goes outside-in fact scared of everything and everyone. Any ideas for a cure-please ?

[ladybirder]

How old is he/she? Has he/she always been like that? How long have they had it?

[chanel5]

You can buy a plug-in diffuser called Feliway, which helps nervous cats. Use this in the room where the cat spends most time. It is very important that you put the needs of the cat ahead of the wishes of the humans. The cat will probably never be cured as such, but with time, patience and a lot of encouragement she may become a bit less nervous. Routine helps. If the cat can be sure of what is going to happen, and when, it helps, and may also help if the cat has her own private space where she can retreat and be sure of not being disturbed.

[wolf63]

My two are indoor cats and incredibly shy with strangers. I think that most cats are cautious by nature. Some don't like people.

As the others have said if the cat is new to the household then it takes time for them to settle in. If it has always been shy and frightened I think that if the bond with your grandson is strong enough that is a good thing.

[kvalidir]

Our cat Humphrey was terrified of everything ( we had him as an adult) and you could go weeks without ever laying eyes on him despite the fact he was somewhere in the house. Slowly over the months that changed, he started adventuring out and interacting a bit with us then went out around the grounds and ended up a really chilled out happy cat, but it was all just giving him time and his own doing, we just left him to adjust at his own ( very slow) pace without pushing it.

[corylus]

I adopted a cat like this, she hated our dogs (harmless ones) and hid in the airing cupboard for months, only coming out at night and to eat. But was quite happy to sit on the bed at night.
Eventually she 'came out' of the cupboard and mastered the dogs by raising her claws to them until they realised who was boss, and since then has ruled the roost. We rarely see her during the days now as she's prowling about outside looking for voles and has become a very friendly cat.

I think time will take care of this problem brionon, you can't force a cat to behave!

I think time is the

[corylus]

Missed out the last bit, time is the answer!