Case Studies
Some owners may be apprehensive leaving their beloved cat with a stranger and this is totally understandable, especially if your cat has a nervous disposition or is aggressive towards strangers. Below I share some real life situations of my more challenging cat customers so you can see how I handled different situations.
Case Study 1: Louie
Louie is a 10 month old indoor ginger kitten who was being left for the first time. He was adopted during Covid and so had very little contact with anyone other than his two owners.
At the Meet and Greet he showed himself very fleetingly before running and hiding under the kitchen cabinet. His owners told me that he will generally hide when anyone new comes to visit and won’t come out until they are gone.
During the first few days of the 12 day sit Louie was nowhere to be found. His owners were desperate for updates but I had to report that I had not seen him and despite searching the flat I had not been able to find him. His food was disappearing each day so I knew he was somewhere!
On the fourth day I heard rustling behind me as I was preparing his food and I turned to see him peering around the kitchen door. He retreated as soon as I turned around but as I ignored him he slowly crept back in and proceeded to eat in front of me. I had to be very still as any movement made him start to leave.
As the days progressed and with slow movements from me to be closer and closer to him he gradually became more confident and before long he was playing and snuggling up with me on the sofa. He came running to the door when I arrived and we would spend a lovely time together for the rest of the sit.
Often cats who are timid due to lack of exposure to new people just need time, patience and space to come out of their shells.
Boo is a shy 1 year old female cat who lives with her outgoing and boisterous brother, Remy.
At the Meet and Greet her owner told me that she is extremely timid and does not like coming near to new people, even once she has become used to them being around.
During the first few days of the sit she would run upstairs and hide behind the curtains on the windowsill and I would sit near the windowsill with my back to her and put her favourite treats up there for her to eat.
Even though she was very shy I realised that she loved to play but often would be overshadowed by Remy. I shut Remy out of the room and began to play with her. She soon forgot about her shyness and became engrossed in the wand toy I had brought for her to play with.
After several days she was comfortable coming downstairs and playing together with Remy, holding her own against him and even becoming more dominant than him when the toys were out.
I was never able to stroke her, she would still shy away from any touch, but at least she had fun playing and wasn’t frozen behind the curtain every time I came to visit.
For shy cats who like to play, toys can help to redirect their nervous energy and feel more confident, and this was definitely the case with Boo.
Case Study 2: Boo
Muezza is an extremely shy female cat who I never saw during both the Meet and Greet and when I went to pick up the keys. Her owners told me that their previous cat sitters had never seen her during their visits.
They were only away for 3 days so I didn’t have long to build a relationship with her. On the first day she was hiding and I couldn’t find her anywhere in the house. On the second day I found her behind a curtain. She ran out when I moved the curtain and crouched in a corner of the room. I got down on the floor near her and held out my hand for her to sniff. She was very apprehensive but as I took time to lie next to her she gained confidence and continued to sniff me. After a short while she rubbed her cheek against me and from there she got less and less shy. I had to repeat the same process on my third visit with her.
With a nervous cat it’s important to go down to their level and make yourself seem as small as possible, and therefore as little of a threat as possible. Muezza definitely relaxed once I was lying on the floor next to her rather than towering over her.
