Cats have always been territorial animals. They always see their home as a sanctuary which no one else can trespass. So if ever you bring guests over to your place, your cat may start hiding or start being hostile at whoever it thinks as a threat. If you are a cat owner, you might see your cat being friendly with strangers at one time and being aggressive with the same person at another time. You might wonder how this happened. This is because the cat might have seen various changes in the person’s overall dynamics that you don’t usually notice.
Before you know how to deal with your shy or aggressive cat, ask yourself some questions before you do anything. These are only some possible variables that may have caused your cat to act abnormally:
- Did your guest do anything irrational that might scare the cat even more?
- Did your guest try to pet the cat and gave it a little static shock?
- Is your guest wearing anything that would make the cat more hostile than usual?
- Did this person own a dog? If so, did the cat sense that the person has the smell of a dog, therefore kept avoiding your guest?
After you ask these questions, its time to do the steps that will help your cat to be more gentle and relaxed whenever you have guests around:
- Try to hide your cat as your guest arrives at your place. Get your cat inside a room, then close the door. Cats get more agitated whenever they see people walking or standing. Once your guest is sitting comfortably somewhere, open your door. Wait for your cat to come out. Do not, in any way, force your cat out of the room.
- Once you open the room with the cat in it, you might notice that the cat won’t come out for quite a time. But since cats have a very high sense of curiosity, it will naturally come out of the room.
- Toss kitty treats near your guest. This way, your cat will eventually go near your guest and wonder “Who gives this yummy treats around?”. Give your guest some treats to offer to your cat. Now try to make your guest hold a string and let him/her try to play with your kitty.
- Cats love to play. And they get close to people who play with them often. Try also giving your guest some catnip. Let your guest give the catnip to your cat to let your lovable pet get a relaxed feeling.
- Now try some things such as letting the guest feed your cat. This will associate your kitty more to your guest and eventually have your pet trust the person fully.
Now that you know how to get your cat to like your guests, you can show your lovable cat to your close friends. Try doing these every once in a while though, or your cat might rely on this just to remember the guest.