DO YOU HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN YOUR HEART FOR TIMID, SHY OR SCARED KITTY?
Most people are drawn to the cats who obviously say “take me” or a young bouncy kitty who springs up to wave an appealing paw.
But what about the sad, timid and scared ones? The ones that hide underneath things or crouch in the corner watching your every move with those big, big eyes? Ones that hiss when a complete stranger goes to pet them on the top of their head without a proper introduction? Or pick them up and squeeze them?
These cats need love too and quite often behind those big eyes and worried whiskers is a heart of gold! All they require is time, patience and understanding so that they can blossom into happy, secure felines who can rule their own roost!
If you know cats then you know that most are very routine oriented and don’t care much for sudden changes - just like a lot of people, especially older adults. Can you imagine being taken out of your home, put in a car and taken to a Petco or Petsmart to be on display with bright lights, loud noises and strange people staring at you? For the majority of our rescues it’s downright frightening.
We often ask people to visit our facility/adoption center to meet our adoptable cats. At least they have the security of their space. But often they will hide if a new person visits. Most only know the volunteers that feed and care for them. They had to adjust to our facility when rescued and then they’re expected to adjust again when taken to PETCO or when meeting a brand new person. Change is scary and cats, like people, tend to be more “routine oriented.”
Shy cats are, sadly, much harder to adopt then their gregarious comrades. Some will wait several years before finding their forever homes. While we love these cats like any others we feel badly that they don’t receive much attention.