Cat behavior question! Raised normal, afraid of everything?
My cat is about 8 months old. Her mother was a barn cat we rescued when she was pregnant, the kittens were born in our home and we have kept the mother and 3 kittens. Our home has two adults, and two teenagers, and two dogs. The kittens have not known anything different, and two of the kittens and the mother are normal cats. But one of the kittens is afraid of everyone and everything except me and the other cats! She's never gone through anything traumatic, she spayed and healthy... But she won't let anyone near her except me, and she jumps and runs at everything. Why on earth is she like that?
?2015-04-17T11:36:35Z
Sounds like a bonding issue, she didn't get exposed and socialized enough when she was younger, sometimes some animals need extra time above and beyond what their litter mates get wet. The kitten may have just been genetically built more shy than the others, not being caught when she was young she grew into a shy cat afraid of new things.
Working with her, letting her explore things on her own and encouraging her into he family room with people around her should help her come out of her shell more. She may be forever bonded to you the best but eventually will accept the rest of your family as non threatening, even the other animals. It just takes time and encouragement.
Kind of like trying to explain why we some children shy and others are outgoing, especially from the same family.
Every cat has their own personality, some are innately bold while others are more timid. Try to avoid any thing around her that may startle her like loud noises and sudden movements, in time she may settle in and become more secure but she will probably always be a little shy. There's nothing wrong with her, that's just how she is.
Some cats are naturally timid by things. My cat tends to duck her head almost cowardly like when anyone tries to pet her at first, and I have never and would never do anything to traumatize her. Its weird. Some cats since birth may develop little trust in humans and will only attach to one person they feel safe around. Even some humans are easily timid to occurences that happen around them everyday, even when they grew up in a happy home and was never traumatized. They are just naturally that way.