As your local Lansdale cat sitter, I have the pleasure of meeting new kitties all the time! I am the owner of a very shy cat, named “Emmy”.  She is a beautiful Tortie, who I adopted from a Cat Rescue about 9 months ago.  When I first brought her home, she would run and hide at any sound or movement on my part. I did some research on how to help shy kitties and I tried several different kinds of calming sprays or treats. Unfortunately, they didn’t provide any significant change in Emmy.

So I started interesting her in play. Play helps even the most shy kitties come out of their shell.  Multiple times each day I would use various wand toys to draw her out. It quickly became apparent that Emmy preferred two of the wand toys and would chase them until my arm got too tired to keep moving them.  One was a wand toy with a little furry mouse on it and the other one is a feather wand.  As we continued playing, each day she became more sociable.

By accident, I discovered a toy that she will bat and chase all over the house.  This special toy is a bottle cap from a soda bottle which I dropped on the floor.  Emmy will actually bring it to me to throw for her to chase.

Emmy is now much more loving and social, which has made both of us happier. Emmy sleeps beside me at night and curls up on my lap when I’m on the couch. Emmy even comes to me when I call her! What a difference a little time, and a little quality playtime have made to this once shy kitty!

[Written by guest blogger and Lansdale cat sitter, Mary Ann W.]

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