If there is one thing I adore about the Pet Meadow crew, is that each is so unique. We had a guest stay at the house last week, and that always gives me a chance to watch the animals through another’s eyes.
Dexter and Cosmo have always been fine with strangers. Dexter on a rare occasion gets spooked, but in general, he loves attention far too much to hold out for longer then a few minutes.
Bayou, well, every person in the world is a friend in Bayou’s mind. If the UPS man hovers in the door long enough he is liable to have a 14lb bengal rolling around at his feet meowing at him to rub his belly. I feel a bit betrayed that he throws himself at others that way…….grumble……
Asia ‘appears’ to be the least social of the four, but really, she just considers strangers differently. Asia likes to be petted and hugged and loved on, BUT, only when it is not ‘business’ time. If it is play time, explore time, hunting time, then it is NOT petting time. Guests think that she is shy when she ducks to their attempts to pet her, but really, its just that she is BUSY.
When she arrived last summer, the first couple visitors to the house were a new event she was cautious of. I promptly stuck a feather wand into their hands, and she forgot everything and went to playing. After a few of rounds, she now assumes that visitors are here to entertain her. She has no use for pets, mom takes care of that…..she would prefer you use that empty hand to toss her favorite toy or make the feather wand ‘move’. Period.
When our guest arrived last week, we found out he actually threw away her most favorite fetching toy in the first few minutes! Egad! I promptly dug it out of the trash, handed it to the guest, and amends were made. She even plopped down on his lap the next day, so apparently she forgave him.
Asia still fetches like a fiend by the way. She has her favorite couple of toys, specifically the orange piece of weed eater plastic. Here was a quick session this morning….I still love that tail.
Link to video clip
If you ever have a cat that is wary of strangers, I HIGHLY recommend finding the most positive motivation you can and have the guest administer it. Food is great for this, or a favorite toy if that is what motivates the cat the most. Make sure the guests avoid eye contact, and if you have a really wary feline, they should just ignore them as much as possible. If the guest is there for a few days, you could even have them put down food at meal times. If you do not have guests very often, have a neighbor stop by with treats for just a minute or two. If they have pets you could return the favor 
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Asia is just too adorable! She’s so entertaining! She fetches better than a lot of dogs I’ve met. LOL!
I seldom have guests and usually Annie and Derry initially will hide, but Nicki will be front and centre to see what’s going on. When I have family visiting it’s usually for a week or two at a time, and the cats settle in and adjust to the change in routine without problem.
That’s a great tip to break the ice with strangers!!
We’re a little shy with strangers…we’ll have our mom try that tip!!
Hello!
With 12 of us at the Lounge, about half are greeters and half are hiders…and a few of us try to get in guest’s purses and bags to go visiting! So long as no car rides are involved, that is…LOL!
xx lounge Kats