At the end of the summer we adopted two cats who had moved into our garden. A neighbour had been caring for them but they were scared of their dog and so didn't eat. One was particularly malnourished.
Fast forward 4 months. They are both neutered/spayed now, defleaed, dewormed, clean bill of health. Dgirl cat is now on gluten free diet and has prebiotic supplements. She has gained lots of weight (now normal weight) and loves everyone who comes to the house. She reacted very badly though to FIL's walking stick which makes me wonder if she had been previously beaten. (We know that there was domestic violence in her original home).
DBoycat is more scared, he always has been, particularly scared of men. He is affectionate with our immediate family (including dh and ds) and a few of the dc's friends. They are all primary age and are all told not to approach him, let him come to them if he wants to. He hid most of the time when FIL was here though he could just have been copying me! and he chose to be outside most of the day. He always seems to be looking for an escape route. If I stand in a doorway he won't go through it (D girl cat will be twisted around my ankles trying to trip me up). If he sees me carrying washing then he will turn and run away, he seems scared. If we are sitting on the sofa though then he will jump up and want to snuggle up for a stroke and cuddle.
I am happy to work around his little quirks, and although the past week has involved quite a few guests we don't usually have loads of different people in and out of the house. During term time I work from home so it is just me and them, he usually curls up next to me or will try to climb all over the computer to get my attention. Dgirl cat has enough affection to satisfy even the most adoring children. I guess I just wonder whether there is anything else that we should be doing to make dboy cat more comfortable around other people.
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The litter tray
Scaredy cat
3bunnies · 29/12/2014 07:46
You sound like a wonderfully caring owner. 
My own old boy was a dreadful scaredy cat when he came to live with me at the age of 14. I've just lived with that and he's improved over the years a bit - he'll now come down to the middle stair landing and watch any strangers in the house which he would never do before.
I don't think there's a lot you can do apart from provide him with a clear routine. The only possibility is - has he got an inside tray? (Just in case he feels anxious about doing his duty outside.) It might help him to feel more secure.
I'm fascinated by the gluten intolerance with your girl. How did you click that one?
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