THE Key to Helping Your Shy or Scared Cat 

We adopted an abused cat - it took about 2 years for him to finally realise that we were not terrifying monsters, but that he was safe and could relax. He still jumps at loud noises, but he's blossomed into the most loving, darling little buddy ever. Patience and care and undoing all that damage really pays off! Also - your shirt! OMG! I need that.

Shy cats are the most loving cats when you gain their trust, I got one myself.

My cat is definitely a wallflower, or at least she was when I adopted her. Like he said it wasn't an advantage. The shelter waived the adoption fee because she was so painfully shy that she was being overlooked and considered low likelihood of being adopted, also she was 4 years old which is past the prime for some reason. I was in the store weekly for work as a brand ambassador and spent time looking at the cats who were available and reading their biographies (after work). This tiny cat spent all of her time sitting in the litter tray hiding from view. Every now and then she would peek over the edge with giant green eyes and promptly disappear again. I eventually figured out that the rest of her was tuxedo print and that her previous owner had left the country for foreign exchange study and the boyfriend she left behind dropped the cat off at the pound. I had a feeling that if someone just gave her a chance and was patient that she would come out of her proverbial shell. She warmed up to having a living space that only had 2 people occupying it very quickly. That was 10 years ago last September and she is still with me today. And at the ripe age of 14 she is more splendid than ever. She is still timid on first meeting people but is monumentally more willing to venture out of her safe place and explore or say hi to someone new than she was when I got her.

this guy is cat god, he is protected in the afterlife.

Jackson, shy & scared cat is my biggest problem. It would awesome if you could do even more videos on this topic. Cheers mate!

"they can't control their nerves when they go out." my cat and i have more in common than i thought

My brothers drive me crazy - mind you, we're all adults (20+), but it's like everytime they walk into the room and see one of the cats they think they need to go over and touch it! It's like I'm trying to tell a child that it's not a toy. Just let the cat chill! They're running away because they're being bothered, they're growling and nipping because their desire to be left alone isn't being respected. I've never used squirt gun diplomacy on cats, but I'm very tempted to do it to my brothers.

One of my cats is afraid of all my guests at first, but once they fall asleep in the guest room she smacks their feet and jumps on them in their sleep. That's how she introduces herself.

I miss my wallflower cat! After we got him, it took about 6 weeks until he let us touch him. Then he turned into the best cat ever - he had the sweetest soul. Never give up on the shy ones!

My kitty Sevyn was so shy while at the shelter. I got him when he was 5 months 🫶🏾 The shelter said he was shy and they raved about him sitting on one of their laps like ONCE but now??? Oh he is roaming around a house with a dog and three other people and greets new people willingly. Sometimes it really is about just nurturing them 🥰❤️ he’s 1 year and 3 months now ! 😄😄

What about a cat that is only a wallflower when you have guests over? Like, she's perfectly confident when it's just me and my live-in boyfriend, but when there are others, she hides.

I just adopted a cat off death row. I was definitely a butler service for him. Everything was under my bed. I was once a wallflower human, I have PTSD and I still have my moments. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that I was enabling my cats fear by never asking for him to come out of his comfort zone. Thank you Jackson.

My cat wants me to chase him across the apartment, from the bedroom through the hall to the kitchen and back, about ten times every day. Then he places himself on the sofa and looks very pleased. He didn't do this before the lockdown. We once had a cat whom other kids wanted to put on a plank and send down the river. Daughter saved him and brought him home. It took five years for him to let us come to him from behind and caress his neck and head without suddenly turning and biting the hand. Five years. He was the brightest cat I have ever seen, used "cat sentences", melodious structures of various length to talk to us. He lived to be 16.

3:56 overcoming wallflowerism with environmental enrichment 4:02 block the unders 5:04 cocoons 5:16 caving

I did exactly this to my new rescue. She was a feral living in a cat population. First she wanted to be under the bed and i ended up removing the legs from my bed. Then she was under the couch so i used tape to block the under of the couch. I placed beds and little cottages in different levels on the bookshelf. First she was so scared she had to see me and she would stare at me eyes wide. But now, after 3 months of getting used to everything, she sits up on her scratching post and looks around like a queen ruling her underlings. She still gets worried and wants to hide a lot, but I see the confident cat appear more frequently. And she has let me even pet her a few times! We're getting there.

I never realized I was enabling my cat’s hiding and anxiousness :( I put a bed and litterbox in the closet for her and even fed her there because she seemed SO much more comfortable in the closet. I thought it was cruel to force her out in the open if she was so scared of it, you know? She comes out into the main area sometimes but mostly stays against walls/on the fridge. I realize now I’ve been making it worse over the last couple years. Now that I know, I’m going to take steps to help her get her mojo :) she will probably be a bit unhappy with me for a little while but hopefully the cocoon thing mentioned will help her have a “safe” spot that’s more out in the house. Last year I eliminated “unders” because she was SO bad about hiding under things and I worried about a fire. Didn’t occur to me that the very back of the closet behind things... is just as dangerous :( I want her to have a long, happy, confident life

My cat comes out but she’s scared of EVERYTHING. Everything makes her run, if we move too fast, if we cook and the put the cookware down too loud, definitely if we have guests.

I had to very slowly block the unders and realized my shy fearful calico cat was okay when I was laying down or sitting-she was scared of people standing at their full height. Very slowly I had her acclimate to the rest of the house (even with another not shy dominant cat!). Now she is the sweetest bravest cat ever! Everyone loves her personality and she even goes outside for walks! Definitely worth it-please take the time to do this for your shy wallflower kitty. 😻

The emergency situation: My partner and I had our first one when we were living in an apartment building and we've taken it very seriously ever since. We have 2 cats, and storage was tight so we had a cat carriers deconstructed in the top corner of the wardrobe. One day when I was not home, the building alarm went off. The cats scattered and my partner, on his own, had to scurry to put the carriers together, find the cats and get out (top floor btw). He couldn't find one of the cats. He was the last one out of the building, and he was beside himself at the thought that he left our cat in the apartment to possibly die. We've taken it very seriously to have emergency plans and prep ever since. It's easy to not think about, that it'll never happen. But that one time is all it takes.

I wish I saw this video a few months ago! - We adopted a 'wallflower cat' back in January and she hid under the bed, until we finally blocked off her hiding spots since we've been home in quarantine since March. We weren't sure if it was the right thing to do! Beside our couch, we laid down a comfy 'clamshell' and cat house, complete with a scratching post (which she loves). We've really noticed in the last few weeks that at night while we're watching tv, she'll finally come out and eat her food in front of us, then use her litter (which is a bit more off to the side). She never did this before and always waited until we went to bed and were out of sight. During the day, she sleeps out on an entry bench while we work from home on our computers (we're in a condo, so it's a smaller space) and every day, she stays there a bit longer. As long as we continue to respect her, give her space, talk softly and friendly to her and throw her treats every so often, she seems to slowly trust us more. Thank you for this video! Anymore advice is always welcome, these cats always need our love and trust :)

One thing that we did is we started moving his food bowls. The mojito cat in the house wasn't very pleased but the wallflower saw it as a game and got to explore his surroundings much more. Though he's still skittish he definitely has gained more courage to come out.

A request for Jackson's fans: if you leave a comment, it helps him with the RU-vid algorithm that gives him a higher placement in the stream. Let's face the truth. We love the Jackson Galaxy channel, and so do our fur children! 😸😸😻😻

I just adopted a young cat that hid for 3 days and didn’t eat or drink. I followed your advice and has worked beautifully. Today is day 6 and he has emerged for boops and snuggles….happy days ahead

I have a wallflower rescue cat who I’ve had about 2 weeks now. His name is Blaze and he’s a flame point Siamese. He’s about 5-6 months old. I adopted him FROM a rescue that picked him up off the street. The rescue thought he was feral because he’s so insecure. He was on his way to be a barn cat but he is so beautiful I couldn’t stand the thought of it, and since I’ve worked with cats all my life, I decided to add him to my little cat family. With him, I now have 3 indoor cats… and I just figured out his biggest issue… he’s deaf! Poor little guy! He would never have survived very long on his own outdoors. He’s beginning to gain a bit of confidence now and is venturing out of his hidey hole more and more. I’ve never had a deaf cat before so this will be a learning experience for both of us. We have plenty of time to get it all figured out together.

I have a cat that growls if she hears strangers she can't see talking (and then she runs and hides). She doesn't do this with videos but weirdly she started doing it when I was listening to a conference call on speaker. I'm impressed she's able to differentiate to that degree

Sending love and light to everyone seeing this right now 😘 may your cup run it over with nothing but blessings today and always

“I hate people....” Yeah, me too-Oh wait, we’re talking about cats?

Jackson. Your advice over the years has helped my wall flower cat. Now. She is a mojito cat. She was so afraid of guests in the house! I’ve noticed now she will hide but she hides in the room. I got her lots of tunnel things. She loves those. She will hang there now in the middle of the room where as before she would hide under the futon now she comes out when it gets quiet like after we eat and family settles in. I was so proud of her. My stepsister had her baby’s last time and she was soooo sweet to them. This advise really helped!

I watched Jackson Galaxy on marathon mode before I got my kitten. She's like ten months now and she's all MOJO baby! Thank you JG!

Definitely struggling with my cat... rehomed her from a rescue 3 years ago and she is still scared of anyone who comes into the home, scared of me when I even just get up out of bed, or walk around the flat, or do anything unexpected like cough or sneeze, goes through major setbacks emotionally any time I am away for any length of time. I personally feel like I wasn't given her full history before rehoming or the shelter didn't know, but she almost presents as a cat who has suffered trauma or maltreatment. We've only recently had a breakthrough with her actually chasing a toy that I am moving around, previously she would not play with me at all! It's really tough when you just want to be a good cat parent but you keep unintentionally causing your cat fear every single day :(

One of our cats is usually fine just sitting out like the rest, but if he hears a noise (cough, sneeze, door, plastic bags, doesn't have to be loud) he will disappear in a flash. Very easily startled, even by quick movements. I don't know why he is like that. I've had him since very young and he is 10 now. He is even distrustful of treats at first. I can't think of anything traumatic that he has gone through that might explain it, and all of our other 3 cats are not like this. If you have any advice Jackson, I'd welcome it. Thank you for making us all better cat butlers. Light and Love, brother.

This was a super helpful video. I've had 9 cats in my life, always adopted and usually from abusive households. Within a year, every one of them has come around to liking me and interacting with me and other people. Except for one. We've had her for 5 years and she won't ever come out from the closet / bed. Vets recommended prozac but that hasn't done anything. This gives me a different way of thinking of things to try to help her be comfortable while still giving her space. Its interesting though--she was probably the only one not from an abusive or neglectful household. She wound up being born in a shelter though, so maybe thats why. She loves other cats but even after 5 years of caring for her, she'll still hiss and hide when I come into the room. Same with anyone else. I have 3 other cats right now and she gets along super well with all of them. Not sure why she's still so timid around the family after all this time though. One of the other three I currently have was rescued from a hoarding house that had over 50 cats. The other too were ferals I rescued. They're all way more socialized than her with humans. At this point, I'm at my wits end. If anyone has any advice, I'd gratefully take it.

Jackson, when I opened this video I laughed so hard at your t- shirt that I spilled my coffee. Thank you for your wisdom. I have applied it often!

I know this video is older, however, I recently adopted a 5-7 yr old cat and she is so loving but super skittish and always on guard. I tried the “cocoon method” and WOW! I can not thank you enough. Day 0 she got stuck trying to hide under an end table. Saw your video, got a sac, we are currently on day 5. She is a whole new cat. She is still spooked here and there but she went from hiding to going to her cocoon no matter where it is placed. Tonight was the first time she ventured past the main floor. She doesnt run from my kids anymore. Just overall, thank you!!! I knew she had potential and you helped me make it happen. She came from an extreme hoarding situation and because of you and your advice. She is settling in very well with her new life long family. Thank you for everything.

This sounds great! I adopted a terrified cat several years ago that turned out to have been abused. Between years of watching your show and some tips from a big cat rescue (reading to him) he is now slightly shy (mostly around strangers) but doing well. I can't wait to watch this and see what else I can do for him. He's not the one pictured with me, that's his TN(R) "brother." He failed the release.

Jackson!!! This helped me SO MUCH! I just adopted an 8 year old Maine Coon cat from my local rescue shelter; and boy is he skittish.. I don’t want to assume, but from the way he was acting in his carrier, the poor thing wasn’t great in small spaces. Oatmeal (that’s his name) refused to leave under my sister’s bed for the whole first day, I had to gently get him out with food and water. He only left to use the litter box or to eat/drink. I was heartbroken. I thought I was doing something wrong and almost broke down because I was about to think I wasn’t doing the right things. So I watched this. As a cat lover I couldn’t give up on my baby Oatmeal. Now, he’s doing amazing!! We started leaving open my door (closing/opening was scaring him), and we introduced him to the whole house including my dog, Bella! He’s doing great! He still goes under the bed sometimes, but now he has no problem walking around and even lets others pet him now too!!

Hey Jackson Just a quick message from the UK I love my cat and as a cat Guardian who adopted a cat I just want to say how important your videos have been and how happy our cat home is Thank you, keep doing what you do! X

We adopted a cat who was on the streets for two years. For the first month, he was a wallflower and my mom was worried he was a ferrel who would never come out of his shell. Took a bit of work, but he's sleeping right next to me on the bed and is the sweetest boy! We lost our first cat at the beginning of the pandemic, so this little joy has been a blessing!

I used your advice to help my dad's friend's wallflower cat. We were catsitting for a week and in that week little miss wallflower went from shy and terrified to confident and happy. I'm actually adopting my own wallflower kitten whose coming home this week. I think wallflower cats are my favorite to work with. I love the feeling of helping a shy scared cat get their confidence.

3 months into providing the third home to a wallflower cat (excluding her original owner or the year she spent at a shelter). My intention is not to give up, but it’s been a discouraging time during lockdown. This video is the glimmer of hope I needed. She’s not going back no matter what though. Thank you.

This video is so validating! My partner and I just bought two sibling kitties (Dipper and Mabel). Both were incredibly shy at first but Dipper confident and food motivated so now he’s a snuggly little bug who thinks he owns the house. However, Mabel has been hiding under the bed for weeks. She leaves the bedroom to use the litter box and eat (thankfully) but when she makes eye contact with us she runs away. Last night, we finally said “that’s it!” And we coaxed her to the edge of the bed picked up up and popped her in the hallway with her brother and shut the bedroom door. She was PISSED at first (even growled and hissed once) but within a matter of minutes she was snuggling us both. It was so sweet! Her brother came and sat next to her which helped as well. I think he’s been waiting for her to come out. He always meows at her to come play. This video is motivating us to dismember our bed frame and to keep on the lookout for little cat huts.

I have adopted a two years old girl. She's a rescue, her previous humans left her on a highway shop. When she arrived, she lived for about two weeks under the kitchen furniture. We have been very patient and cautious, petting her, giving her treats to get her out of her hiding place. She lived a few weeks in our bedroom, sleeping on the bed but not coming with us. Now she lives in the house and sleeps on the sofa but she's still very shy / scared. She jumps for every noise, even the smallest, she often runs when we try to come to her, and when something scares her (vacuum cleaner, noise, someone comes to our house...) she hides under the bed for hours. We can't pick her, brush her. So we can't take her to the vet for her vaccine, it's very complicated. For now, I keep her inside but we have to make progress. So I hear you loud and clear when you say "block the unders" but if she can't hide in there anymore when the vacuum cleaner comes, she will be terrified. I'm afraid she will panick. She has two cocoons she doesn't use. But, objectively, she's much more hidden under the bed. Besides, I have big drawers under my bed, it will be very complicated to get rid of them...

I have a wallflower cat named Jazz that somehow managed to cave himself past two electric garage gates with a broken leg when I found him. I've always had a really strong connection with him, around me he has all of his mojo, but if I'm not around he is the biggest wallflower and a master ninja (I still can't find some of his caves after 6 years!) I've worked on getting him out of his shy and alert shell more as he's very insecure (No closets!!!). I found out that he absolutely adores being brushed, and I've used it both on his physio therapy for that broken leg (which had to have part of the bone cut in surgery), and to promote his confidence by getting him to hang around higher places. He still absolutely cannot tolerate strangers, and he only accepts my lap, but he isn't aggressive. Strangely he improved a lot when we got a second kitten two years ago, who is the polar opposite of him. It's taught him a lot of the things he SHOULD feel comfortable doing (and a lot of the ones he shouldn't...but that's just their nature). patience and letting them lead the scene have been my best friends with this lil' guy, and I don't think getting another cat is the answer for most situations, I just lucked out on mine. Despite him being this massively shy cat, I'll crush any theories that they can't be social and lovable pets, I haven't had a pet I felt as connected to as this one, and I've had quite a few pets by now.

We two adopted cats. We picked them in the shelter because they were both wallflowers and we desperately wanted to help them. When we brought them home they both slept in the middle of our bed the very first night and have been like little dogs following us around all the time, 😊

I once spent 20 minutes looking for one of my cats; upstairs, downstairs, upstairs and downstairs again, even outside just in case. Eventually I found him in the bath, laying on the cool plastic because of the summer heat.

I AM SHIRAKAHN! I AM A BUTTERFLY! You are also an educational cutie, little star! Thank you for this helpfill video, Jackson!

Just got a very traumatized scared little baby rescue who’s just 6 months old. This video helps a lot with understanding him and how to get him to go out into the world :)

A litter box on top of the fridge sounds so unhygienic

Hi Jackson! I just watched your delightful video on bringing a wallflower cat out of their shell. I recently got a spayed orange female from the local Humane Society. Butterbean was a bit retiring but not terrified. While my grown son and I were selecting her, he fell in love with a Tomcat who "helped out in the office" at the H.S. and was shortly due to be neutered. So we applied for Duke and picked him up a few days later. Duke is a delight. He's long and lanky and so loving and he really owns his space, lounging languorously all over the place. But he harbored hidden fires that came to light when he met Butterbean. Duke doesn't scent mark, he's more of a fisticuffs kinda guy. Butterbean made feeble attempts to stand her ground, but just didn't have enough mojo. Getting out the fishing toys last night to distract them only made Duke more aggressive on this occasion . The situation was not improving and I was almost in tears. I hopped online and ordered some Feliway but it won't arrive for two days (we live in the sticks of Ohio) so my son took Duke to his room and I took Butterbean to my room to quell the hostility for a while. We have two huge litter boxes so that I can switch them out for cleaning (my mistake). So I put both into cervice in the middle of the night. My two sweeties are not arguing today...maybe two litter boxes is helping. The Feliway may or may not help. I'll let you know if I detect any change in behavior that seems related to it. The "kids" have both retreated today to their high places: a tall hutch on one end of the living room and a tall wardrobe on the other end. So all is quiet right now. By the way, my son blocked up all the hidey-holes after we couldn't find Butterbean the first night. At 75 I'm not real good at crawling under beds to retrieve reluctant pets. Thank you so much for wonderful advice! Catch you later.

I've had two wallflower cats and, at least in my experience, they open up after a while. I actually sometimes forget that my current cat is *Extremely* shy because he's so sweet and confident with me. Now this pandemic needs to end so we can work on his fear of new people lol

After losing her husband, my grandma just adopted a cat to love and keep her company. It’s been only 2 days, but she lives under the bed under the head board. She loves to be pet and she purrs and makes air biscuits but she’s scared. My grandma is so disheartened. I hope with your advice, I can get the little sweetheart to come out and share those purrs and biscuits with her new momma. The shelter didn’t really know much of this cats backstory other then she was a stray. She also got fixed a few weeks ago and just got done getting dental surgery so she has had a lot happen just prior to my grandma adopting her. Honestly I really hope we can get her to be confident and comfortable in her new home. My grandma is 90 yrs old so it’s too hard for her to bend down and work with the kitty. I don’t want her to have to return her...I want this all to workout.

I have a British shorthair. She is so awfully cute and we love her but she likes her distance except at night when she’ll climb onto the bed. She will never sit near us during the day or on our lap. She will sit nearby in same room etc.

Last year I adopted two 14 year old sisters. They spent one year in the shelter & were extremely scared out of their minds. Both are getting better & off of their anxiety meds. Been a work in progress but it’s so great meeting their sweet personalities every day. Don’t give up on your wall flowers.

This video is so helpful. I just adopted a Tabby yesterday. This morning I found her hiding in my closet, when I fell asleep last night she was hiding under my bed. I created some hiding spaces for her this morning so she isn't in the closet lol. I turned a cardboard box upside down and leaned it against a wall with her blanket inside and underneath and she also had a hooded bed. Hopefully, when I come home she has eaten (she didn't eat last night :( ) and hopefully she isn't in the closet.

I know this comment is 2 years after the video post. But I'm literally using these instructions today. The world is truly a better place because of Jackson Galaxy. Guy is amazing.

Thank you. I've got an extreme wallflower :( it's soooo sad. I adopted her last week. This was so very helpful!

I totally relate to this video, for myself. I remember when I moved to my now current apartment, I was agoraphobic. I wouldn’t leave my apartment. Then as bad as this sounds, when they changed to the non smoking rule in our building, i had to start going outside. And i also had bad social anxiety. So when i started going outside i kept to myself and try to stay hidden. Then gradually started coming out in the open once i started getting used to seeing the same people. Started to socialize and so on ...and even though i still have some anxiety issues here and there...im now like a “popular” resident that my neighbors care deeply for and im now confident but not cocky and im the youngest person here, but people are so comfortable talking with me because im so genuine and kind and great with helping and advice. I also have to thank my kitties for helping me too! And thank you too!

I just love it when wallflower cats ‘bloom’ and show you their true purrsonalities!

OMG! You are a GOD! I did everything you said and within an hour she was out and about! We are moving forward at lightning speed now! We all love you and your advice! A Cat God!!!! Thank you!!!

I just brought home a super shy 6-month-old kitten from the shelter. Not sure of her history or what made her like this but we are taking all the advice we can get to help bring her out if her “shell”. I will definitely be heading the advise given here! Great video!

Thank you! Loud construction started happening right outside of my apartment a few days after adoption and she hid in this hole under my cabinet. I cried and hung up missing posters until I heard a lil meow at night. I’m a new cat owner and haven’t heard of caving.

Jackson my family and I recently adopted a 1y old cat that use to live with 17 other cats until their owner passed. Frankie is a gorgeous cat but has high anxiety and is definitely a wallflower we are hoping your guidance and videos will help our new addition to our family feel more comfortable and adjust to his surroundings and also help him get along with his new brother Loki. Hope to let you know how things turn out thank you so much for the guidance!!

I just wanted to say thank you. I recently brought in a stray cat and he was incredibly shy and scared. He got under the couch and wouldnt leave unless I was gone from the apartment. I watched your video and went to work the next day. I blocked underneath the couch and other tucked away spots. I put his house on a tall table near a window and gave him some space. Within only 1 day, he was letting me pet him, and purring. The next day he was cautiously exploring the open areas of the room. Thank you so much, its exactly what we needed!

My cat started acting scared of me and everyone. And it’s been so frustrating. You should definitely make more videos with tips on dealing with this issue:)

I adopted a cat a month ago. He’s a 8 years old extremely shy/scared FIV+ black cat so obviously no one wanted him and he spent 5 months in a tiny cage in a container. No one came to see him. When I came to adopt him the workers were so relived that I didn’t have to pay anything and they gifted me cat food, litter, toys, box, etc. It’s been 5 weeks and he’s still hiding under my bed. Not letting me get close to him or touch him. I came for advice and there’s been two teams : “leave him alone, don’t acknowledge him and he will come out one day eventually” and “get him out of under the bed, give him another hiding place where he can observe you better and try to interact with him so he can get out of his shell”. Idk what to do.

Thank you so much for the tips! I just adopted a shy siamese and he loves to hide up on a cabinet. I put his bed up there and food (was scared he wasn't eating enough) but I was really worried he was going to learn to live up there. He's extremely friendly nevertheless, loves to pet stroked under his chin. Only been a few days but would love for him to slowly come down.

i live in a 2 story house & my room is on the top floor, on the first week i had my cat i analysed all of her hiding spots and blocked them or opened them up so she was visible, and made the spots where she didn't hide but felt comfortable in even more comfortable for her but on the fifth night she opened my window flaps in my room and jumped out of it and hid all day then came back at night for pats & to hang out in the spot i made comfortable for her, then when i woke up she found another way outside and hid out there all day again then came back at night, this is only my second week of having her, i spend the entire day panicking as we live on a busy road & is still new to the area. ive unblocked 1 of the spots in the house so i always know where she is but she just prefers her spots outside and i don't know where any of them are, as my mum runs a business downstairs and has a million things she can hide in

When some stranger enters the house my cats spend 5 minutes watching, then they behave as if they were friends forever ... all 5. Am I lucky ???

The work you put in for this kind of kitty is so rewarding. After a year of work I walked in to feed mine and found her sitting. It occurred to me I had never seen her sit before. She always was laying down usually hiding. You would of thought I climbed everest.

I’m about to adopt a wallflower cat, and I’m now excited to exercise these tips with her! Thanks so much 🦋🦋

Yesterday, I adopted a little darling 2y.o. tabby from a shelter. She was very timid, yet responsive and submissive in the cage--she was just precious! Upon bringing her home, I left the doors open to the carrier to give her freedom and time, but noticed she stayed an unusually long time in this "safe space." It wasn't long before I realized I had adopted a wallflower kitty, and I had no idea what to do! To cater, or not to cater to this fear and anxiety...that was the question. And then, behold, there was this awesome dude, Jackson, who will probably change the future of our lives together. Jackson, you have evidently changed millions of lives (feline and human). At this point in the journey with my girl, you have given me hope! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I will follow all of your advice. I cannot wait to see the metamorphosis! :)

I freaking love that shirt omg

I have just adopted a 6.5yo wallflower. She has been through a lot in the last 7 months (which is a long time for her short little life). In the last 4 months, since being taken from pound to rescue organisation, she has had two fosters and two failed adoptions. I first met her just before the second failed adoption, and was disappointed that she was going elsewhere. The second failed adoption lasted barely six days, she was an emotional wreck after being returned to the shelter. I described her as "not an entry level cat" (putting it mildly). Fairly certain she had been in a DV household, and she is 'over sensitive' to being yelled at, told off (for just existing), etc. Luckily I am fairly chill for her, and will let her blossom into her best self, gradually. It is working well, she feels safe with me (we hit mutual love and trust at our third or fourth meeting at the shelter, and it was an eternity waiting that three more days before I could take her home). Even on the first night, she slept on the bed with me, and took a number of days to find her best spot on the bed (for both of us really). She is fairly okay (relatively normal) when I am with her at home, but she does retreat into her cardboard box if I go out (we will work on that in time). I think she has made remarkable progress in just nine days, and I think she will eventually deal better when I go to work, which is the only main issue at the moment. I think she just has to feel that here is now her domain, she is safe, she owns it, and it is her place, not just mine. I realised she has come a long way when new people are heard or seen outside, and she is afraid. At the same time I am gradually transitioning her from the dreaded kibble (and free feeding) to a more sensible diet, and will get to set meal times, we are part way there. For noise de-sensitisation, I was very quiet here in the first few days, but gradually I deliberately made more usual household sounds, and she copes well with that. And no vacuum cleaner, obviously, you just know those things have been the death of a billion cats! I realise now that her 'thing' of biting/attacking hands was more of an (unconscious) test, like "can I do this and not be told off?". I dealt with this in two ways, the first, no reaction, and the second to slowly withdraw the hand/arm. She does not do it any more. It was the reason for her first failed adoption (she got told off, then distrusted new human). Trauma cats are the most rewarding to turn around. My previous boy was the most loyal, loving and protective Maine Coon ever. Another was less outwardly trauma, but I knew from the backstory that was her situation. It's okay to fuss over them for the first days, but gradually shift to 'everything normal' tone of voice.

I need more videos about this my new cat is 13 and a major wallflower. She is under a bed as we speak I blocked it off but not well enough and she mana hard to get under it. This is the 4th time in the last 2 days 😩

I brought home my adopted 3 y/o cat last night and she has hid under the bed ALL DAY. She didn’t eat, drink, or use the litter box. After watching this video I felt a little at ease and thought it would be best to give her space. When I fell asleep I heard her go to the litter box (and use it). When she came back under the bed I turned the bathroom light on and began to clean her litter. She seemed to enjoy what I was doing and that was our bonding moment because from there she started purring at me, nudging me with her head, waving her tail all around, and responding to me when I called her name. She walked around my bedroom and explored and just completely came out of her shell. I say all this to say, yes it is important to establish those boundaries but when you least expect it they’ll come to you and it’s the best feeling in the world.

Oh yeah I need this!! My hair came down when I was playing with my cat and the hair on his back went up and he ended up hiding behind the couch. 👀 Edit - once he got under the base board of my kitchen counter. I think that's further than wallflower. 😔

My oldest cat is a wallflower but only when people come over. She's a rescue so I have no clue what her background is but she's terrified of people. When it's just my kids and me at home, she owns the place but not when strangers come over. The other cats we've had since kittens love interacting with anyone who walks through our door but definitely not our little wallflower. We did have problems with her when we first got her, she was always hiding, never came out. So we did exactly what you said here in this video. Food and litter were in an open area where she had to come out for. After a while she got the message. Also blocking under beds and couches. Once they go under those things they're impossible to get out. These are great videos, so grateful for your wisdom in trying to help the world of kitties

When my Son in law comes over one of my cats disappears for the duration of the visit and he still doesn't believe that my cat Duke exists.

This post made Me want to cry because my 9 year old rescue only wants to hide and cave I’m going to try your tips thank you!

Thx so much! My sister was yelling at me for covering the hiding places lol. Again thx so much!

Adopted a feral a few years ago and he is now a confident little gentleman. It helped that I also adopted a friendly kitty he was attached to, who made him so much more confident when friendly was around. A few months ago, I adopted another feral who probably would not be still alive if I had not taken her. We are at the point where she is mostly out in the open, but she does this CUTE thing where she imitates me. If I peek into a room to see if she is there, she peeks back with her head cocked in imitation. I reach my hand out to her very passively as she's sleeping on her bed, and she'll reach her paw out as well. I can see how she's still fighting with herself to listen between that instinctual voice telling her not to trust and that lovely house cat wanting to wrap this human around her little claw.

“I break cats into cat-egories” PUN ALERT!

I fostered a cat 8 days ago and he has spent the whole time hiding behind the sofa in his 'safe room' - i watched this video today and closed off the area, giving him a cave bed instead. But I feel so so mean! He looks so scared! :(

I worry about the emergency hiding issue. My cat is not a wallflower, but he did run and hide when the smoke detector went off once and it made me worry about what to do if there actually was an emergency situation. Is there any advice for making an emergency rescue plan that includes pets? I remember practicing as a child, but I don't ever remember it including how to rescue animals.

i want to thank you immensely for your brilliant insight into the behavior of cats. this video, along with your books, have helped my BF and i to bring our newly adopted shy little cat out of her very hard shell. she has improved ten-fold, and although she is a cat's cat, she doesnt mind hanging around us and playing at the drop of a hat!

Thanks for this! I’ve been dealing with a neurotic, wallflower house panther. Bless her heart, I can get her belly-up beside me in bed. And then she’s trying to cave again...

I looked up this video because I just rescued a cat and she LIVES under the bed! I’ve never had a shy cat and I thought it didn’t feel right because my other cats are always out in the open and never hide. Thank you for this video 🐱💕

We took your advice from a previous video and adopted two kitties, instead of one, they were in the open cat room together at the shelter. They not related, but get along great & sleep together. After the first night, Ford (Orange tabby), is confident and will come straight up to get pets. But Aaron (domestic short hair) seems to have gotten more shy & stand off-ish, the second day. At the shelter he slowly came up from be hind me and let me give him pets (that's when I feel in love with him). The first night at home he had the same behavior as at the shelter. But today (day 2), he became much more shy and stand off-ish, he spent most of his day under the bed, but has came out a few times to get food, water, and use their litter box, but then it straight under the bed again. My question is how long should I wait to block off under the bed to discourage the behavior? (Am making sure to move slowly around him & not making sudden move.) Also ordered him a cat tent too.

Glad I remembered to look up your channel. I just adopted a 1yo rescue. Our animal shelter got like 30 cats all at once from this crazy cat lady. They were taken away from her. but luckily it only took a couple of months for a majority of them to be adopted. Thing is with the cats, most of them are fairly young 1-3 yo, and none of them properly socialized. I picked out ViVi (my cat) from the group because as I sat on the floor trying to get them to play with me, all the other cats were too on guard. Hiding. One of the hissing cats eventually came out of curiosity but refused to go near me. But ViVi had climbed down her perch. She was interested in the toy and didn’t hiss or show fear just wariness. ViVi is very cute and adorable, but I figured she was a brave girl for climbing down to play. I know she’s scared. This is the first time she’s been somewhere without her siblings, and she’s never had human attention before. She has one eye on me at all times, and either hides or flees from the room when she sees me. It’s been about a week now and she sometimes sits in the opposite side of the room watching me. She’s non aggressive, rarely hisses but the hisses aren’t angry. She doesn’t growl either. She simply tries to make herself as small as possible or flees. She’s very sweet and sometimes lets me hold her but she would rather escape. Sometimes she lets me pet her head but she looks like she rather I didn’t. She doesn’t claw at me either, the only time is when she desperately doesn’t want me to hold her. Sometimes I pick her up a little hold her and then sit her down in a more comfortable spot. Sometimes I ignore her so she know I won’t immediately go after her every time she sees me. I’m making sure I keep her litter box clean and her meals healthy. I also have a tall cat perch she refused to leave from in the beginning. But she prefers hidden places like the couch cushions. I think I’ll look for a box or a cat bed similar to one for her. I’m use to hanging around animals that need some time to warm up to you (I’ve taken care of a cockatoo and a dog like this) but I’ve never done this with a cat before. It’s easy to get the bird or dog to warm up to you because you can take the dog someplace they love and you can sing songs to the bird. But ViVi? No matter how long I try to play with her now she refuses to take her eyes off me. She’s not interested in treats either it seems 😮‍💨 I wanna cuddle her so badly lol

I spent over an hour looking for and calling my cat yesterday... she was on top of the kitchen cabinet watching me look the whole time thinking "you dummy lol"

We adopted a 4mo kitten from the shelter and she was a complete wallflower hiding in her covered home, and behind the toilet, and shying away from everyone. My husband found your videos and, thanks to your amazing advice, we're 3 days in to having her and she is out and about in her safe space and is playing with us with toys and letting us pet her. We had to block off the back of the toilet, but, after we did that, she has been more open to us sitting with her and has even begun to approach us! I think we still have a long way to go before we let her into the rest of the house, but she has made leaps and bounds of progress from when we first got her when even the shelter told us she probably wouldn't be the kitten that wanted to be loved on.

MY cat, Jimmy, is so scared. he doesnt really hide like a wallflower, but he always runs away from people

Recently adopted a very shy kitty from a shelter. Thank you for all your tips. He has his cat mojo in high gear now and is exploring the whole house and giving me head butts when he thinks he isn't getting enough attention.

Cocoons wouldn't work best for my scaredy cat - she gets really overwhelmed with things - even blankets - touching her back or head. Boxes, however, make a great place for her to hide out and observe the world without feeling over touched.

I've had the love, and joy of pets all my life, but where I'm living now no pets allowed, I'm moving! I really enjoy your videos, and I'm going to get a friend at the shelter as soon as possible after I get settled in my new place. Love your videos, really enjoy them.

Just got a feral kittens who, thanks to your very good advice came around to cuddles & sleeping on the bed in only 3 days! Thank you ❣️

I have a rescue cat that we adopted 3 weeks ago. She is 5 years old and is under the bed all day! She is coming out slowly but as soon as she heres a noise, back under. She does adventure out at night though...progress?

Currently going through this and will try this out.

How do i know if my kitty is a wallflower or still adjusting to his new home?

"Shy" doesn't begin to describe the bonded pair I've just taken in. It's been a little over a week and they are still mostly in hiding. They do come out to eat and drink and use the litter box. I'm not even sure where the other one is hiding ... and this is a VERY small apartment. Their food bowls are in the middle of the living-room floor. The litter box is where it's always been: next to my desk. None of those items are hiding. I've also plugged in a Feliway but can't tell at this point whether it's actually doing anything. Apparently they spent a lot of time in the back of one store, so they saw very few people. Then they got moved to a different store where they were put up front, in the hopes a home would be found for them. So suddenly they were getting a lot of attention that they weren't used to. And this all went on over FOUR YEARS. I've been advised to just let them be and they will come out on their own. It does seem to be working -- barely -- for the (neutered) male cat; he just tried to get up on the windowsill (memo to self: clear 'stuff' off the windowsill) and then skittered past me back to ... wherever.