What can I do to get my cat from being scared?

Question

I have female cat, Callie Girl, that I got at 7 weeks of age along with her brother, Sammy Sunshine. They told me she was a bit skittish - yet her brother is extremely social. Callie allowed me to pick her up when she was small. As she grew, I could catch her when she was sleeping. She has become very elusive and hides in the basement or under the couch. I'm lucky if I can catch her every three months or so and then I have to Frontline her and trim her nails. I had to keep her in a pet cage for two weeks, while we were giving her medicine as she is so hard to catch. Right now, she has somehow escaped outdoors and sits at edge of woods. When I call her, she meows and communicates with me but refuses to come back into the house. She must be hungry - it's been about 3 days - unless she is catching mice and moles. When I do catch her, I hold her and pet her and talk to her, while she holds on to me with her claws. Does anyone else have a cat that is this scared? She's a beautiful cat and is very social with her brother as well as another male cat, Jack, that we have.

Answer 1

i had a cat like that once.

found her as a kitten, i think she would have starved to death in one more day. she was so skinny. smelled like rotting garbage.

brought her home, always scared. assumed it was from being abandoned ad mistreated.

gave her to my girlfriends son. 10 years later he moved out and took the cat with him. now that the cat is the only pet and he is the only human in the house, he is no longer scared. plays like a kitten. no longer hides.

i guess he did not like all the humans and animal in the house.

you can try feeding her and giving her an outside enclosure. like a dog hose. or a bed under the porch.

you can try giving her to someone who lives alone.

first, you have to feed her outside. she can not catch enough to survive, if she was an indoor cat. hunting is learned.

Answer 2

A lot of it is personality, but you should also try catching her more often than just every 3-4 weeks to apply her frontline, she associates you with the frontline and nail trimmings...same as dogs...if they only time you take your dog anywhere in the car is to go to the vet they pick up on it and will be scared of getting in the car.

Answer 3

Like humans, each cat is different in situations.  Sounds like Callie Girl is a loner.  You can try positive reinforcement when you are near her, but there really isn't a lot you can do if she doesn't respond.  I would however, once you catch her, go get her microchipped since she wants to be outside.  That way if she gets hurt, the vet or SPCA will know who her owner is.  I'm sure she is catching her food, but if you are worried, and she is relatively safe outside, put food and water in a dry place for her.  Good luck.