Cat Social Skills: Cat About Town?

by Amy Shojai | May 13, 2022 | Cat Behavior & Care | 0 comments

Many cats love staying home, and cat social skills depend on cat personality and kitten socialization. Confident cats not only feel less feline stress, they get sick less, recover more quickly, and handle trips to the vet (or to Grandma’s) better than shy Shrinking Violet cats. They enjoy life more, and engage with other people and pets.

I’ve been blessed to have two supremely confident kitties in my life. Seren-Kitty(rb) ruled the roost and bossed the dogs around. She enjoyed life on her terms. Although never a touchy-feely cat until her last few years (she nearly made it to 22!), Seren loved playing, indulging in long “conversations” with us, and watching the bird-and-bunny TV outside. She also enjoyed leash walks in the garden.

Even if cats don’t go outside, you can bring the outdoors inside for environmental enrichment. That helps enormously to expand kitty’s world, and builds confidence while reducing stress.

Karma-Kat: Merrily He Rolls Along!

Karma-Kat loves people, and his confidence means he wants to supervise strangers who come into the house for repairs or to visit. He’s never been a fan of leash walking. One time, he escaped his halter, and only came back when Magical-Dawg went after him and led Karma back to safety. But he’s fascinated by the great outdoors, and wants an up-close sniff (and look) at all the butterflies. So . . .I got Karma a pet stroller, his very own Karma Kart.

At first, he wasn’t eager to get inside, despite stocking it with his favorite Greenies treats. But once we rolled out the door, and he caught a whiff of the Texas wildflowers–oh my KAT he was in kitty heaven! We rolled up and down the back fenced yard. Once back inside, I opened the canopy to let him out and… he didn’t want to get out (well, he discovered the treats and munched them for desert). Anyway, I reviewed his Karma Kart stroller in my Reader’s Digest piece here.

Can Your Cat Be More Social?

But what if your cat tends toward the shy side? How can you increase the chances for improving cat sociability? I cover kitten development in this blog, and socialization in my books. But here’s a fun infographic that offers some highlights.

So is your cat a social butterfly? Or a shrinking violet? How do you help kitty deal with … life? Do tell!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!

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