Visits with Feline Friends
Cats versus dogs when it comes to number of visits it is more about how social they are and are you worried about the fact that your feline(s) have not ever been seen by anyone or hide when strangers visit. Most cats have adapted to the fact that you or others will be around most of the time.
Often number of pet visits is determined by when or if they require food or in some cases a water check. So you get the auto feeder, auto water, auto litterbox and believe that they do not need interaction. We as people have brought them into social settings by bringing them into our homes.
Yes, they are perceived as more self-sufficient than a dog however many are very social just like their canine counterparts. They enjoy interaction to a certain degree by key people entering their house or all people who are willing to give them some attention or those willing to give them the time to engage in her or his own way.
Now, when that is taken away, ask yourself how you do when your significant other, spouse or family member goes away for a couple of days or a week and leaves you to hold down the fort when you are accustomed to others being present. Does the environment feel different? Do you hear sounds that you don’t hear when someone is there? This is the same for them.
Many of these perceived self-sufficient felines are the same ones that lay by the doors waiting for someone to show up, waiting in the hallway where people always enter, or immediately appear when someone comes in. They are also the ones who often want 10-15 minutes of dedicated connection before ever asking about food.
These can also be the ones who have reached out to me intuitively as their face(s) appear to ask where I am, when I am coming, or I feel their anxiousness.
If they live in a house with a canine sibling the normal may be that others come into the home multiple times a day when you are away. The cat(s) don’t sense that they themselves are being visited several times because of their dog sibling. Even if they are not ultra social meaning, they are with you all the time that doesn’t mean they don’t feel your presence in your place and enjoy the companionship even from afar.
I have met many self-sufficient and/or reserved felines in my nearly 9 years of business. Ones that often hid or stayed away from strangers yet interacted at a certain level with their own people who would come out to visit in their own time and their own way given the opportunity. The key being we have to extend the olive branch to those that are more timid and insecure, those who invoke their superpower of invisibility when strangers are amidst the environment. Often that can look like a daily visit where the offering is companionship, and an invitation is shared for the feline(s) to join us without expectations. Sometimes it is music and just being with them.
With some that was on day one, with others the end of the first assignment and with other kids still it may take additional opportunities to work on building trust and developing a deeper connection and relationship. Some do not like touch, yet they enjoy presence. Others love touch, they just need time and opportunity to show up.
Maybe the reason you have a feline friend, or more is due to you enjoying their companionship, presence, or connection and they do yours. That enjoyment doesn’t change when you go away.
Just as you might find it odd if they stopped coming out to socialize with you – they too can wonder what happened or why they are being left at home alone.
