Tabby Cat

　　1. Get used to human voices.

　　Timid cats find it hard to trust people. If the owner lives alone and the cat is home alone during the day, skin-to-skin contact with the cat after returning home becomes even more important. Some even use recorded phone messages to talk to the cat when going out, helping it get used to human voices.

　　2. Frequently holding and playing with the cat is very important.

　　Cats are naturally cautious animals and usually ignore strangers or sometimes run away. Some people might feel satisfied just having a close relationship with their cat, but it is ultimately a happy thing if people around you recognize and love your own cat. Even wild cats can like to be close to people, but there are cases where pedigreed cats raised with much care are shy around people. This shows that cats have various personalities; cats held often and played with from kittenhood tend to like getting close to people.

　　3. What to do if the cat is shy around strangers?

　　It is very important to let the cat meet unfamiliar people. Short-haired cats like being held, but with long-haired cats, no matter how you hold them, they often escape from your arms immediately. Because of this, please hold them as much as possible from kittenhood. But don’t hold the cat to the point it gets annoyed; do not force it. Sometimes play with the cat by tossing a ball to it or teasing it while petting, to build skin contact. If the owner lives alone or has few family members, it’s also good to often invite friends who like cats over to play, to help the cat experience interactions with strangers.