Ask the Animal Communicator: My Cat Is Always Hiding From My Friends
The feline mystique is real. As any true cat lover knows, it is impossible to make a cat do anything a cat doesn’t want to do. And sometimes this can make for truly awkward interspecies family situations. What can you do when you have tried everything to invite your cat to change and their behavior just keeps staying the same? You ask the animal communicator, of course!
Dear Shannon,
I have a beautiful Persian cat named Cheetah. I’m a pretty outgoing person and my last cat, Dodi, was a real people-lover. When people came over, he just loved to be loved and petted and adored. Cheetah is so different. As long as it is just me in the house, Cheetah is a cuddler and she loves to be with me. But the moment my friends or my boyfriend shows up, she heads straight to the top of her cat tree or under the bed and won’t come out until he is gone. This is really frustrating to me. I’m afraid she is unhappy and it is also awkward because my guests and my boyfriend thinks she doesn’t like them and that is why she hides. I’ve tried everything I can think of, including putting out her favorite cat treats, baiting her scratching post with catnip and even holding her on my lap when my boyfriend and I chill in front of the television. But the moment she can escape, she does and heads right back into the closet or into her cat hide again.
What am I doing wrong? Help!
Sereniti, mom to an antisocial cat
Shannon’s reply:
Hi Sereniti,
It is always so interesting when this happens (although I get that right now “interesting” probably isn’t the word you’d choose). What you are experiencing with Cheetah is one very common reason pet parents reach out to someone like me, an animal communicator. But what the heck does that even mean – animal communicator? You can think of me like a translator with a particularly unique skillset. I have learned to speak the universal language of all species, an intuitive language that makes use of nonverbal, sensory, and emotional communication pathways.
So that is how I am able to tune in with Cheetah to talk with her about this behavior pattern. What is going on? Why is she hiding out in her cat condo when you have company? Is there anything you can do to encourage her to be more interactive with your boyfriend? Let’s find out.
The first thing Cheetah shares is that she is a highly sensitive being. If you are not familiar with the highly sensitive personality trait, or HSP, it impacts about 20 percent of any given species population. Not to go too much into the science behind it, but just to say that Cheetah has her emotional perception volume turned up to a “10” all the time. She feels deeply, whether she is feeling her own feelings and sensations or those of others who share her space.
The second thing Cheetah shares is that she is also more of a solitary or introverted cat. While not all HSPs are also introverts, Cheetah happens to score high on both counts. This means she partakes of companionship more sparingly than most. Unlike your previous cat Dodi, who was a non-HSP and an extrovert who loved to socialize, Cheetah is happiest alone or with you only.
The third thing Cheetah shares is something you may find challenging to hear. I have a deep knowing your boyfriend is not a cat person or a pet person for that matter. He would be happier if you did not have Cheetah. And I receive the sense that that is not the only aspect of your life that your boyfriend would like to control or change. Cheetah is telling me that she is sending you a message about your boyfriend – she doesn’t feel like he is the right match for you.
The fourth thing Cheetah shares is that she is not willing or able to engage with your boyfriend in a way that feels healthy to her. But she is willing to engage a little bit more with your friends, and one in particular whom she really likes. This feels like another female and someone whom you see frequently. Her energy presents as yellow – sunny, bright and joyful, the creative energy of the solar plexus chakra – an independent woman after Cheetah’s own heart. So there is some promise there, providing one thing happens first.
Cheetah says that before she will become willing to be a little more social, it is important for you to be able to accept her exactly as she is – introverted, highly sensitive, deeply intuitive about the inner character of the other beings in her life and willing and able to keep her own counsel about how best to behave. She feels it deeply that you wish her feline personality was more like Dodi’s and is inviting you to recognize that you were drawn to her and you chose her – a cat who is as unlike Dodi as possible – for a reason. And that reason is so that you can begin to tune in to your own deeper intuitive knowings and gifts. She is in your life to show you aspects of yourself that you and Cheetah share in common.
Sereniti, I hope this information is helpful and supportive to you and Cheetah. She is a wise and sensitive cat who loves you very much. And she wants to thank you for giving her so much love and such a good home with you.
From my heart,
Shannon
Shannon Cutts is an intuitive animal communicator and Reiki master practitioner with Animal Love Languages. Shannon works through the universal love language of all species to connect with her pet clients – deep listening. Deep listening activates empathy, allowing Shannon to literally feel what an animal is feeling, listen in to their thoughts, experience what they are experiencing and then relay all of that information to the pet parent. Visit Shannon at www.animallovelanguages.com
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