Become part of the decor, were words I once said to a client and I am glad they understood immediately because one of my greatest flaws is explaining things verbally.
This is the key to getting cats to accept you. Be a presence. If a cat is hiding under a bed it is because that is where the cat wants to be. It isn’t helpful and can be quite reductive to go stick your head under the bed and start saying, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” If a cat is afraid and has gone somewhere they are comfortable then leave them be.
At cat visits I often ask if the owners have cameras. I don’t do this so much at dog visits because I plan to either be out walking a dog or sitting in the backyard with them, but at cat visits there can be a lot of sitting around. Cats like company, but they don’t always like direct interaction with that company. I have many cat clients that just want to hang out. They won’t leave the area I am in or will follow me through the house, but once they have gotten there allotted amount of pets they will move to a different part of the room and just hang out.
This is the goal point I’d like to reach with those scared cats. They don’t have to be on my lap getting constant attention, but they should feels safe and comfortable to be in the same room as me, and we’re not going to get there if I am disturbing them in a place they are comfortable.
Building a relationship with animals is no different than building one with people. It is about comfort and emotional security. If my presence is not one of safety and security then I have a lot of work to do. This happened one time where I told a client I needed to be part of the decor. Like a piece of furniture. As unthreatening and un-disturbing to their routine as possible. My advise to the client was to have me come over at dinner time and just feed the cats with me there. That way they were able to both get used to my presence and to have a positive association with it.
I don’t know how much this worked as when I showed up for the first visits the cats hid from me, but after only a couple more visits they were coming out for their food and now when I visit them we are best friends and I look forward to all my visits with them.