Cats can have various problems throughout their lives. Some will be less important than others, but unless they are lucky enough to find a good family that loves them, the risk of something happening that lowers their self-confidence is going to be high.
For this reason, when we pick someone up from the street or from a shelter, the first thing we have to do is ask ourselves how to make the cat increase his self-esteem. Thus, we will have started to help you.
Why does a cat lose its self-confidence?
The cat is usually a self-confident animal. When you look into his eyes, you can sense that he feels good about himself and that he knows where he is going and what he wants.
However, when you go through a traumatic situation, such as having been the victim of abandonment or an abuser, or due to a major change (moving, the arrival of a new family member, another cat, harassment) your emotional state changes.
How can we help?
Helping a cat that has lost its self-esteem will require a lot of patience and, also, being respectful of it at all times. It may take several days to weeks (or months) to get back to where you were. For this reason, always try to speak in a calm and friendly voice. We will approach him little by little and without making sudden movements. Nor should you try to catch him, because he needs to control his situation (and not be controlled by him). If it gets on the furniture, we'll leave it.
Thus, little by little, he will regain his self-confidence and it will surely not take long to look at us with different eyes. Anyway, to help you a little more it is highly recommended to give cans (wet food) for cats. He will love them, and we will enjoy watching him enjoy 🙂.
I hope it has been useful to you.