Living with a cat that is very much...a cat.

My fiancé and I have lived together for five years. When we got together, I brought a wonderful dog into the relationship. She brought...two calico cats.

One of the cats is like a second dog. She is jealous that she can't go outside and is inquisitive when friends and neighbors bring their dogs over. The other is the more "prototypical" cat who is often hiding and runs away approached, but also mews incessantly for attention. The second cat does cozy up with my fiancé, but frantically runs away whenever I enter a room or walk by.

This has been going on for five years. It gives me real anxiety that every time I enter the room, this cat freaks out and zooms away. We live in a two-bedroom apartment, so odds are if I enter a space and she runs to a different room, I'm going to return to that area and she'll run away again. The floors are hardwood so it makes a lot of noise when she gains traction, and she will sometimes run over me, leaving scratches if I am not wearing slippers. What I am trying to say is that if I get up from the living room and walk into the kitchen, odds are I am going to return to the living room. So now twice in a few minutes' span this cat is freaking out.

I am the one that feeds the cats more often then not, and we both clean the litter box. I will leave catnip out sometimes but she looks upon me with suspicion. I am also mildly allergic to cats (we vacuum a lot) so I don't want to just sit and pet them (as if the cat would let me anyways).

The "typical" cat sometimes fights with the dog-like cat (they are not sisters) and will sometimes cozy up with our dog, who is largely apathetic to the feline housemates.

This feels weird typing out, but what are some low-impact ways to make this cat feel more comfortable with me, considering we have lived together for five years? Or am I cursed to feeling anxious in my own home because a furry roommate looks at me as a monster? I feel the tension in my spine and shoulders because I am always afraid that this thing is going to run under my foot when I am doing something simple like going to the bathroom or making the bed.

I also can't help thinking that this cat is living a miserable life if it is constantly feeling under threat, but my fiancé thinks that the cat will get used to me eventually.

submitted by /u/Typical_Boshwack
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/aun3lq/living_with_a_cat_that_is_very_mucha_cat/