Some cats are naturally loving and cuddly and seek physical closeness to people. Other cats are shy and hardly allow themselves to be touched. What can you do to make a cat more trusting?

Shy and sociable cats need to be trained to trust people and learn to tolerate being stroked and picked up. The best way to earn a cat's trust is through treats. You take the cat's favourite food, which it cannot resist, and let it smell it. However, it has to earn the food by letting you touch it gently and carefully. Only when she has been stroked is she rewarded with the food. However, you have to proceed step by step. Smelling your human hand or briefly stroking her should be enough for the first attempt. If you overdo it at the beginning, the cat will completely lose trust and prefer to go without its reward.

If the cat regularly receives a reward after gentle touches, it will begin to associate this with human contact. After a while, it will come of its own accord to get its reward.

Cats have times when they are more inclined to engage with people. It therefore makes sense to limit training to times when the cat seems more open. Basically, there is no point in forcing cats to do anything. Trust between humans and cats can only develop if the cat comes to humans of its own free will and is rewarded for doing so.

Once the cat has become accustomed enough to humans through food rewards, you can offer particularly soft and cosy places to sleep right next to humans, for example on a blanket on the couch while watching TV.