Step 0: Support a balanced stress response

Before environmental adjustments and routine changes can fully help, some cats benefit from reaching a more stable emotional baseline. This can support exploration, flexibility, and the ability to settle as the home setup improves.

Supplements may help support a normal stress response, making it easier for cats to respond to changes in their environment and daily routine.

How supplements may be used

• Daily support: a consistent daily amount to support emotional balance in social environments
• Situational support: a higher amount before planned visits or busy household periods

Severity matters.

Some pets may respond well to supplements alone, especially in mild to moderate situations where gentle support is sufficient to help maintain a normal stress response.

In more complex or long-standing cases, combining nutritional support with structured environmental guidance and behavioral strategies as outlined below usually leads to better, more lasting outcomes.

BSAVA principle:

Emotional regulation & readiness for learning.

Step 1: Remove Pressure to Interact

A cat that feels pressured to interact cannot feel safe. Progress starts by removing expectations, not by encouraging contact.

Your cat does not need to greet, investigate, or tolerate people in order to improve. Safety comes from having control over distance and choice.

Helpful Habits

• Do not force interaction, handling, or proximity
• Ask visitors to completely ignore your cat
• Avoid staring, reaching, or calling your cat over
• Allow your cat to move away freely at all times
  

Reducing pressure prevents fear from escalating and allows your cat to observe people without feeling threatened.

BSAVA principle:

Choice, control & prevention of forced exposure

Step 2: Ensure Safe Escape and Observation Spaces

Cats feel safer when they can observe people from a distance or retreat fully without being followed or cornered.

Providing clear escape routes and protected observation spaces allows your cat to manage proximity on their own terms. This sense of control helps prevent fear from escalating.

Helpful Habits

• Provide covered hiding spots in rooms where people are present
• Offer vertical spaces (cat trees, shelves) away from foot traffic
• Ensure clear escape routes that are not blocked by people or furniture
• Choose locations where people cannot reach or lean into your cat’s space

Your cat should always have at least one place where they can observe or rest without interaction.

BSAVA principle:

Control, choice & environmental management

Step 3: Manage the Environment During Visits

Preparation matters more than interaction. Reducing environmental pressure helps prevent fear from escalating when people are present.

Before people arrive

• Set up your cat’s safe spaces in advance
• Close doors or block access if needed
• Keep noise, movement, and activity predictable

During visits

• Let your cat choose where to be
• Avoid rearranging furniture or moving safe items
• Ask visitors to move calmly and avoid direct attention
• Keep routines as normal as possible

These steps help your cat remain below fear threshold and allow calm observation to occur.

BSAVA principle:

Environmental management & prevention of escalation

Step 4: Pair People With Neutral or Calm Outcomes

Only use this step if your cat can remain calm while observing people from a safe distance.

This step is not about encouraging interaction or approach. It helps your cat learn that the presence of people does not disrupt safety or access to positive experiences.

Exercise

• Place food or treats within your cat’s chosen safe area after people arrive
• Keep all movement slow and predictable
• Avoid eye contact, reaching, or interaction
• End exposure before signs of tension appear

Do not move food closer to people and do not use it to lure your cat out. Distance must always remain your cat’s choice.

BSAVA principle:

Low-pressure counterconditioning

Step 5: Support Calm Recovery After People Leave

For many cats, fear does not end the moment people leave. Recovery time is an important part of emotional regulation.

Allowing your cat to settle fully between exposures helps prevent stress from accumulating over repeated visits.

Helpful habits

• Provide quiet, familiar spaces immediately after visitors leave
• Maintain access to hiding spots and vertical areas
• Avoid sudden noise, cleaning, or rearranging right after visits
• Return to normal routines gently, without added stimulation

Do not force reassurance or interaction. Your cat will signal when they are ready to re-engage.

Supporting recovery helps ensure that each exposure starts from a calmer baseline.

BSAVA principle:

Recovery & stress regulation

Step 6: When to Seek Additional Help

While many cats improve with environmental management and gradual exposure, some situations require additional support.

Please consult your veterinarian if:

• Fear around people worsens or spreads to other situations
• Your cat stops eating, grooming, or interacting normally
• Aggression (biting, swatting with intent) occurs
• Recovery after visits takes many hours or days
• Safety feels uncertain at any point
  

Persistent fear can have medical or behavioral components that benefit from professional guidance.

BSAVA principle:

Medical rule-out & appropriate referral