How to cure a shy cat

I uphold my cat-loving reputation not only to my friends, but to my family as well.
For any cat-related questions they think of, I am the first person they come to.
The one that I am asked the most is how to bring a shy cat out of its shell to be more social.
This was also something I struggled to figure out, because I had a shy cat of my own that I desperately wanted, for her sake, to come out of her shell.
Before I begin, please remember these points:
First of all, the stereotype is true — female cats are more shy than male cats. Therefore, it will be harder to break a female cat out of her shy ways. Difficult, not impossible.
Second of all, kittens learn most traits and behaviors between the ages of 4 and 20 weeks old. That means that an older cat is more set in his or her ways. Again, it will be difficult to make the older kitty more social, but not impossible.
Lastly, cats can undergo traumatic experiences and will carry it with them throughout their lives (just like humans... Think about post traumatic stress disorder...) Therefore, some cats will never be fully trusting of humans and forcing yourself onto the cat will only make it worse.
So, how do you do it? Remember, (Communication majors...) 93 percent of communication is nonverbal communication. Cats may not be able to understand what exactly we are saying, but they can sense moods and traits of humans better than we can. Therefore, it's important to display welcoming, loving body language to a shy cat.
Use a nice tone, look at it with loving eyes, get down to the cat's level, open up your hands and let it come to you first. Don't move closer to the cat. Let the cat move closer to you or else it will run!
Don't try to force or chase the cat into coming to you.
Do this on a normal basis until the cat gets used to you, then when the cat trusts you enough to let you hold it, don't force it! If kitty wants down, let kitty down!
But if not, put an honest effort in to make the cat love and trust you. Seriously try to bond with the cat and build that essential trust.
Use a calm tone, pet the cat gently and think loving thoughts. Eventually it will want down, but if you do this on a normal basis, the cat will start coming to you.
In addition, it's important to have a set-in-stone feeding schedule for the cat and don't miss any times!
The cat will be used to getting fed at that time and will trust that you will put its food out.
Read my previous post about how to talk to your cat to get a sense of whether the kitty is coming around or not.
And remember, some strays carry diseases and it's a bad idea to try to get the cat to come to you or let it into your home. Not all strays, but some.
Sometimes it's not worth the risk to try to bring a stray into your home. But if you still feel the need to take care of it, put some food out. If you're a food source the stray cat can trust, the cat is sure to be back.

Declawing — why I think it's cruel.

Today, My boyfriend and I took a trip to Tractor Supply to find healthier cat food; but what we happened to stumble upon was nail trimmers for kitties.

I am a believer in kitty nail trimmers.

Lily tends to walk, run, play, cuddle and basically do everything with her claws out. 

She's nearly a year old, so I'd say she's outgrown the playful I'm-a-kitten-and-I'll-accidently-scratch-you stage and it's just how she it. 

Some would say she's hard to love because she's extremely skittish. I won't completely disagree, because she's not afraid of me — but I will say that she's hard to love because of those razors she has sticking out of her paws. So purchasing these nail trimmers was almost as essential as purchasing a brush for Charlie.

However, as annoying and painful that her claws are, I refuse to declaw her. 

Simply put, I don't believe in it.

Thinking in simpler terms, I don't want to declaw my cats because I'm afraid that there will come a time when they might need to live outside and will need their claws to defend themselves against other animals. A declawed cat vs. a clawed cat or other animal... I'd rather not risk it. 

Thinking in moral terms, declawing them would be like de-fingering us.

Cats don't have hands that can grab and fingers that can reach and point. Instead, they have paws with pads and claws. Why would I want to take away an essential part of their functioning? It's painful and cruel.

House cats are descended from the big cats in Africa. Their claws are instinctual. It's how they hunt and play. 

Haven't you ever seen a declawed cat still scratch at floors, furniture and the scratching post? It's almost enough to make you wonder about those instincts...

Just because Lily scratches me, doesn't mean I'm going to forever punish her by taking away part of her essential being. To me, it's cruel and unusual punishment. 

Instead, do what we did and trim your cat's nails up! Just pay close attention to how far up the nail you're trimming and be sure to keep up with it! Once a month is ideal. You'll thank me later! 

The April Fool's joke I played on my cat

Charlie isn't like a stereotypical cat, he's unique in the sense that he actually likes water — actually, liking water would be an understatement. He loves the water. I can't step into the bathroom without him following me, meowing away and begging for me to turn the bathtub faucet on. When he gets his way, he plays in it and drinks the flowing water like it's going out of style.
When I shower, he puts his head inside the curtain and lets the water spray his head. Sometimes I'll cup the water in my hands and will pour it over his head, neck, paws or body and he happily takes it. 
He's persistant. When I don't comply with his orders of turning the faucet on, he gets annoyed and his meows get louder. 
The morning's are the worst. When I finally get out of bed, normally running late and don't have time for his demands, his meow will get raspy and he will truly sound desperate. (As if he's seriously parched!) Don't get me wrong — both of my cats are very well taken care of. They always have fresh water available to them and I rationalize their food (meaning that they're on a feeding schedule) Charlie's just spoiled. 
I can hardly wash the dishes without having to push him off the counter a few times, as he sees the kitchen faucet as an opportunity to play in the flowing water as well. 
He's relentless, but he's also polite. It's been a great opportunity to teach him tricks; he knows that I won't turn the faucet on unless he tells me what he wants and says please. 

I guess you're wondering what my April Fool's joke on him was, huh? This morning, he said please and thought he was going to get faucet time, but he didn't. April Fool's Charlie!

A very unamused Charlie.

But then I felt bad, so he got treats and got some time with the bathroom faucet after I got home from work.