Cats have become my most favorite pet to care for.
They are majestic.
Always treat them with respect.
They are not really cute and cuddly unless you have earned their respect and trust first.
They have very unique and individual personalities. Though they do have common characteristics they are not all the same and it is better for you to ask the owner about their habits, likes and dislikes.
With this in mind, as others have said, allow them to come to you and sniff you out. I also get down on the floor and do the crooked finger approach. Itās amazing how well they respond.
That being said, because they are unique, it may not always work. Some are very shy, aloof and wonāt be bothered with you no matter what. Accept that and donāt try to force anything to happen because you are not in control.
The cat is. Always. No matter what you think.
But if you win their favor, they will shower you with affection until they donāt 
Sorry I forgot something I do almost always.
Dance barefoot in the kitchen.
Kitties love it.
Seriously
You mustāve busted some seriously good dance moves!
Anytime Iāve ever danced in the kitchen, and itās actually quite often, the animals tend to make a pretty swift exit! Cats tend to just give that look that only a cat can give! 
I did once look after a cockapoo puppy who would get up on his hind legs and hold my hands with his front paws as we danced around the kitchen island together!
I think they are captivated by my skills 
and come to give me support.
Some great tips for looking after cats on this thread. We are on a cat-sit now and can add āsurveillanceā to the list of things a cat-sitter does!
We have two sweet outdoor cats here, near Paris, but one is somewhat evasive. They can come and go as they please using a cat flap but the owner asked us to try to get them both in for dinner around 6:30pm/7pm.
The first two evenings the female cat came back much later for dinner than the owners had suggested but we werenāt too worried as we had been told she likes to wander. Over the next few days she spent much more time with us and became more and more affectionate. Great! Weāve won her over and weāll have no more problems getting her to come in.
Then on Friday, nothing, we didnāt see her at all. Saturday morning (yesterday) I messaged the owner to ask if this was unusual. She didnāt seem too concerned and said she was sure that the cat would return during the day, or maybe in the evening since it was hot.
When the cat still hadnāt returned last night after two days of high heat and humidity, followed by an intense thunderstorm, we were really worried. We were still hopeful sheād come back in the night but because of the cat flap we have no way of knowing if she comes in while weāre asleep (since there are two cats, we canāt tell just by looking to see if the food has been eaten).
We downloaded an app to one of our phones that takes a photo when movement is detected and set it up in front of the cat flap. Sure enough, this morning we have a bunch of photos of the cat coming in around 2am and leaving again at 4am. We still havenāt actually seen her in the flesh since Thursday evening but at least we know she is safe!
In case it could help anyone in the future, the app we used is āMD cam freeā.
Edited to add that sheās just now walked in like nothingās happened
Well done! There has been a bit of discussion on other thread about self sufficiency but I am sure we can all agree what you did is self sufficient.
And thanks for sharing your solution!
The cat Iām looking after is very clear about what she wants in life. Food readily available Water readily available. She has a cat tray for times of inclement weather or overnight calls of nature. Mostly she reigns on a King size bed. When she makes an appearance she expects me to make a suitable show of reverence and respect. The Home Owner has made it clear all internal doors are to be left open.
I will open the French window of course to invite her to the outdoors. This doorman role stops at 10.30pm. ā Missyā is a lady so why would she want to be out all night? Sheās royally looked after where she is.
Sheās a creature of 5 star comfort. Sheās blocked every call of the wild. Thoroughly domesticated and sophisticated Missy.
She is on good relations with the dog who follows the man servant everywhere.
