Some cats, like Shannon, are just not trusting. Maybe Polly is the same way. Is she a shelter cat?
She came from an agency that places pets with the elderly. She’d had at least one home before Mom adopted her, after their previous cat died.
At the time, they were allowed to bring a pet into the Independent Living condo building, but if the pet died, they weren’t allowed to get a replacement. (That rule has been changed.) She wanted a cat who looked similar to their old one, and she told the cleaning lady that if she mentioned the new cat to anyone, Mom would tell the agency that the cleaning lady was watching soap operas in the apartments instead of cleaning. (This was true.)
Unfortunately, Polly didn’t like Dad very much, which hurt his feelings.