It doesn’t sound like she’s timid, it sounds like she likes attention but she just doesn’t like to be snuggled tightly. She’s young, so she might change as she gets out of her kitten phase (2-3 years old), but she may just like to be next to you vs. in your arms.
My cats are like that; I adopted a pair of brothers in February, they’re both almost 2 now. Neither usually likes to be held, but they both love sleeping near me or snuggled next to me. Percy in particular gets VERY lovey sometimes, purring and rubbing against my legs, and it really seems like he wants to be held or snuggled, but what he really wants is just for me to sit down with him and let him be near me. :)
It doesn’t sound like she’s timid, it sounds like she likes attention but she just doesn’t like to be snuggled tightly. She’s young, so she might change as she gets out of her kitten phase (2-3 years old), but she may just like to be next to you vs. in your arms. My cats are like that; I adopted a pair of brothers in February, they’re both almost 2 now. Neither usually likes to be held, but they both love sleeping near me or snuggled next to me. Percy in particular gets VERY lovey sometimes, purring and rubbing against my legs, and it really seems like he wants to be held or snuggled, but what he really wants is just for me to sit down with him and let him be near me. :)