100%. I've had a lot of similar experiences with people telling me their cats are mean or they don't like strangers only for it to love me because I know how to respect it's body language. When I was younger I was dating a girl who still lived at home and her family had 2 dogs and 3 cats. The dogs and one of the cats were totally chill and friendly to everyone. The other cat was younger and was constantly bolting around the house trying to play fight with everything. The third cat didn't want to be involved in any of this so usually hung out in their parents bedroom unless she was eating. When I started coming over they told me she didn't like people. It took me like 3 visits to have her coming down to sit with me when I came over and it was just like you said. When she was going by let her sniff my hand and pet her if she allowed it. If not leave her alone. It's not that hard if you respect their boundaries.