Schuver was always deeply attached to pet animals. He came across these by chance in, or close to, his temporary accommodation. He believed that animals suffered more from loneliness than humans did, so he devoted a good deal of attention to them, whether they were Angora cats in Kuskundsjuk in Turkey, or Skye Terriers in Edinburgh. We have to ask ourselves whether Schuver himself felt lonely. The impression he gave was that, while abroad, he maintained as much contact as possible with other people, and at all events, preferred not to be alone. One aim in his contacts was undoubtedly of a practical nature. He visited consuls who could be useful to him in connection with his journeys: for instance, the Dutch consul in Ancona, the Turkish consul in Dubrovnik, or the German consul in Luxor. Of course, he mingled with many of the civil and military authorities, particularly the Turks. Schuver also mixed as much as possible with fellow journalists, and other Europeans, for example with a French sugar manufacturer in Egypt in 1877, or with a priest of unknown nationality in Armenia in 1878. Here, a need for security obviously played a part. Until 1879 he always had his father, and thereafter his uncle, with whom to maintain a correspondence. When Schuver was completely alone, the writing of letters provided relief from loneliness, as he admitted to John Coles, secretary to the Royal Geographical Society. Contact with other people was thus certainly of great importance to him. Schuver was capable of being blunt and even aggressive in his manner, but this was a pose he adopted in order to hold his own in difficult situations. We can see that the expression 'rough diamond' fitted him very well, from the fact that in life he helped destitute people financially while in his will he bequeathed part of his estate to the Burgerziekenhuis (Citizens' Hospital) in Amsterdam. He remembered three of his father's old servants in his will, leaving them annuities and a small, life-long permanent weekly income.

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