Cats are very sensitive animals and experience complex feelings such as love, pain, and fear. What are they most afraid of?
Contrary to popular belief, cats are not mean by nature. It’s true, sometimes they’re afraid of something. They have specific, sound reasons for doing so. Fear is the intimate companion of stress, so it’s worth doing some home research to find out exactly what is causing your pet’s fear. By identifying the cause of the fear, you can help the cat cope with it. Less fear = less stress = healthier, longer life for your cat.
What do cats fear most?
- Strangers
For many cats, the presence of a guest in the house is a hidden signal. Some cats are afraid of strangers, others go to the door to meet, showing obvious curiosity. Why the difference? We need to go back to the cat’s childhood. Kittens who spent their childhood interacting frequently with different people, not just family members, will be bolder as adults and readily accept new people into their environment. Cats that grow up with limited communication with people they only know as “themselves” will avoid contact with strangers for the rest of their lives. The time between 6 and 12 weeks of a cat’s life is critical!
It is possible to get the cat used to new people – this takes time and patience, as well as repeated exposure. The best way to win a cat’s heart is not to make contact. Act as if the cat is not home, don’t look at it, don’t catch the cat’s eye, don’t touch it, act calm don’t be too loud, don’t move suddenly. At some point, the cat will start approaching you on its own. Acquaintance should take place on the condition and rhythm of the cat. Not too strong, not too fast. The results may surprise you!
- New animals in the house
A new animal in the house disturbs the cat’s territory, whether it’s another cat, dog, or guinea pig. Cats that have been exposed to a variety of animals in early childhood can more quickly accept their presence in their territory. The only feline child had the hardest time. Here, only a gradual reconciliation with the animals, very slowly and intently, can lead to success in the form of acceptance and a life without fighting and aggression.
In the initial stages of acquaintance, we do not allow the animals to touch each other directly, we do not allow them to smell each other, to touch each other’s noses – only by exchanging toys, blankets, and the smell is passed on to the hand when touched. The second stage is contact through the door – sound stimuli add smells, animals hear each other, they can play by rolling toys under the door, they can see each other, but they can’t touch, scratch or bite each other. In the third stage, there is finally full contact under human control. If they go through this stage, then the animal can be left alone for a long time. The whole process can take weeks, months or even a year. Sometimes cats take longer to accept these changes.
- Strangers
Objects the cat had never seen before suddenly appeared around it. It seemed to come out of nowhere. This category includes the famous cucumber, which terrified cats a year ago.
If you find that an object is causing your pet to have a panic attack, remove it from the house or slowly enter the house so the cat can get used to it.
- Vacuum cleaner, dryer, lawn mower
They don’t even have to shout at us humans. However, cats hear different sounds in a higher frequency range. To us it’s just a slight buzz, to them it’s like a jet taking off. Loud, unpleasant and annoying.
In this case, prevention helps: lock the cat in another room during cleaning or drying.
- Fireworks, lightning, thunder
Loud and strong sounds combined with flashes of light can cause a deeply hidden instinct – primal fear. After all, we also react to explosions!
To a certain extent, if cats are systematically exposed for long periods of time from an early age, they become accustomed to loud sounds. Although, if they have a choice, they prefer a calmer environment. Yes, cats can get used to loud laughter and toddlers’ play, but certainly not to the rumble of fireworks and gunfire. Let’s try to protect our four-legged friends from this situation……
- Sudden movements
Sudden movement in front of a cat can cause it to startle. The reason is a feature of cat vision. Cats are farsighted, they see well at a distance and less well up close. The sudden movement near the nose posed an incomprehensible threat to them, and they preferred to jump aside just in case. Only later, when they take a closer look at what made them so fearful, can they rationally assess whether there was anything to be afraid of.
- Open space
On the one hand, it is synonymous with freedom, on the other with the lack of shelter. It’s the lack of shelter that makes many cats afraid to stay in large open Spaces.
How did you deal with it? Do not force a cat to walk in territory that causes fear. After all, walking is supposed to be fun for them, not dying out of fear of a threat that may appear at any moment and getting a defenceless kitten……
There’s one thing you can change. Position of toilet tray. Don’t put it in the middle of the room or in the hallway, but on the side, unknowingly in a secluded place. Your cat will thank you for it.
- Exit the street
You probably know this from your own experience – you pull out a harness and the cat disappears. The animals completely associate the appearance of the carrier (provided it is usually hidden and not used as, for example, a house) with leaving the house and visiting the clinic. Cats are territorial animals that love permanence, so it’s not surprising that leaving their usual territory can cause them to panic.
Is it possible to relieve this pressure? Yes, just get the cat used to the fact that the harness is a portable house: put an open cage with a blanket on the floor somewhere in the apartment so it can serve as a place for the cat to rest and sleep. When you take your cat to the vet, you can separately spray the container with feliway spray, which will slightly improve the cat’s mood.
- Punishment
Behaviorists make it clear that punishment doesn’t work for cats. They do not contribute to the education and upbringing of children and actually break the close bond between humans and cats. The animal no longer trusts you and may start attacking, or it may start licking excessively and behaving erratically and unpredictably. To make matters worse, punishment is one of the strongest stressors and sources of fear for cats. This exacerbates behavioral problems. It does no good but harm!
Fear and anxiety in felines may underlie what we call feline shyness. A gullible cat walks around the room, tail up, relaxed, as if it were the mistress of the place. A fearful cat sneaks in quickly, unknowingly, just to hide, not to stay in the open, even if it’s just in the middle of a small room. Fear inevitably comes with stress. Therefore, it is useful to trace its source and try to eliminate it. A good behaviorist is able to alleviate your cat’s fears, which will benefit both your and your pet’s health!
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