Why is my cat so afraid and what should I do?

Question

We recently installed a new ceiling fan in the bedroom, we have ceiling fans throughout the entire house and she has never been afraid. But now she is increasingly afraid and hides under the furniture and refuses to come out even to eat. When she is not hiding under the furniture she is in a corner urinating on the floor. If we take her to her litter box she lays in it and refuses to leave. She is now becoming afraid of the other fans in the house cowering and looking up as she runs throught the room to hide under the bed. HELP what can I do to stop this? We don't have central air so we have to run the fans.

Answer 1

My kitten is only afraid of the one in my bedroom and is ok with the other 3 in the house. He is afraid of it even when he is on my bed, he will look at it and try to stay away from it. I had someone install 3 of the fans when I moved in before I ever got my kitten. I had the one in the livingroom already. If I pick him up and hold him anywhere near the ceiling fan in the bedroom, he will jump down. I have to be at least 5 feet away. It doesn't have to be on for him to be afraid of it. I wonder what the people who installed it did to it. He was afraid of nothing, absolutely nothing except my fan in the bedroom, even loud noises he has no fear.

Here is a website I copied and pasted that might help. Your cat sounds more fearful than mine is of the fan. http://maxshouse.com/behavior/desensitization_and__countercond.htm They have more for fear of humans and fear of other cats too. Best wishes to you and your cat.

This approach is useful for training cats to handle situations that they find fearful. In simple terms, your cat must be exposed to the fearful stimulus until it sees that there is nothing to fear and settles down. If the association with the stimulus can be turned into one that is positive, your cat should gradually develop a positive attitude when exposed to the stimulus.

Desensitization is used in combination with counterconditioning to change a pet’s attitude or ‘feeling’ about the stimulus from one that is negative to one that is positive. Desensitization involves controlled exposure to situations or stimuli that might cause fear at levels that are minimal enough that your cat will adapt. Counterconditioning is then used to change the cat’s response to the stimulus (e.g., person, other animal, etc.) by associating the cat’s favored rewards with a mild form of the stimulus. The cat is then gradually introduced to similar but progressively more intense stimuli paired together with the presentation of the favored reward.

Response substitution is used to train the cat to perform or display an acceptable response (play, food acquisition) each time it is exposed to the stimulus. Rather than attempting to overcome an intense response, the training should be set up to expose the cat to stimuli of reduced intensity to ensure a successful outcome. Desirable responses should be reinforced while attempts at escape should be prevented and any fearful response should be interrupted (e.g., with a leash and harness or a disruption device such as compressed air). If the cat’s attention can be successfully diverted, the appropriate response can then be rewarded.

Owner responses such as anxiety, fear, a raised voice, or any form of punishment will only serve to heighten the pet’s fear or anxiety. Similarly a fear or anxiety-inducing stimulus presented to your cat will further aggravate anxiety; be certain to retrain only with calm, controlled stimuli. The goal of training is to reinforce appropriate, desirable responses. Therefore, it is critical that rewards are not given while the cat is displaying an inappropriate response. In addition, neither your cat nor the stimulus should be removed until the cat is settled. Of course, if there is any chance of injury then quickly and safely removing the cat from the situation will have to take priority.

Treatment

Safety first: because a fearful cat can quickly become aggressive, precautions must be taken before beginning a treatment program for fear aggressive cats. Ideally, exposure to stimuli should be sufficiently positive and gradual so that no fear is exhibited. The cat should be entirely separated from the fearful stimulus except during retraining sessions. If necessary, a restraint device such as a leash and harness works well for some cats so that they can be interrupted from a distance and moved into a separate room until they calm down. Other options include using a large blanket to cover and wrap the cat and carrying it to a separate room until it calms down. Some cats may be successfully interrupted with a spray from a water rifle, citronella product, canister of compressed air, or with a noise device.

Stimulus identification: each and every fear-eliciting stimulus must be identified, including people or animals, and in what situations fear is likely to arise. For some cats, fear may be generalized so that all strangers or other animals lead to fear and anxiety, while for some cats the fear may be only to specific stimuli such as a particular family member or other pet in the home.

Stimulus control: some method of controlling exposure to the stimulus must then be devised, so that a safe and effective desensitization program can be implemented. Avoiding interactions with the stimulus is the safest approach, but improvement cannot be made without exposure to the stimulus. Using a leash and harness, a crate or separation across a doorway can be used to initiate exposure exercises with animate stimuli (e.g., people, other cats) while videos or audiotapes might be useful for auditory stimuli.

Stimulus gradient: each stimulus will need to be presented along a gradient from low (least fear evoking) to high (most fear evoking). To develop a gradient you will need to determine which situations, people, places, or animals are most likely to evoke fear, as well as how to minimize and control these stimuli for retraining. For example, a cat that is fearful of strangers may be most fearful of the approach of young children, and least fearful of adult visitors that ignore the cat.

Reinforcer selection and assessment: for most cats, special food or treats are likely to be of highest appeal, so that these reinforcers should be identified and saved exclusively for desensitization, counterconditioning, and reward training. By depriving your cat of these rewards until the training session, the reward may then be a strong enough motivator to overcome low levels of fear when exposed to the stimulus. Favored toys, catnip, and even short periods of affection may also be effective for counterconditioning, if they are saved exclusively for the exposure sessions.

Pretraining: using a ‘learn to earn’ type program, many cats can be trained to have a positive and predictable response to commands or phrases. In this program, prior to giving the cat any reward or anything of value, the cat must first exhibit an appropriate response. A few basic phrases or commands, such as ‘come’ or ‘feeding,’ ‘play time’ or ‘go to your room,’ could be learned by the cat if the commands are always followed by a reward. In addition, a positive association needs to be made with any new control technique. If the cat is to wear a harness or be locked into a new confinement area, food, treats, or play should be provided.

Other techniques for reducing anxiety: the use of pheromones and drug therapy may also be useful at reducing anxiety so that the behavioral retraining program can have faster or better results.

Desensitize and countercondition.

(a) You must begin with safe and effective control of both your cat as well as the fearful stimuli. For fear toward a particular person, the person should be situated at sufficient distance to avoid further aggravation of the fear, but with fear toward another cat, additional control mechanisms may be required for each cat. Although sufficient distance and counterconditioning with highly motivating rewards may be successful, it may be necessary toimplement better physical restraint to ensure success. This can be accomplished with a body harness and leash or a crate for one or both cats. Sometimes your cat and the stimulus (other cat, people) can be separated by confinement behind a common solid door (until the cat adapts to the odor and sounds of the stimulus) or across a glass or screen door, which would allow for safe visual exposure as well.

(b) The next step would be to gradually reduce the distance when the cat is calm and takes the rewards in the presence of a minimized stimulus. If barriers have been used, the goal is to gradually get the cat into the same room with the stimulus (person, pet) at sufficient distance that the cat will take the food or treat.

(c) If the cat exhibits any fear at any step in the desensitization program, you are progressing too quickly. Go back to the step that was successful and repeat it a few times before progressing again. Always end on a positive note.

(d) Habituation and flooding: if the cat is restrained (e.g., leash and harness) or in a crate and shows mild fear but cannot escape, it may be possible to continue low-level exposure to the stimulus (e.g., the person or other cat ignores the cat). Food treats can be intermittently offered when the cat is sufficiently settled (habituates) or is sufficiently distracted to take the treat.

Answer 2

My cat is the comparable way she have been given attacked by utilising 2 Rottweilers while she became a kitten although that is been 4 years now and he or she we could anybody puppy her! I first in simple terms all started letting her outdoors in my small patio and he or she have been given used to each and all of the noises and individuals strolling by utilising. Then i all started shutting my door and getting her used to locations that weren't my room. next i all started letting females puppy her each and each time some got here to visit (My cat likes females greater advantageous too cuz i'm a woman) and that i'd carry my cat in my lap and enable anybody guess her. and ultimately I enable her bypass the place ever she wanted and while ever. It took 3 years yet now she's the friendliest cat on the city!

Answer 3

One of my kitties used to run into the spare room every time I turned the ceiling fan on in the lounge room, to hide. Now, after a year, she's gotten used to it and it's actually funny to watch her. As soon as I turn the fan on, her little head rotates in time to the fan as if watching one of the blades go round and round. She soon tires of this however, and gets on with whatever cat business maybe about.

Answer 4

get rid of the fans or try to pick up your cat & bring it out so it can get use to the noise(be careful that the cat does not pee on you, bite, or scratch u while carrying it)

Answer 5

I've had the same problem and the sad news is you will have to either get rid of the fans or get rid of the cat.

Answer 6

Oh no! My daughter was afraid of fans when she was a baby and would start to scream.. But a cat? I have no idea..Poor kitty..

Answer 7

Buy some more fans and block off every escape. Then sit back and let the fun begin! You could probably get on AFV.

Answer 8

Please call your local vet Mon. morning, and ask about this behavior, and how to help your kitty cat. I wish you all the best. Take care.

Answer 9

It may be making a noise that only she can hear.

Answer 10

get a dog...cat's are p*ssies