Common Behavior Problems
Fraidy Cats - Fear of People, Places and Things
Most cats are afraid of anything new. Some quickly overcome their
fears, and are curious about new things and try to make friends
with people. Other cats, who likely aren’t well socialized,
or who perhaps have genetic tendencies toward fearful behavior,
have great difficulty adjusting to anything new, including people.
They may hide under the bed when guests arrive, or avoid new things.
Fears are not rational. Think of something you are extremely afraid
of – perhaps it’s heights, snakes, flying, or insects,
which is Dr. Hetts’ personal favorite. It isn’t very
helpful for someone to force you into an airplane, put a snake around
your neck, or a bug in your hand and say “See – it won’t
hurt you!”
In fact, you are likely to become even more fearful by having these
experiences forced on you. The same thing holds true for your cat.
So avoid forcing your cat to experience what he is afraid of. Do
not try to pick up a fearful cat and introduce him to visitors.
Your cat may become defensive and bite
or scratch.
Cats can sometimes habituate (get used to) to the people and things.
This most often happens with mild fears, where your cat still can
tolerate some limited contact with what frightens her.
With more severe fears, your cat will continue to avoid, and never
have the chance, to get used to the thing she is afraid of. Instead,
you’ll need to use counter conditioning and desensitization
procedures, which we can help you implement correctly.
Most cats can learn to be friendlier, but some may never be social
butterflies and at ease with everyone. If your cat’s fear
lasts more than a few weeks, or is affecting his quality of life,
we suggest you schedule a consultation
with us.
To better understand noise phobias and fearful behavior, we also
recommend The Cautious Canine by Dr. Patricia McConnell.
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