# Anyone else have static electricity problems when petting your cat?



## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

Poor kitty. It's very dry in Phoenix. 19% humidity now and below 10% or even 5% at times.

It's not just one shock when I pet him, but rather, when we're sitting in bed I can feel lots of tingling as I pet him from front to back. It must not feel good to him either. I've tried things like ultrasonic humidifiers but can't stand the white dust, and I know Toby would never stop messing with it.

Anyone else have static electgricity problems when petting their cat? Maybe I can spray him with Static Guard


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

Try a zerostat gun, works on vinyl records.


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## asrowley (Dec 17, 2011)

Ugh, yes! Vegas is very dry too  especially when I brush her. she's like a ball of static!


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Dry as a bone here in Southern Idaho as well. Long haired cats...... I could power half the town with the static.


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## Cats&Plants (Aug 20, 2011)

Same here in central Alberta. It is kinda fun to shut the lights out and pet them in the dark. You can see the electric sparks in their fur lol

We have a humidifier in one bedroom, and we just replaced our furnace which has a built in humidifier so it's much better.

A tip I used once is to leave water pans on heat vents, the water evaporates when the heat goes on. For those that don't turn the heat on, putting some additional water bowls around the house could help, maybe.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I did, when the winter just started. Interesting that Toronto is right next to lake Ontario but it's so dry here... My Metoo is a dedicated rubber. She rubs me frantically. The static was so strong that by the end it hurts me with each of her rub (interesting though, Metoo didn't seems to be bothered). And Metoo will puff out like a hedgedog :lol:

I bought another humidifier, and now it's way better.


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## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

All this is fine, but how much is it hurting kitty?


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## Mhelmandollar (Dec 9, 2011)

If it was hurting kitty to much he would let you know. 
When I brush my Himalayan I use static guard on the brush. It's funny, now when ever I spray the brush he comes running. 
Never had static problems when I had my 300 gal salt water reef tank set up. Had the cat tree next to it and Mocha would watch the fish for hours at a time.


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## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

im in ny and i shock my cats sometimes..

its worse when im at the barn and i take off my horse's winter blanket...big shock there! it goes right to my feet! haha


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

I think in our house, the SO and I are more afraid of being shocked than the cats. I SWEAR Waffles touches his nose to mine when I'm not paying attention to zap me and scare me. The cats don't seem phased by the static though, which is good.


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## asrowley (Dec 17, 2011)

Cats actually are meant to handle static. They lick it off easily. A couple humidifiers help as well.


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## koneko_otaku (Jul 22, 2010)

It gets dry here in Michigan in winter. Oddly only 1 of my cat seems to have static issue. Cuddles is long haired which probably hels make more static electricity.

She does have an annoying habit when she is charged up. She likes to stick her nose against my nose to wake me up. It can be irriating to get zapped on my nose but I love Cuddles too much to make her go away!


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## littlesushi (Jun 8, 2011)

we have that problem every now and then too. aster doesn't like it, she runs away if she touches her nose against my finger and gets zapped. cody doesn't seem to notice. i always feel bad tho..


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## Krista2882 (Jan 26, 2012)

I don't know if they would actually feel it much under all that fur. We're dealing with a lot of static here in CT, too, and Callie doesn't seem bothered at all when we hear the little lightning snaps as we pet her. If we touch her ears or nose and she gets a little shock, she just twitches a little, but it doesn't seem to bother her much. Unlike my dad who yells and swears whenever he gets a shock. lol


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## Mhelmandollar (Dec 9, 2011)

When I pet my cats from head to tail they will get a shock everytime I touch there ears. They will twitch there ears for a while but then will start to lower there heads when I get close their ears.


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## asrowley (Dec 17, 2011)

Did you know, it's related to this, the old fable that cats will clean before a storm is based off of electricity in their fur? They groom a lot to get it out, since before a storm there is a lot of electricity in the air they groom more than normal. Thus the old wives tale begins.


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## Krista2882 (Jan 26, 2012)

F/3 said:


> When I pet my cats from head to tail they will get a shock everytime I touch there ears. They will twitch there ears for a while but then will start to lower there heads when I get close their ears.


hehe Callie does that sometimes too. If I shock her ears, the next time I go to touch her, she flattens her ears to her head. lol.


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## BoBear (Sep 8, 2011)

I live in Ottawa and during the winter it gets dry enough to cause static electricity. I bought a humidifier, partly to reduce static electricity and partly to ease scinus irritation due to the dryness.... in the dogs moreso than in the humans.


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