# What is your cat scrared of?



## Phil (Oct 31, 2003)

I wonder if Charlee is much different than your cats...

Charlee is afraid of and will run for cover because of:

- Vacuums (even handhelds) ...must be the noise.
- Ironing board (when I open it) ...must be the "SHREEKING" noise it makes when it opens...I hate that noise too.
- Big items that I move around. Ex: furniture or large boxes.
- Strangers ...although she is getting better. She will hang by the stairs and check them out for a few minutes - but she doesn't go to hide as much.
- Kids ...she seems to not enjoy agitated kids who yell out her name and run after her.
- Other cat ...as long as they keep their distance. If they go nose to nose, she will hiss and run.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Yep, that's all pretty typical.


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

Hahaha, this makes me think of a cat I had a few years ago named Baby Kitty. I had an entertainment center that was made to be pushed up flat against a wall but instead I had it angled against a corner and she liked to climb over my TV to hide back there. I didn't want her back there because of the wires for all the stuff I had were just laying back there loose for her to get tangled in or chew on. I tried a bunch of different ways of blocking her access to that area but she always figured out how to get back there. 

Then one day I was out shopping and I saw something I just HAD to have. It was a plastic inflatable moose head that hung on the wall like a real trophy head. (Yeah, I know...I'm weird!) I took it home, inflated it and hung it up. It hung there for weeks, getting dusty while Baby Kitty kept climbing over my TV. One day I took it down to dust it. I wasn't really looking behind me while I wiped it off, and I heard a strange sounding meow. I thought I stepped on her tail, but when I looked she was backed into the corner of the couch, the moose antler touching her while she frantically looked around for a way to escape this frightening monster which was trying to eat her. She was afraid of the moose! I acted like nothing happened, I hung the moose back up and comforted her. Then I waited for her to leave the room. When she did, I took the moose down and dropped it behind the TV, making sure it landed facing up.

It wasn't long before she tried to get back there again. I was eating dinner and watching TV when she climbed up and as usual dropped down behind the entertainment center before I could get up and pull her out...but this time she came back out on her own faster than, well...a singed cat. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates.

I never had a problem with her hiding behind the TV again!


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## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

Yeah, my cats kinda freak around the same kind of things too.

Except Mozart really loves one of the handheld vacuums. He waits for it to almost run down, then he'll come over and present his back to me for vacuuming. He figured out this was a sure way of getting a treat, and that vacuum wasn't a monster. No one else will let me near.

SkyEW's moose head reminded me of another thing that freaks them out: balloons. They run for it, except for Kayla, who'll eventually come out to bap-bap-bap the intruder. And leap 5 feet in the air when it bounces back at her.

Hubby's jogging suits. Not only are they black, they make that crinkly sound. They panic and scatter to all corners. It's been years now. Still.

Noisily shaking plastic shopping bags freaks them out. If they're on the ground and *kitty* makes the noise it's ok. LOL.


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## Phil (Oct 31, 2003)

What's weird is that Charlee is not afraid of the vaccum when it's off.
I can leave it in the middle of the room and she'll rub up against it. She couldn't care less. Power it on though...

Gosh, I wish she would let me vaccum her. This would be great for picking up hair.


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## Parker (Apr 28, 2004)

Yep - all of my animals are terrifed of the vacuum!! Daltrey, my dog, will give it a 2 foot radius on all sides, eyeing it warily just in case it comes on. If it is sitting in the hallway, he will cry until you come get him because he can't get around it!!!  

Other things the cats are afraid of
-loud noises
-Dune is terrified of the electric toothbrush, and my fiance's razor
-the shower (or bath for that matter) 
-Dune also hates any weird noises we make - if we growl at him, or hum near him his eyes get REALLY big and he takes off
-catnip bubbles
-balloons
-Pancake always hides when we first come in the door to make sure that it is REALLY us coming in and not some scary stranger


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## Celebsilmare (Aug 9, 2004)

Hmm how to answer this one. Well for one of ours (Ketesh) I'm going to have to say....

EVERYTHING 

She is simply scared of anything and everything.


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## nastusha799 (Feb 5, 2004)

I have 3 cats....

2 of them affraid of Vacuums, strangers and changes in the apt.

My third cat is deaf..so she's fearless


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## CanadaDiva (Mar 29, 2006)

My cat is terrified of the ceiling fan. He will race out of the room and won't come back in until its turned off. Funny though he is not scared of my floor fan.


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## MandyJoBo (Apr 13, 2006)

Cupid is scared of any loud, sudden noises--and lately, he's been scared of the dryer even though he never has been before and nothing's changed.
Opal isn't scared of anything. She likes to sit in the window and watch the lawn guys mow the grass and trim the bushes, even though it's LOUD(!) and they are right up at the window! It's so funny! 8O


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## camarochick (Feb 20, 2006)

I started one of the race cars up the other day in the detached garage and my cats got all freaked out, not scared, but they acted really strange.
Mine are also afraid of the vaccuum and plastic grocery bags when they rustle. 
One time Tyger was playing with a string on a bag that was hanging from a chair. The bag fell on his head and he got scared and shot around the house like a bullet. He was so fast that I could not catch him to take the bag off and he ran into some of the furniture. Valentine got all puffed out and hid behind the toilet and hissed. It was really funny because of the reactions of the cats, but I'm glad no one got hurt. They both needed belly rubs to calm down after that though.


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## MattH (Oct 26, 2005)

Dorn will bolt out of the room if I sneeze haha

other than that he sint afraid of to much...except thunderstorms..

it stormed the other night here, and as soon as he saw that lightning he made the jump from his window sill to the bed and curled up with me and the wife...i dont think the thunder scares him unless it is a good crack..mainly the lightning..


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## jennifer2 (Mar 5, 2005)

Meowmie said:


> Ceiling fans remind cats of predatory birds (owls and hawks), that's why they are afraid of them.
> Painting the blades white can make them less threatening.


Really! Neither of mine are afraid of the ceiling fans, but that does make sense!

My cats are pretty typical, vacuum and strangers. What's funny is that anything new on the floor will spook Calypso. She'll walk up to it and stay way back and reach with her paw to whack it until she realizes it's not a threat.

One of my dogs is funny about the vacuum. When I'm vacuuming he will stay about 3 ft from it at all times!


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## reprot (Nov 11, 2004)

Mine are afraid of sudden noises or movement, I'm sure that is same of all cats


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

Noises, sudden movements, vaccum cleaner, telephone, shopping bags, thunder/lightning, strangers, you know the usual :wink: .


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## jafa73 (Oct 17, 2005)

My cat hates:
to be blown on 
The vacuum
medicine ball
sneezing
car rides


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## Snoof (Apr 28, 2006)

Sudden noise, sudden movements from people, everybody's feet except for mine (which took a long time - eventually I hope he won't be afraid of any feet), people he doesn't know, being picked up, cloths (when held by people).


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## ER (Apr 7, 2006)

Well, my Cat Niles, is afraid of the usual things really. 

--- Sudden, Loud Noises
--- The Washing Machine!
--- The Fridge!
--- Feet

Reason for the 'Feet' one is that I believe he was badly treated before I got him, and I think he was kicked a lot. 

He's actually not afraid of Strangers though, in-fact, he will go up to them. Like lots of Animals that have been badly treated and then rescued, he's become terribly affectionate towards everyone.


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## zippy96444 (Mar 7, 2006)

My guy isn't afraid of anything. The ceiling fan doesn't bother him either. He will also sit and watch our lawn being mowed. He will sit and watch me vacuum also. Oh, yea, he is afraid of the squirt bottle!


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## Snoof (Apr 28, 2006)

ER said:


> He's actually not afraid of Strangers though, in-fact, he will go up to them. Like lots of Animals that have been badly treated and then rescued, he's become terribly affectionate towards everyone.


Ninja is the opposite - he's very good with _me_, now, but it took me over a year to get there. Even now, he will only accept new people if he's in his "safe space" (a box with a pillow and a blanket in it, on a waist-height ledge in the conservatory) and I introduce them to him first.

But I believe his fear of feet is also from being kicked before we got him. Seems they can go either way - glad Niles went the cuddly way


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## JazznMurphy (Dec 1, 2005)

They are both afraid of a mylar balloon. I got one attached to a floral arrangement not too long ago and when I detached the balloon and tried to get Jazz and Misha to at least be a little inquisitive, they scattered. 

Who'd have thought!?! 8O


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## Emskie (Jan 26, 2005)

Sheba hisses at the sight of the vacuum--it's apparently an evil monster coming to get her. 
She hates the sound of plastic bags and will run, and hiss (we have a hisser)
And a few select people she just does not like--one of my friends once came over before we were home... Sheba sat in the middle of the kitchen (first room you walked into) and hissed at her like she was a gaurd dog!!! She will also run and hide when she sees another friend. Other people she will randomly jump on their laps and start purring the first time they come over. Very picky cat.

Other than the vacuum, doogie isn't afraid of much. He's a laid back guy.

Oh, and to contradict the vacuum fear, Sheba LOVES the sound of the hair dryer. Every time I turn it on, she comes running and sits at the door of the bathroom watching me. Wierd, sounds just like a vacuum.


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## k_lo86 (Jan 21, 2005)

My kitty that passed away in September LOVED the vaccuum. Whenever I pulled it out, she would flop down on the ground and I would come after her to vacuum and she didn't care, I would push the vaccuum up against her tummy and she just laid there, so cute!

Mickey is cool with the vacuum, thankfully. He is pretty much fearless as long as he has his "mommy" (me) around, he is such a baby.

Jasmine is scared of everything, anytime I walk in the door, the door scares her, sitting down on the couch scares her, ANYTHING does. It is funny though when she gets scared b/c her whole body fluffs up to twice the size she is and then Mickey sees it and he fluffs up and comes and checks out Jasmine to see what is wrong. They are such clowns!


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## joharriforce4 (Jun 28, 2005)

Spooky is afraid of
-our dog
-my little brother (well at least he runs from him when he's around, so I'm assuming its out of fear, but that's because my brother pesters the crap out of him)
-nail clippers
and I believe thats really it. .. some of those are just things he hates besides the dog. :roll:


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

Lets see.....

Vacuums, pretty typical. Can't say that I care for them either. :wink: 

Kids, see above. :lol: Oh, I'm kidding, sort of. 

The doorbell. I think probably because not only is it a sudden, loud noise, it mean possible strangers bringing possible children with them. Which brings me to....

Most people other than my husband and myself. Velvet is a two-person cat.


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

I can make a pretty realistic-sounding cat growl and howl. Whenever I do it my 3 all come running up to me and they are all freaked out like they wanna say, "What's the matter, mama?! WHAT IS IT?!"

My friend up in Michigan laughed at me one night when I was leaving her house and I said, "Marj, watch this! I'm gonna howl at that cat across the street!" I did it real loud for a few seconds and that cat _launched_ itself off her neighbor's porch and came after me! 8O 

My friend just about fell over laughing because I jumped in my car real quick so I didn't get attacked!


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## Felly (May 5, 2006)

hahaha! how long did it take to perfect this howl/growl?


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