# Hurt my cat on accident and now she's scared



## rketto (Aug 22, 2010)

Earlier I was playing with the kitties with one of those toys that you swing around on a plastic wand, and I accidentally hit my cat Lilith in the face with it. She ran away and acted scared at first but then calmed down. Now hours later, she went over to the toy like she wanted to play with it but when I picked it up she ran away again. I feel so bad, she won't even let me come near her again. And that was one of her favorite toys too. What should I do?


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## AnaPanda (Feb 23, 2011)

We as parents (even kitty parents) make mistakes, it's okay, it happens.
Maybe whenever she's eating, you can crouch beside her, and pet her?
That usually works, especially if they're too hungry to leave their bowl!


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## Pawsitively Nicole (Feb 12, 2011)

Just give her some time and she will come around. Maybe just leave the wand on the ground and ignore it, this gives her an opportunity when she is ready to come sniff at it and get comfortable with it again without it moving which could bring back a bit of wariness. 

I understand the feeling of guilt. The other night I was walking through the house in the dark. I full out stepped on little Autumn's tail. She cried out in pain and scampered off. Then she followed me around for the next hour, licking me and trying so hard to cuddle, like she thought I hurt her for being bad and she was the one apologizing  

This made me feel worse, I think I would have rather had her ignore me.


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

Awww, I hate that! I stepped on Lily's food tonight by accident (at least I wasn't wearing shoes..), and she yelped out in pain.  

She will come around, though. Cats are very forgiving, it seems...they know who loves them and takes care of them.  And I agree about leaving it out for her to sniff.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I agree...she'll come around. It will just take a bit of time. I wouldn't try to play with that toy for now. You could put it away for about a month and bring it out again later, whereupon she will likely have forgotten it. Or, as Nicole says, just leave it lying out and let her investigate it.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

Ohhh I hate when that happens --- looks like you got some good advice on how to handle it!


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

She knows it was an accident. She's just playing you for treats. They do guilt better than a Jewish mom


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## rketto (Aug 22, 2010)

Good news, last night she seemed to be extra cuddly just for that. Normally she dislikes being held but she let me hold her and even purred while I did, then slept against me on my bed like she normally does.  I'm so happy... but I don't know if she's still scared of that toy or not.


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## suwanee (Jan 22, 2011)

I had a friend come stay with me. He played with my two cats with the wand toy.

When he left, my female cat would run away terrified every time I tried to play with her with the wand. She had previously loved it. My friend couldn't think of what may have happened and it took a year and a half before she would play with it again. Now everything is back to normal. Man, I thought she'd never come around.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

If it makes you feel better, just think of what I did to Fergie last summer - I shut her EAR in a window! She jumped up on the sill just as I was shutting the window and her ear got caught. She held still just long enough for me to open it again and then took off, wouldn't let anyone near her for an hour to check on her ear (it was fine) and wouldn't come anywhere near me for a whole day. For weeks after, if she was in the window and we came near she would hop down and run away, but eventually she realized that we really weren't trying to kill her. 

Fortunately with cat toys, there's always something else they'll play with, and if you put this one away for a while when you take it back out again it'll be new and exciting! You could also see if she'll play with it with someone else - my nephew tries to hit Fergie with one of her favorite toys so she'll run away if she sees him holding it but she's right there playing if it's me or my hubby.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

My girl has the bad habit of sitting behind me when I'm working at the kitchen counter...a couple of nights ago I stepped back right on her tail. I immediately apologized and walked over to her, and instead of running away she stood still, looked up at me and put her tail straight up, as if to say, "it's OK, I know you didn't mean to do it." I find an _immediate apology_ is understood and accepted (most of the time), and even the times when the cat runs off, I go after it and apologize and make a big fuss over it. That usually works. They know from the tone of the voice whether something was an accident or deliberate, and are willing to forgive and forget.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

My dad flicked my cat _hard_ on the nose once, by accident - he was just posing his hand like that to make me tell him to cut it out but his finger slipped. My cat flew backwards on the bed and then bolted out of the room. Blaze didn't want to come in my bedroom for a few days after that and a week later my dad made that same gesture to him without thinking (we were talking about how horrible it had been the first time) and the cat bolted out of the room. I think he'd be fine if we did it now, but we've never tried again.

So yeah, cats forgive and forget if it's a one time thing but it might take a little while.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

it took Mia a week to forgive me for the last flea meds session. but a wek later we're best buds again


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## Kamie (Feb 12, 2011)

I used to step on Bob's tail all the time, he got so used to it he all he did was give me a good meow telling off (don't know who was more silly, me for not looking where I was going despite knowing he was constantly under my feet, or him for knowing that I am a clumsy idiot who constantly tread on his tail and yet he would still stand in the way)

The worse thing that ever happened was one night he decided to stop right in front of me while walking down the stairs to have a big stretch. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop in time and my foot met his butt and we had an airborne kitty situation. Luckily he knew that it was an accident and he was back on my lap about five minutes later.

I cant think of anything that we have done to scare Tahllula, but to be fair she is pretty much scared of the world anyway so I doubt we would notice a difference.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

I'm both clumsy and with an eyesight problem, so I hit Prince a lot. I'm lucky he always forgives me immediately, but my feeling inside is so bad! I don't know what he hates more: my hitting him or my smothering him with cuddles and apologies after it.

Just now he was spooked by something outside the window (I think he's fighting with a fly) and he ran to me for reassurance, only for his eye to meet my fingertip full on. I can't but laugh, otherwise I'll cry! Poor thing, as usual he didn't complain, just shook his head.

I've hit him with the wand too, several times. But he loves the game soooo much, and I suppose since there's no one else to play, he just has to continue playing with me...


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## calamityjane (Feb 20, 2011)

We've all done it. I have a naturally skittish, timid cat. In a fit of 'ragequit' some years ago, I flung a video game controller down as hard as humanly possible. It, uh. It hit her head as I had no idea she was down on the floor right next to me. It happens and we feel horrible. Don't worry! It sucks, but she'll get over it with time. ****, mine was asleep on the Wiimote last night.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I'm quite lucky in that both my girls forgive me immediately. I think they are aware of how clumsy I am, and, in typical Ragdoll nature, they do like to run around my feet a lot! I always apologise profusely and offers cuddles and kisses. They always just do the "it's okay, I know you didn't mean to" look. It seems they'll forgive me more easily than my boyfriend though, Daddy has to work for forgiveness.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I'm like Straysmommy. I"m a complete klutz and MowMOw is always getting poked in the eye, stepped on, tripped over (I blame him for those) and generally bumbled. When I first got him he'd hide from me and I'd have to apologize and cuddle him for forgiveness. Now he knows it's just mom being dumb OR he figures it's better to pretend it's no big deal and I won't cover him in kiss slobber because he just winks that eye a few times to clear it or licks the spot I've bumbled and moves on.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Today as I was hanging the laundry through the window, Prince silently squeezed by me without me feeling anything, I only saw him when he was half-body outside the window, head down. I grabbed him so hard and yelled so much that he went into hiding. He forgave me after a minute, but I really hope he doesn't forget this one, as we don't usually have laundry dryers in this country. What's hardest for me is that cats are at the same time so quiet and so quick.


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