Sometimes, that’s true. But sometimes it is simply the way a cat’s brain works to protect them from danger.
Any danger.
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One of the interesting things about cat’s brains is that their limbic system is set up very much like ours. We might think we arrive at our likes and dislikes through a system of rational thought. That is what we use to decide if a favorite band’s new album fits into this month’s discretionary budget. But what made us like the band in the first place was an emotional reaction.
Cats, living in a world they did not make, can rely even less on rational thought when deciding if something should be attractive, or avoided. How the thing makes them feel is going to have a lot more weight. Especially when they are young and exploring the world for the first time.
It can be as simple as being on the floor when a hairbrush falls near them. They are startled… there’s the hairbrush… and they blame the hairbrush. Now we have “trouble with brushes” to deal with when we try grooming the cat.
It’s not that anyone beat them with a hairbrush. At least, we hope not. But the reaction can be the same.
Cats become frightened of “harmless things” because no one put the frightening event into perspective for them at the time.
We can create less fearful cats. If we aren’t there to chase them down and reassure them at the time, we can at least put some new entries into the Cat Database.
We “recast” the frightening object.
It’s always an effective move for an actor known for one kind of role to take on a very different one. If she’s known for playing sweet roles, a turn as a villain will let us see her in a new light. We can perform this same kind of magic for the fearful hairbrush.
If the cat flees the room upon seeing the hairbrush, we can make this a training time to follow them to where they are and reassure them that the hairbrush won’t hurt them. It only takes a moment, then we can go back to what we were doing.
We explain what the object really is.
Now, the cat will associate the hairbrush with being told nice things. This is at least a step up. If the cat’s fleeing slows down, bring the hairbrush next time. Put it on the floor and show them that it doesn’t move unless we do something with it. This will provide the cat the information that was missing the first time.
When the hairbrush suddenly descends to a hard floor it makes a big noise and then clatters on the floor a couple more times. This makes it look alive. So the cat reacts to it as they would a live object. It’s sitting still now, sure. But I’ve seen it attack!
We need to make a new link between “hairbrush” and “cat’s reaction” that makes the cat feel less frightened.
As the cat lingers for longer, asking tell me more about this intriguing new theory of yours, they are given more time to see that the hairbrush only moves when we tell it to. (This makes us look powerful, which is a handy bonus; why wouldn’t the cat listen to someone who is, after all, more powerful than them… when it comes to hairbrushes.)
We let the cat gain new experiences with the object.
Have Hairbrush show up at happy functions. Put it away if the cat flees, denying themselves enjoyment, and coax them back. Gradually, they will stop fleeing, and start associating Hairbrush with the happy events. Hairbrush is not so bad, once you get to know ‘em.
Get a hairbrush just for the cat’s grooming, or show them the brush they were always afraid of and declare it the cat’s Hairbrush. They can trust this Hairbrush more than the others.
Then, when we start to groom with a Hairbrush just for them, they will start to see the really good side of Hairbrush.
Cats will vary, both in the original strength of the bad reaction and in their willingness to see new sides of an issue. But any efforts we make to “desensitize” the cat towards their fearful objects will both calm the cat, and let them spend more time thinking.
Both great goals to work towards.
For help modeling the right reactions at the time of the frightening events, see this post.
See all my posts on the cat database.
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That is so true. Like many pets, Killsy used to be terrified of thunderstorms. She’d disappear under the bed at the first rumble, and not come out until 20 minutes after the last one. I would stand at the side of the bed, speaking calmly and reassuringly of how there wasn’t anything to be scared of–I wasn’t scared, was I? It took a couple of years, but she started sitting under whatever chair I was during the storms. I’d tell her what a brave girl she was. But if I wasn’t home, she’d still hide for 20 minutes.
Then Byron came to live with us, and she saw that he didn’t even acknowledge the thunder. Of course, she didn’t realize that this was because he was deaf. Once she saw that neither of us were scared, she ceased being so. She can even sleep through storms right above us now.
She also had a fear of aluminum foil. If I used it, it meant I was putting it on a cookie sheet to cook, and once or twice I’d dropped the sheet and it clattered loudly to the floor. When I switched to a toaster oven I didn’t need the sheet, and she learned that foil didn’t automatically mean Potential Loud Crash. But that was something she figured out on her own.
My cats have some truly irrational fears too!
I find that ignoring the thunder and not fussing my cats any more than normal is the best way the deal with thunder storms, if the storm is particularly bad then we use Feliway to help ease any stress. Using a plug-in is far simpler than trying to make them swallow tablets and seems to do the trick!