Fear aggression is the most common type of cat aggression. Some cats act aggressively whenever they get scared.
Poor socialization also leads to fear aggression. Punishment from the owner can worsen the situation.
What can cats be afraid of?
Cats can develop a fear of everything unfamiliar. In this case, animals are afraid of people, places, other cats, certain sounds or even smells and react aggressively.
They may generalize one scary experience (such as driving to the vet) to all future trips. A single unpleasant episode with another cat can ruin relationships with other cats and cause inter-cat aggression.
Recognizing fear-driven aggression
In order to train a shy cat not to be aggressive, you need to be able to recognize the reasons for her fears.
What makes a cat behave aggressively?
Cats understand that their aggressive behavior makes the scary object go away.
Once this fact is understood by them, they will use aggression constantly.
How can you tell if a cat is scared?
These cats can switch from attack to defense and back again. They display a mixture of defensive (ears pinned sideways, tail tucked, crouching and stooping) and aggressive body signals (ruffled fur, bared teeth, hissing, growling, biting and scratching).
Typically, the pupils of the eyes dilate widely, regardless of the amount of light present.
If you can determine the cause of her fears, it will be much easier for you to calm your cat and help eliminate aggressive behavior during fears.
If your cat's aggression is mild and you can avoid the underlying causes of the aggression, then no other treatment may be needed.
If this is not the case and the causes cannot be eliminated or identified, you will need to work to stop the cat from being afraid.
Why are cats afraid of cucumbers?
Cat repeller: purpose and principle of operation
Cats are cute creatures until they begin to show their stubbornness and animalistic habits. This animal creates a lot of inconvenience when it enters an area where it is prohibited from entering. Repellers will help protect access. They do not injure the cat, but only irritate it, forcing it to quickly run away. The principle of operation of the devices is based on the emission of sounds, odors, unpleasant for the animal, sudden spraying or blinking. A repellent product is useful in the following cases:
- To protect beds and flower beds where cats like to go to the toilet or tear out and chew plants.
- To discourage homeless and neighborhood cats from entering your territory.
- To prevent your pet from entering rooms where he is not allowed to be (for example, a nursery or rooms with a computer, flowers, valuable antiques, etc.).
A cat repeller often becomes the only way to save flowers in an apartment or area from being torn out or eaten by curious cats.
Consult your veterinarian
Your first step should be to schedule a visit to your veterinarian for a check-up. Sometimes aggressive behavior can indicate a cat's health condition, even if she doesn't appear sick.
This can be especially true when the cat exhibits a sudden change in behavior. If your pet has not yet been spayed or neutered, then you can consider this option.
The physical change may affect their behavior (becoming less aggressive) but should be discussed with your veterinarian before any decisions are made.
How stress can manifest itself in cats
In some cases, the stressful state of cats manifests itself quite clearly - they begin to mark everything in the apartment, tear up furniture and wallpaper, and show aggression towards the owner and other animals.
But most often, stress can be noticed only by indirect signs, so the owner needs to pay attention to some features of the animal’s behavior. For example, if your cat begins to lick itself constantly, sometimes to the point of developing ulcers and scratches on the skin. Constant nervous yawning can also be a symptom of stress, along with the appearance of perverted taste preferences. Your cat may start chewing clothes or bedding, develop an interest in houseplants, or may stop liking food that she used to like or develop an increased appetite.
Another sign of a nervous disorder in an animal is a deterioration in the condition of the skin and fur, which becomes dull and begins to fall out. In the case when a cat stops licking itself and combing out excess fur with its tongue, this is also an alarming symptom, because cleanliness is inherent in a cat’s nature.
The cells of the immune system, which are located in the internal organs, are very sensitive to the effects of stress factors. Therefore, stress results in eczema, dermatitis, hair loss, and indigestion.
Understand the reasons for your cat's fears
Unless your cat has any medical problems, it is important to find out the cat's tolerance level and reactive distance.
For example, a cat may feel fine as long as the stimulus is two meters away.
But if the distance decreases, then she experiences fear. It is necessary to maintain an appropriate distance between a frightened cat and the potential causes of its fears.
It should be gradually done so that the permissible distance is reduced.
You need to gently increase the time of contact with the object of fear, showing the cat that there is no reason to be afraid.
Talk to your veterinarian about what to do so that he can help with advice, especially if the cause of the cat's fear is something that is absolutely impossible to avoid.
Are cats afraid of cucumbers? How to properly scare a cat and is it worth it?
The whole world is going crazy over videos of cats that, for some reason, jump away in horror from ordinary cucumbers. Medialeaks decided to understand this strange phenomenon and answer all the questions that arise.
Come on. Are they really afraid?
Seems to be yes. Videos about the incredible horror that cucumbers suddenly appearing on the floor cause in cats have been appearing online for a long time, but this topic has gained popularity thanks to several collections of similar videos.
It usually looks like this: an unsuspecting cat eats from his bowl, turns around and jumps away in horror from the vegetable lying on the floor, striking a funny pose. With some cats this can be done more than once.
Accompanied by cheerful music, such collections collect millions of views.
How it works?
Comments from scientists and veterinarians on this topic are worthy of Captain Obvious, but we will quote them anyway. The thing is that cats are frightened by objects that suddenly appear on the floor in close proximity - they would prefer to get to know it at some distance. Your pet probably doesn't care at all whether it's a cucumber or something else.
“I think this is a reaction to the sudden discovery of an unusual object, secretly placed while they are busy with the bowl. Cats are suspicious of the unknown: it could be a snake or other predator. I suspect a toy spider, a plastic fish or a mask with a human face would produce the same reaction,” says animal behaviorist Roger Mugford.
It’s worth adding here that experts do not recommend scaring cats. Nothing bad will happen to him, of course, but you can ruin his psyche, and therefore the relationship with his pet, say experts interviewed by National Geographic.
“If you cause stress to an animal, that's probably not a good thing. If you're doing this for laughs, I have questions about your humanity,” urges California veterinarian Jill Goldman.
Think Like a Cat author Pam Johnson-Bennett explains that cats consider the bowl area to be the safest area in the house, so the appearance of an unexpected object in it frightens them so much that they try to escape in any way possible. "It's cruel," she says. John Bradshaw of the University of Bristol, who wrote the book Cat Feelings, said such human behavior was “contemptible.” Think about it.
But Reddit users who discussed this topic were skeptical about the experts’ comments.
“Life for domestic cats is really tough. Sleep, eat, sleep, put in the tray, sleep. To be ********, to sleep"
“My cat scares me, gets in my legs, pees on things, makes me wake up at 3 in the morning to open the door. Somehow I don't see an article written for cats about how painful these things can be for humans. Bastards"
“My cat sits all day in an air-conditioned room, can scratch whatever he wants, eats what I put in a bowl, drinks, sleeps and has absolutely everything. I think he will survive the jump from being scared of the cucumber. If not, he's an even bigger ******* than I thought."
“This was the funniest thing I've ever done with my cat. Over the course of a month, I collected sticker cards and covered my apartment floor with them, sticky side up. I mean THE ENTIRE FLOOR. It took hours. Thousands of little sticky squares. The cat was watching me from the sofa. He wanted to play with the rubber lizard. I threw it across the room. He got halfway there before he realized the stickers were on his paws. The cat rolled over on his back to remove them, and the stickers stuck to his back. I will always smile when I remember him walking into the bedroom with a look of disgust. Boredom in the pre-internet era was a terrible thing. I still miss this cat."
My cat is not afraid of cucumbers. This is fine?
And that's okay too. Inspired by such videos, people around the world began to try to scare their pets. Some didn't succeed.
The Komsomolskaya Pravda staff had an interesting evening and concluded that Russian cats are fearless.
“We dedicated yesterday evening to our own experiment. All Komsomolskaya Pravda employees who have cats brought home large cucumbers. When the cat was eating, they placed a cucumber behind his back and grabbed the camera or phone.
The cats reacted calmly. No one got scared, didn’t recoil, didn’t hiss, didn’t fly away, didn’t run away, it was even offensive! Our cats are desperate, brave and indifferent to cucumbers. Some sniffed, some nudged with their paws, some simply passed by without paying attention,” the publication writes.
After all, there are cats that really love cucumbers.
Bonus.
If, despite all the warnings, you want to scare your cat, but nothing worked with cucumber, here is a more effective remedy (be careful, it can also affect people).
Focus on the game and training
Use interactive play to build your cat's confidence. A fishing rod toy or pointer light allows your cat to have fun with you, but at a distance that is unlikely to cause an attack.
Teaching cats tricks builds confidence and helps strengthen their bond with their humans. You can use clicker training to communicate with your cat and show approval. When a cat's aggression is focused on another cat due to fear, use positive reinforcement techniques to reduce guarding.
A common mistake is to expect that aggression can be eliminated overnight. If you can recognize the cause, it will still take time, practice and consistency to help your cat eliminate the reaction.
Don’t be surprised, relapses will happen, and don’t scold your cat, as this will only make things worse for her. If the aggression cannot be resolved or you are having trouble identifying the trigger, it may be time to seek professional help. A veterinarian or an experienced cat behavior specialist can help.
What smells are cats afraid of?
Cats have an excellent sense of smell. It is 14 times more acute than in humans, but not as strong as in dogs. With the help of smell, the cat navigates space, searches for a partner and its territory. A cat has its own world of smells, some of which the animal considers disgusting and is even afraid of.
Dirty tray
The cat does not like the smell of a dirty litter tray, which he himself went into. It should always be clean, so the owners must keep an eye on it so that they don’t find a “surprise” in the corner of the room or in a flower pot.
Eucalyptus and lavender
The smell of these plants causes rejection in cats. Therefore, if you want to protect your own garden or flowerbed from visiting animals, you should plant lavender. Cats perceive it as a toxic substance and will never set foot on the territory where it grows.
Spices
If a person smells like pepper, cinnamon or curry, then the cat will never approach him. Therefore, you should not be surprised if the animal avoids petting in every possible way and does not want to be stroked.
