Changes

* Stop attempts to soothe the cat by giving it attention as this may reward fearful behaviour.

* Stop attempts to soothe the cat by giving it attention as this may reward fearful behaviour.

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The extent of fear of inanimate objects and stimuli in cats is relatively unknown, probably because its effects are hard to observe or are misunderstood. There are a number of reasons for this. Cats that have a fear of fireworks or thunder may hide in a variety of places, some of which are outside the home so that the client may never see signs of fear. When the cat is at home, the [[Feline Communication Behaviour#Facial and Flank Marks|facial and flank marks]] it has left create a sense of increased security that may be sufficient to counteract the apprehension it is experiencing. Loud, low frequency noises are very hard for cats to localise, which means that an effective escape response is impossible. So a genuinely fearful cat may enter a state of behavioural inhibition, staying very still until the threat has gone away. Clients often misinterpret this passivity as a lack of fear, especially when the cat engages in increased self-maintenance behaviour such as grooming. In fact, the increased grooming is a form of displacement activity or an attempt at self-appeasement. Often cats will groom their flank area and it has been hypothesised that the cat is deliberately taking in a quantity of its own pheromones to alter its emotional state.

The prevalence of fear of inanimate objects and stimuli in cats is unknown. Cats that have a fear of loud noises, such as fireworks or thunder, may hide in a variety of places, some of which are outside the home so that their behaviour goes unobserved. At home, cats may hide or become inhibited when frightened by loud noises, and do not show the overt signs of distress observed in dogs (pacing, whining, etc). Clients often misinterpret this apparent passivity as a lack of fear, especially when the cat engages in self-maintenance behaviour, such as grooming, that are associated with being relaxed of settled. Increased grooming can be a form of displacement activity or an attempt at self-appeasement that is an indicator of stress.

Fear of inanimate visual stimuli may develop as a result of associations with noise stimuli e.g. light flashes that resemble lightning before the sound of thunder. A minority of cats, usually coming from an inappropriate rearing environment, do suffer from specific fears and phobias of visual stimuli. Cases include fear of flapping or flying objects such as kites, paragliders and polythene bags. Cats will also show increased fear of visual stimuli that startle the cat while it is in the presence of another stimulus that it fears, or when it is in an unfamiliar environment. This can create negative associations with almost any kind of stimulus, so that it evokes fear in the future.

Fear of inanimate visual stimuli may develop as a result of associations with noise stimuli e.g. light flashes that resemble lightning before the sound of thunder. A minority of cats, usually coming from an inappropriate rearing environment, do suffer from specific fears and phobias of visual stimuli. Cases include fear of flapping or flying objects such as kites and polythene bags. Cats will also show increased fear of visual stimuli that startle the cat while it is in the presence of another stimulus that it fears, or when it is in an unfamiliar environment. This can create negative associations with almost any kind of stimulus, so that it evokes fear in the future.

Fear responses of cats appear to be relatively context specific. Cats will often react fearfully to otherwise familiar stimuli when they are encountered in an unfamiliar context, or when the cat encounters the stimulus when it is outside of its own familiar territorial boundaries. This may be because a significant part of the cat’s emotional self-control is based on its ability to rapidly engage avoidance behaviour and also to discriminate the level of threat likely in a given environment according to the scent marks that have previously been left there.

Fear responses of cats can be quite context specific. They may react fearfully to otherwise familiar stimuli when they are encountered in an unfamiliar context, or when the cat encounters the stimulus when it is outside of its own familiar territorial boundaries. This may be because a significant part of the cat’s emotional self-control is based on its ability to rapidly engage avoidance behaviour and also to discriminate the level of threat likely in a given environment according to the scent marks that have previously been left there.

==Prevention==

==Prevention==