Feline Fear Overview

Introduction

Fear and anxiety are normal emotions that enable animals to avoid harm. In both states the animal is in a heightened state of arousal in preparation for a negative outcome (e.g. physical harm). The key difference is that in anxiety the threat is anticipated but not actually present, but in fear the threat is present or imminent. An animal may become anxious in a situation in which harm is anticipated, switching to fear when the threat has been identified.

Anxiety is the apprehensive anticipation of future threat or danger accompanied by somatic signs of increased arousal and tension. Anxious animals show increased vigilance and an inability to focus their attention on a specific stimulus. This is because the function of anxiety is to maintain arousal in preparation for threat, whilst the animal gathers information about its environment to determine the source of the potential threat and how best to respond when threat arises. Anxiety is seen in situations in which threat or conflict has previously been experienced, as well as in new situations in which the individual is unable to predict or control what may happen to it. Anxiety can be acute or chronic, and has a pervasive effect on the animal's behaviour. It interferes with the individual's the ability to respond to normal social and environmental cues. When functional, anxiety operates over short periods to enable the individual to prepare for real hazards. Anxiety is dysfunctional when it is sustained in the absence of real threat, leading to persistently increased adrenergic arousal and cortisol release that depletes energy resources and effects such as immune suppression.

Fear is the apprehension of a specific object, person or situation. The source of fear is localisable and identifiable. Its presentation elicits fear and its removal terminates it. Fear is a normal, adaptive experience that enables an individual to avoid harm, and is socially communicated between conspecifics. It is also postulated that there is a strong relationship between fear and frustration. Frustration is experienced when an individual does not achieve an expected positive outcome. So, both fear and frustration relate to an expectation of a negative outcome. Experimentally, animals respond with precisely the same escape response both to fear and frustration, so it is assumed that both experiences relate to the same underlying emotional response.

Phobic fear and panic are intense, abnormal and behaviourally disruptive variants of normal fear and anxiety. Panic and phobia are maladaptive; they lead to a reduction in the animal's ability to cope and perform normal behaviours.

Phobic fear is more intense and long lasting than normal fear. The animal reacts with a high-level of fear even to low level presentations of the fearful stimulus, and then takes a long time to recover from it. Phobic fears do not naturally extinguish with repeated exposure and in fact tend to worsen over time.

Panic attacks are discrete episodes of intense anxiety and arousal. In humans, panic is associated with tachycardia and dyspnoea, which the patient may perceive to be severe enough to be life threatening. Animals are unable to report the feelings associated with panic, so it is assumed to occur based on signs. It tends to occur when an animal is unable to avoid or escape from a situation in which it is already anxious.

Cats will display absolute avoidance of any situation in which panic or phobic fear has previously been experienced and will engage extreme escape responses.

Signs of Fear

Fear is a normal, adaptive experience that enables an individual to avoid harm.

Normal Fear Response Behaviours observed include:

Facial and postural expressions of fear, directed at fear eliciting stimulus (ear & tail position, piloerection, facial expression, muscular rigidity, posture)
Sympathetic arousal (graded to threat)
Muscle tremor
Flight-escape response (well organised and directed unlike in panic)
Threat/aggression directed towards stimulus
There may be urination or defecation (with an apparent loss of control)

When frightened, animals engage in Species Specific Defence Reactions (SSDRs), known as "The Four Fs". These include:

Fight
Flight
Freezing
"Fiddling about" (performing apparently unrelated behaviours such as grooming)

The cat's primary response to fear is "flight" (avoidance or escape), but they will resort to aggression when escape is impossible in an attempt to drive the fear-eliciting stimulus away. Freezing tends to occur when either flight or fight are impossible, or as the animal evaluates its best option. A cat that is "frozen" but showing signs of stress can launch a sudden attack. Fiddling about may be a form of "self-distraction" in an otherwise inescapable situation of stress, but it may also have some value in diffusing tension in frustration and intraspecific conflict. Fear also potentiates the startle response, so fearful animals will react suddeny to unexpected stimuli and events.

An increase in withdrawn and secretive behaviour including hiding
Reluctance to go outdoors or to enter open spaces within the home
A desire to get up high onto inaccessible resting places within the home
A decrease in desire for interactive behaviour with familiar humans
A decrease in interest in social and object play

More obviously reactive signs of fear in cats can include:

Indoor marking behaviours, such as urine spraying
Loss of house training, due to some fearful association with the latrine location
Low-threshold flight reaction
Defensive aggression
Wool-eating and other pica
Over-grooming and even self-mutilation

Somatic signs of fear may also be evident, including tachycardia (bradycardia in chronic situations), pupillary dilatation, tachypnoea, piloerection, inappetence and vomiting.

Potential Causes of Problematic Fear

Potential causes of feline fears, phobias and anxiety-related problems include:

A lack of appropriate socialisation and habituation
Genetic influence on timidity
One-off traumatic incidents
Anticipation of unpleasant experiences e.g. anticipation of attack by neighbouring cats can lead to cases of agoraphobia
Old age - loss of competence and an increase in general fearfulness in geriatric cats is well recognised
Unintentional owner reinforcement of fearful responses

In the veterinary context:

Cardiac and pulmonary disease are recognised as potential maintaining factors for anxiety.
Hypothyroidism has been associated with anxiety and compulsive behaviour.
Pain and fear are associated increased self-defensiveness.
Hyperthyroidism causes many behavioural changes including increased irritability and aggressiveness.
Any form of debilitation tends to increase self-defensiveness and aggression.
Hypoglycaemia is associated with irritability and aggression.

It is therefore wise to consider the possibility that behavioural change is associated with medical disorder.

Environment in Potentially Fearful Situation

The normal feline coping strategy in fearful situations is highly dependent upon familiarity with the environment and the opportunities it provides for escape and avoidance behaviour. In this way, the cat is highly attached and dependent upon its territory for security, which also means that success in treating fear-based problems is substantially dependent upon the cat’s environment.

The core zone of the cat’s territory is where it expects to be safest. This is where it may meet familiar conspecifics. Recognition of the core territory is partially dependent upon pheromone odour signals. The cat expends a lot of time and energy placing face and flank marks within the core territory area, not only to identify elements of the environment as familiar but also to create an appeasing environment for itself. In a new home, these personalised signals will be absent and may even be replaced by the odours of other cats that were previously resident. The anxiety caused creates the conditions for establishing problem behaviour.

It is possible, by using synthetic pheromone analogues such as F3 (Feliway), to recreate or enhance core territory odours. This can increase perceived safety and familiarity in an existing environment, or make a new environment appear familiar and safe.

Prevention

As with fear in any species, the rule of prevention being better than cure certainly applies. It is essential to remember that cats need to be taught to live in human society and to accept that all of the signs of human activity are, in fact, normal. To this end, it is paramount that breeders understand the importance of the socialisation period and ensure that there is sufficient and appropriate socialisation and habituation of very small kittens.

Prevention of feline fear, anxiety and phobia problems

Select kittens that come from bold, sociable parents
Avoid kittens that have been reared in isolation from normal domestic activities
Properly-reared kittens should meet a wide variety of people and other animals
They should also be exposed to a wide range of noises and other everyday events
Confident behaviour can be shaped by reinforcing approach and other bold behaviours using food rewards and play
To encourage confidence, it is important not to pick up and hold cats, but rather to allow them to approach voluntarily
Owners should be taught to understand and appropriately reciprocate normal feline greeting behaviour

Once kittens are living in their new home, there are a variety of potential factors, which can contribute to the establishing of feline fears and new owners need to be advised on how to minimise the risk factors. Owners need to be aware of the risks of unintentional reinforcement of fear-related responses and they should ensure that when the cat is showing signs of fear they do not react in a way which could be misinterpreted. It is important to plan ahead when introducing a cat to a new environment.

It is important to:

Cease untimely reassurance
Avoid all confrontation and physical punishment
Minimise upheaval in the core territory during major renovation or redecoration
Prevent over-attachment by encouraging access to outdoors and enabling the cat to express its full range of natural behaviours

Treatment

When dealing with cats who are exhibiting fear-related behaviour problems it is essential for owners to realise that the cat needs to feel in control of the situation and that forcing the cat to confront its fear is unlikely to be effective. Flight is a primary defence strategy for the cat and, therefore, in some cases it may be necessary to block the flight route whilst desensitisation and counterconditioning techniques are applied. Obviously, one of the most important factors in the success of any behavioural treatment for feline fears is the correct application of reinforcement and an understanding of the relative value of resources is essential.

There are four major areas that need to be addressed during any fear related problem:

1) The cat's environment

It is paramount to remember that the environment plays a major role in cat's ability to cope with fear and stress.

2) Behaviour modification techniques

Examples of behavioural modification techniques include habituation, desensitisation, counterconditioning and controlled exposure. Selecting rewards which are of sufficient value to override the fear response can be difficult and, with a high priority for flight as a defence strategy in cats it can be difficult to keep cats in the vicinity of the fear-inducing stimulus during processes such as habituation. Flooding is also a risky approach since the panic induced by the lack of opportunity to escape can potentiate rather than ameliorate the condition. Controlled exposure, desensitisation and counterconditioning can be useful techniques and provided that the fear stimulus is diluted sufficiently it should be possible to over ride the flight response. Introducing a cat to an environment for desensitisation may require leading it in on a body harness and extending lead. The cat should be fully acclimatised to the harness and leash for several weeks before using it in a training situation. For further information on practical aspects of behavioural therapy for fear problems see the problem-specific information linked below.

3) Pharmacological intervention

There a number of reasons why medication may be indicated in cases of feline fear. Cases involving central nervous system pathology, in relation to neurotransmitters, may require medication on a long-term basis and, in situations where the fear-inducing stimuli are either unidentifiable or uncontrollable, long-term or recurring medication may also be indicated. In other cases where medication is necessary as an adjunct to behavioural therapy due to the severity of the fear response and the adverse effect that it has on the learning process, the usual aim is to have short-term drug support.

4) Modifying the owner's reaction

The final part of the equation when dealing with feline fears is to modify the owner’s reaction to the cat’s behaviour. Unintentional reinforcement of fears is most likely to occur in cats when they flee and escape the stimulus, but owner interaction, both vocal and tactile, may be seen by some cats as reward for their response. Punishment is always going to be counterproductive and techniques designed to make the animal “confront its fear” such as flooding have limitations which have already been discussed.

Also see:

Feline Fear of Other Species Except Humans

Feline Fear of People

Feline Fear of Inanimate Objects

Feline Attachment Problems