My cat is suddenly terrified of me...

by Shandra Fox
(Edmonton)

I received a 5 month old rescued shelter cat for x-mas. She was in the home of the gift giver for one week, and had also been spayed before coming to my home. She was scared in the beginning, then started coming around a tiny bit. The other night I came home and noticed she hadn't eaten anything that day. Concerned I went and found her and brought her with me to the couch. She was absolutely terrified of me. (I had never seen her react this way) Wouldn't purr while being pet and had her ears flattened to her head the entire time. As soon as she had the opportunity to run...back under the kitchen table she'd go! Growing concerned by her increased fear base behavior and lack of eating, I retrieved her and brought her back to the couch with me. Inspecting her to ensue no cuts, lacerations or obvious ailments. At one point I took her to her food, placed her in front...nothing. Then tried this with milk and treats..nothing. I did put a little bit of water on my finger to run it over her mouth in effort to get some fluids in her...again to no avail. By the next morning, she seemed fine? It was strange. She was back to eating, drinking and playing again. However, since this day she has been petrified of me. Frantically runs away from me, even if she just hears me get up in the other room. She stays hidden the entire time I'm home. She is more scared now, than she was when she first arrived. I'm not sure what happened

to the progress we were making??? Nothing in the environment has changed. Is she sick? Maybe I should have taken her the to the vet that night? Her eating and digestion routine are completely back to normal however. Except for her increasingly unusual behavior, she does seem to be healthy. Could it have been something I unknowingly did? I'm starting to think she hates me. What did I do? Please help!


Answer by Kate
Hi
yes it could have been something you did unknowingly. were you wearing a strong perfume at the time? i ask this as the only time my old cat went for me was when i put on some strong scent. it must have smelt so strange to her that she became concerned and fearful.

also unfortunately when a cat starts to act this way the last thing you should do is go and get them out of their hiding pace. this is likely just to make them even more fearful.

As long as you feel that she is eating and drinking and using the litter ok i would put this down to fear rather than any particular illness.

the best way to try and win her confidence is to allow her to make the first move towards you and not the other way around.

i have a web page about how to bond with a cat, it has some tips on how to let a cat approach you etc. yes it may take a little time but it will be a much stronger bond if it is on her terms. here is the page

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

best wishes Kate

Comments for My cat is suddenly terrified of me...

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My cat is a bit strange
by: Danni

I’ve had my rescue cat who is 9 for just over 3 yrs & I’ve always had cats but she is a strange one. She hates to be picked up which is quite normal for some cats & she never fully sits in my lap always has half of her body on the sofa & the other half across my knees which she does rarely. Yet she sleeps on the pillow next to me every night & lies fully on top of me whilst I am lying in bed. Upstairs she follows me from room to room vying for my attention but when downstairs it’s totally different. If she encounters me in the hallway she races off like the hounds of hell are after her & doesn’t stop even when I call to her & looks at me as if she has never seen me before. I wondered if her eyesight was failing her but the vet said her vision is great & I know that as she can spot the tiniest little bug etc. she started peeing at the front door only there a couple of months ago so myself & sister just us 2 in the house bought puppy pads & lay there. I changed her litter box & type of litter twice but to no avail. She sometimes poos in it but she tends to do everything outdoors but would go out have a poo & come in & pee at the front door. As suddenly as she started a few months later she stopped. I do use a pet rescue remedy plug in and calming tablets which don’t appear to soothe her but worth a try. A week ago she just stopped peeing at the door and started doing it outside again & in her litter box when it was raining as she doesn’t like going out into the rain. She is the only pet in the house & is doted on by both my sister & myself. There are no children & can’t find anything which could have triggered this running away. The peeing at the door may have something to do with other cats coming around but doesn’t explain the hallway fear. I do find it quite distressing as I live her so much & just want her to be happy & contented
Scared cat
by: Barbara

Mine is an adult, orange tabby, I've had about 2 years. I don't know his exact age, he was rescued from a hoarder home. When I first got him home, he was terrified all the time. I left him alone, until about 2 months in he approached me and became a snuggler. The a little over a month ago, same thing, he suddenly became terrified of me. Vet thought he might be having lower urinary tract inflammation & prescribed something to deal with that & gabadine for anxiety. When things seemed to be getting worse I took him to the vet hospital for bloodwork & urinalysis. They found nothing wrong. His appetite comes & goes. The vet gave me a topical appetite stimulant, but the last time I tried to apply it he bit me. When he's on the gaba which is in his food he's somewhat okay but if hasn't eaten he's in terror of me. I leave him alone but if I happen to walk into a room where he is, he'll pee on the floor or rug before running away.
Cat is terrified of me
by: Lee

My 2 year old female cat has always been very shy of strangers but never a problem with me or my husband. Now every time she sees me she runs away like I am a stranger and looks terrifies! We have foster kittens in the house but this is nothing new,but she wont come anywhere near the house at the moment!
What is going on???
by: Anonymous

I have a family of five, and we have had our cat for 15 years now. He has always been loving and used to sleep on my bed, but lately he’s been terrified of me, but fine with the rest of my family
Cat suddenly scared
by: Anonymous

I've had my cat going on 12 years now. She was always timid around strangers and mostly kept to herself outside of certain times of the day that she designated feeding and petting times.

However now a few days ago she suddenly started acting strange around me. She no longer sits in her normal places (in one of her many beds, or chairs) but rather back in corners. She even cut back her eating for a few days which had me really concerned but her appetite appeared to come back... As soon as I went back to work. Seems my presence put her off meals.

The only thing I can think of that has changed recently is I quit smoking... Could it be that the lack of smoke smell on me is what is making her antsy around me?
Not sure what to do...
by: Anonymous

My two year old Kira is suddenly doing this... She’s always rubbed up against me when I’m in the kitchen or come cuddles me. For the past week I have been helping a friend through a divorce, so I’ve been with her a lot when I’m not at work. But I will always play with her and love on her when I’m home, and she has never been mean to my younger kitty either. But tonight that suddenly changed. As I was putting down a bowl of wet for for each of them when I called to Kira she growled, hissed and ran from me and she was completely fine this morning. Now she’s even growling at my little one! Only thing I have changed besides helping a friend move was add wet food into their diet.
I don’t know what to do...
Flea Dab Did it
by: Philip Le Roux

My cat went from adoring me to being scared stiff of the sight of me. I flea dabbed him. Also I am the one who has to grab him when we want to get him into to carrier.
similar problem of cat being afraid of me all of a sudden
by: Anonymous

i all of a sudden am having similar problems...my seven year old male orange tabby is acting wierd lately.....wont come in the house at night and sleeps in an outside bed and its cold out now....and then when i call him he looks at me like he doesnt know or like me....will come in briefly and eat by the door but wants to go out immediately....i am confused at his behavior....he is and his brother....spoiled rotten and for him to act this way is disturbing.
My cat is scared of me ever since I boarded her...
by: AnonymousAutumn

About 9 mon5hs ago, I moved outta state. Due to allergies, I couldnt keep my 2 cats in the home I was living in. My 2 cats have been boarded, at 3 diffrrent homes, the whole 9 months, and a few days ago, I moved into an apartment with a roommate. My male Maine Coon adjusts to his surroundings almost immediately. My female, is scared everytime I come near her. She has let me pet her if shes hiding in her kennel, and she had come to my had a couple times to rub on me. She does spend time in my roommates room, on the bed, he can come in the room, and she doesnt move. Shes fine. I walk in the room, and she jumps down and hides back under the bed. She seems terrified of me now and I dont know why. When I adopted her from the shelter, she was shy and timid, but warmed up the next day. She wasnt lime this after the 1st 2 boarders. Just this last one (that home had another cat, 3 hyper dogs, and 2 hyper children....). Her fur seems to be coming out under her hind legs and tail, and its bumpy around her neck. I cant inspect her because I cant get close to her. I dont know what to do. Ive never seen her this scared.... especially of me....
My cat is suddenly terrified of me too!! What's up?
by: Karavan

My cat adopted me a year ago. He's 6 and ran away from a home where the family had a break down and one of kids got into Ice and it was awful. His original mum even gave me his bowls and food cos she was glad he had a loving home. All was fantastic until this morning. Although he's been eating less than usual. He only ate a quarter of his breakfast, slept on the bed all day (unlike him) and hasn't eaten since. He left the house this evening and when he came back he was terrified of me! I'm sorry for those in the same position but glad to know that my experience isn't isolated.
Any more light you can shed on this complete turn around would be great. It's freezing outside, going down to 1 degree Celsius, and he won't come in. I'm worried about him. PLEASE HELP!
You're not alone
by: Anonymous

Let me know if you find an answer because I have a similar problem. I've also had my cat since the day she was born (so 10 years) she usually cuddles with me all the time. She will come lay on me and fall asleep, she loves being pet and always wants me to be petting her. I didn't recently do anything that would upset her or make her fearful of me. In fact last night she was cuddling me the same as always. Then today I get up and she is acting super afraid of me. I tried to pick her up and she pinned her ears back and was desperately trying to get away and trying to claw me. I put her down and she ran away. I tried to pick her up a little while later and she was meowing loudly and again trying to claw me to get away. She hasn't come out of hiding all day today and she was being normal around everyone else before that. My other cat started acting weird today too. Not as extreme and she will let me hold her but she's not being as affectionate as she usually is, not following me around like usual and doesn't want to be held for long (but not trying to claw me to death like the other cat). Just seems to not have any interest in me, when normally she wants all my attention.
My 7 year old is all of a sudden scared stiff of me.
by: HELEN

My 7 year old male, whom I've had since the day he was born has suddenly started running away from me. He looks at me as if he is terrified, he hides behind furniture.
2 days ago he was stood on the kitchen units and I shut a cupboard door which was above him, unknowing that his tail was in the way. His tail got trapped and he yelped. I immediately went to him giving him loves etc but since then he seems so scared of me.
We've always had a special bond and it's really upsetting me. I would never ever hurt any animal and event though he is physically fine he just seems petrified of me.
Does anyone have any answers?

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