Behavioral Change in my cat - Afraid of her toy

Hi,

My 2 year old cat has loved playing with her ball which is attached to a wand with a string. For months, I would wave it in the air and she would run and jump after it. It was her favorite toy. But just recently she became very afraid of this toy. Soon as I begin to move it around, she gets wide eyed and runs away. I've left it out for her to see on a regular basis, and tried to calmly talk to her as I show it to her, but she's just afraid of it now. I cannot think of anything that would cause this behavioral change. What would cause this change and how can I fix it or should I just get rid of this toy she onced loved?

Thanks,

Brett

Welcome to TCS Brett!

Hmmmm....to me, it sounds like perhaps she associates the toy with something negative. Perhaps a loud noise scared her when she was playing with the toy?

If you do happen to notice any other changes in her behavior, no matter how slight, please do take your kitty to the vet. Behavior changes often occur in the case of illness.

Agree with above, often sudden behavioral change is due to ilness. Is there any other change you have noticed? It also could be a scent on toy that is different, I would get rid of that one, get another, see what reaction is......... Do you live in a area where there could be strays lurking outside?

What they said!

Welcome to TCS!

I agree that she probably developed a negative association to it. Maybe it hit her in the head while she was playing (something my cat doesn't seem to mind, but they're all individuals), or she caught a nail on it and that was painful... or she could have run into a piece of furniture or knocked something down onto herself while playing with it.

I'd just switch to a new toy. Put that one away out of sight, and maybe in half a year or so she'll have forgotten and be happy to start over.

Noise is often the culprit, but since yours is a ball toy that's probably not it. I have a fishing-pole toy that has a straw attachment my cat has always been frightened of... it rustles too much.