Scaredy Cat

My cat is just over two years old and in the last year since my boyfriend has moved in with me she has been the original scaredy cat.

I don't think it is something that my boyfriend directly caused as she clearly prefers his lap, pats and play time to mine, but her behavior has gotten worse.

She will run and hide from any sound she cannot identify as well as any object that is in her path that she doesn't recognize. Like a jacket that has fallen off of the hook.

Now I haven't worried about it too much, but we moved yesterday, and I am worried that the stress of unfamiliar surroundings may harm her physically. Also I would like to get some sleep, as she spent all night last night walking from one room to another howling. She also tried to escape our new apartment this morning, although she has never wanted to go outside before.

Should I be worried? Does anyone else have such a scaredy cat?

Twyla Shea

I have a few of them. However they all started like that from get go. If it was an all of a sudden deal, you may want to take her for a check up. When cats arent feeling well, they tend to do things like this. With the moving situation. For now, you may want to put her into a room by herself. Give her some time to relax and adjust to the new smells and surroundings. Moving is a HUGE deal for cats. They tend to get very frightened by the new stuff. It may take ahwile, but she will settle down in time.

My Alex is also a scaredy cat. He runs under the bed if I cough too loudly. Or if a car goes past the house. Or when the mailman delivers mail. Or if I bang the dishes together when I'm washing them. He's been this way his whole life. I attribute his exagerated fear response to his having been feral for the first six weeks of his life. I also wonder if inbreeding in the feral colony he came from is partly to blame for his hypersensity. Its frustrating to have to coax my cat out from under the bed or behind the couch several times a day, but it's so worth it for all the love he gives to me.

It's normal for cats to be wary of strange noises, people, places etc. Some are much worse than others. I have a young cat at the moment who is terrified of the rubbish truck, he can hear it from several streets away (it makes hissing and banging noises cf other trucks) and runs and hides. Most of my cats have disappeared whenever visitors come, only to stroll back into visibility with complete nonchalance the minute they are gone (we weren't frightened of them at all, Mum). But IMO, this is good. It is one of the survival instincts of cats, to be wary of anything strange. Indoor cats often lose this fear and I think this is regrettable. If they do get out, they may have no fear of dogs or strange people - I noticed this was a concern in a thread on another forum, that someone had an indoor cat that never exhibited any fear or wariness and was worried what might happen if the cat got out.