Kitten freaking out!!!

We had a power outage in our area early this morning, probably due to ice on the power lines. The electricity flickered on and off about 4 times, before finally staying off, for about two hours. The power is now restored, but my 8 month old kitten was totally freaked out the whole time, and I was really worried that he was going to have a heart attack or something. He was running around like crazy, bumping into things, howling, panting, and breathing heavily. He often gets stressed out when any abrupt change like this happens. He had finally started to calm down when the power suddenly came back on. He then ran and hid under my bed for two hours. He stays in my bedroom most of the time, and I usually have the television on all night, in addition to a couple of fans in the room that run 24 hours a day (room gets stuffy even though it is freezing outside). He is used to hearing that constant noise, and with the power out, it was dead silent, and other noises could be heard. It freaked him out when I walked across the concrete floor, when my other cat was crunching her food and drinking water, etc. He even freaked himself out when he scratched in the litter box and it made a noise. He seems okay now, but as the weather gets colder, things like this could happen again. Should I consult the vet or keep some kitty prozac on hand? I really worry about him when he gets like this. My other cat was totally relaxed the whole time and never seems to be affected by anything. Why is my kitten so neurotic?

Who knows why he does it... it may just be his make up, or he may have had some really scary stuff in his early days.  I once looked after a very disturbed little kitten who had been in a house when it was reroofed ! 

Prozac is really a long term thing for chronically anxious cats whereas this is something that just happens in certain situations. Try things like Feliway diffusers, flower essences and even a thundershirt.  If you know that there is going to be a problem, or just when it starts, put her in a really safe place that has been sprayed with Feliway, or where there is a diffuser going. That's also the time to put him in his thundershirt.

And try not to make it sound like there's a problem (it just reinforces her fear).

That's all I can think of... others may have more ideas.

I was thinking of a thunder-shirt too.  I've heard a few people on here recommend them.  Having a safe place for him is a good idea.  Like a kennel mostly covered with a blanket so it's like a little hidey cave.  Or a box, etc. 

Poor lil guy.  Hopefully he will handle it better next time.  Maybe you can try exposing him to the silence every now and then?  Shut the fans and tv off for a minute and work up to longer periods?  I would see how he does first.  The Feliway and flower essences Mani suggested would be good to use during those times to help him be calm while learning that it's ok when it goes quiet.  

I wonder if he could hear the power struggling through the lines.  I know I've heard a slight buzz when our things have flickered before.

Do they make thunder shirts in cat size? I have only seen them advertised for dogs. I'm not sure that he would tolerate it either. I don't think he heard a buzz. I think it was the fans and television abruptly turning on and off that scared him. It was very loud, and it startled me too.

I have never tried a Feliway diffuser before, but I have heard about it. That is something that I will look in to. If it is a plug in device, it would stop working during a power outage though. I am not sure what you mean by flower essences.

As far as some scary stuff happening to him in his early days, I suppose that is a possibility. I got him from a foster home when he was 3 months old. He had been born outside in a fairly big city to a stray cat that ran away when the kittens were discovered and taken in (at about 8 weeks old). He was in a cage with his 5 siblings for about a month until his info. was posted on petfinder and I called to adopt him. His foster mom had then brought him to Petsmart to meet me. There were several other cats and some dogs in his foster home. I'm not sure if that could have traumatized him.

He was being a little weirdo this morning. We are currently in the middle of a winter storm with freezing rain and something called "thunder sleet" (?) in some areas. He was launching himself at the window trying to catch the sleet pellets (not sure if they're regular or super "thunder" pellets) earlier this morning. I don't know how he can see them when I barely can. Thankfully, he has calmed down and is just lying down on the window sill watching. I wonder if he notices that everything looks white outside when it usually isn't, or can cats even distinguish between colors? I have plenty of time to ponder this while I am stuck in my house. I hope that our power stays on this time! I'm not ready for round two of the "crazies."

All schools are closed, and they keep telling us on the news to not leave our house. The people that do leave are getting stuck or sliding off of the roads. It was 79 degrees yesterday, and now it is like the Apocalypse (or at least the very dramatic meteorologists make it seem that way)!

The power stayed on, even though 268,000 homes in the area lost power, so I didn't have to worry about my kitten freaking out this time. I'm still stuck in the house with my kitties though, due to 2-3 inches of ice on area roads. One of the meteorologists on the news said to not leave the house unless there is an emergency. Looking at the coverage of all the stranded cars on the roads, I don't think I want to go anywhere. This morning we have freezing fog. Yay!! This kind of thing does not happen often here, and especially not this early.