Scared of his shadow...?!?!

MY CAT PEPPER IS SCARED OF HIS SHADOW. YESTERDAY HE WENT TO GET A DRINK OF WATER, AND IT WAS BY THE DISHWASHER, AND HE SAW HIS SHADOW ON IT AND FLEW 5 FEET BACK!?!? HE USED TO PLAY WITH AND CHASE HIS SHADOW, BUT NOW HE WON'T GO NEAR IT? HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS BEHAVIOR PROBLEM OR ANYTHING SIMILAR? ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! THANKS! :tounge2:

How old is he? Was this a one time thing? I guess he could have been confused for a moment.

Were there other similar incidents?

I don't really have any suggestions for you...hopefully someone else will be able to help you better than I can.

Maybe this was just a one time thing that spooked him out? Just try to comfort him if it happens again and maybe he won't be scared anymore.

I think when cats get older they are more frightened than kittens. (kind of like people I guess) Norton, who is no longer alive, as he got older developed fears. He was scared of his shadow, he was scared of the wind, he was scared of lightening and thunder, the vacuum cleaner, any person who he didn't know that came into the house, the hair dryer and water!!!!

He was so cute, any time he was scared, he would "slink" as low to the floor as he could get and would come to me and my husband for comfort. We would know if it was going to storm out 10 minutes before it would happen because Norty would slink into our room. If he was really scared though, he would slink down into the basement and hide under a couch for hours until we would get him. He was so, so cute!! I miss him every single day!!

-Jacquie

I noticed same thing with my kitty. Until 4 months or so she wasn't afraid of anything!! By the time she was 9-10 months old she seemed much more cautious. If really fearful she does that same 'slinky' thing. She rarely hides though.
Am glad to learn this seems to be a normal thing. I always attributed it to her 'having more sense' than when she was a naive, baby.

I agree too with age being a factor. I also think if the cat has had some type of trauma, he might tend to get more fearful. My older cat, Squirt, did a 2 week stint of being lost. A year later, I adopted his brother. Both of those experiences seemed to make him afraid of everything.

I laughed when I read about the "slinking". That's Squirt all the way. When I bought my house 7 months ago, he would slink under the ceiling fans as if they were going to spin off the ceiling and shave him bald.

I will say that in the months since we moved, I have noticed him getting happier, more contented, and less jittery as time goes by. For some reason he feels less frightened in this new house, and some of his behaviors have lessened to a noticible extent.

Pepper did go missing, for 2 days, he was stuck under the house. But he is scared of everything...plactic bags, folding paper and any slight movement. He is fine if you call him in a certain way first, but if you sneak up from behind him, He just bolts it to my room. Thanks for all the advice