Cat scared of TV

[runninlow3]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I've read threads on this forum before so decided to join.

I'm currently fostering a cat from a shelter who's a female, 2 1/2yrs. Her background...was a stray who was found nearby the shelter, they took her in. She's skitish

She's been doing alot better at our condo than she's been at the shelter which is great. She's also getting along with my male cat Simba. Both cats have been neutered and spayed. 

What we noticed is whenever she begins to walk into the living room and sees the tv on, she is scared of it and runs back into the bedroom. She keeps trying and will progressively make a few steps more than the previous attempt but something about the tv seems to have her spooked. Occasionally she'll get brave and run fast through the living room to get to the other end of the room. The size of the tv is a 55". If the tv's off she's perfectly fine in the living room. We noticed she would do this in the bedroom tv sometimes too...if she was walking into the bedroom and saw the tv on, which is located atop a dresser, she would look up and run quickly past it or either onto the bed or under the desk.

Would anyone have any answers or advice regarding this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lamiatron]

 
Hi everyone, I'm new here. I've read threads on this forum before so decided to join.

I'm currently fostering a cat from a shelter who's a female, 2 1/2yrs. Her background...was a stray who was found nearby the shelter, they took her in. She's skitish

She's been doing alot better at our condo than she's been at the shelter which is great. She's also getting along with my male cat Simba. Both cats have been neutered and spayed. 

What we noticed is whenever she begins to walk into the living room and sees the tv on, she is scared of it and runs back into the bedroom. She keeps trying and will progressively make a few steps more than the previous attempt but something about the tv seems to have her spooked. Occasionally she'll get brave and run fast through the living room to get to the other end of the room. The size of the tv is a 55". If the tv's off she's perfectly fine in the living room. We noticed she would do this in the bedroom tv sometimes too...if she was walking into the bedroom and saw the tv on, which is located atop a dresser, she would look up and run quickly past it or either onto the bed or under the desk.

Would anyone have any answers or advice regarding this?

Thanks in advance!

she's a former stray, she's skittish, she's going to be afraid of tv's 

the 55 incher sounds like a huge tv! the fast moving pictures, colors and lights might scare her. not to mention the sound. 

my skittish girl (also a former stray) is sensitive to sound, and loud noises. she also used to be afraid of my tv. slowly she came around though, but at her own pace. she will now block the tv when i'm trying to watch -____-

its just something you can't modify really unless the kitty comes around on her own. its a comfort thing.

maybe try putting something on the that would be interesting for kitty to watch on tv to see if she comes out and tries to watch. leave some treats out for her on the floor. keep your boy simba away for a few (of course with his own treats, in the bedroom) and play a nature video. something with birds. or fish. or maybe even kittens. keep the volume low. not too high. and see if she comes and feels comfortable watching some birds on your tv. cats can't help but sit and watch their pray!

i noticed my skittish girl jet actually sat down for the first time and watched tv when the documentary "blue planet" was playing on my tv. she didn't stay long, but it was for a few minutes, then it was like she realized she was watching tv and bolted. lol. i rewarded her with some treats and called it a day.

if she doesn't come around to the tv, that's fine. its not abnormal. some cats are just afraid of tvs 

 

[catpack]

We have a cat who, as a kitten, was terrified of the tv. He came in at 5 months of age. We did a very slow tv introduction for him.

We first started with him being comfortable in the house without the tv on. Once this was accomplished, the tv was turned on, but muted. Over time, we slowly turned the volume up.

It took about 4-6 wks to get this guy acclimated to the tv with normal volume. He has no problem now.

Also, he (and his litter mates) had a safe room during this time of acclimating that had a radio, but, not tv.

 

[runninlow3]

 
she's a former stray, she's skittish, she's going to be afraid of tv's 

the 55 incher sounds like a huge tv! the fast moving pictures, colors and lights might scare her. not to mention the sound. 

my skittish girl (also a former stray) is sensitive to sound, and loud noises. she also used to be afraid of my tv. slowly she came around though, but at her own pace. she will now block the tv when i'm trying to watch -____-

its just something you can't modify really unless the kitty comes around on her own. its a comfort thing.

maybe try putting something on the that would be interesting for kitty to watch on tv to see if she comes out and tries to watch. leave some treats out for her on the floor. keep your boy simba away for a few (of course with his own treats, in the bedroom) and play a nature video. something with birds. or fish. or maybe even kittens. keep the volume low. not too high. and see if she comes and feels comfortable watching some birds on your tv. cats can't help but sit and watch their pray!

i noticed my skittish girl jet actually sat down for the first time and watched tv when the documentary "blue planet" was playing on my tv. she didn't stay long, but it was for a few minutes, then it was like she realized she was watching tv and bolted. lol. i rewarded her with some treats and called it a day.

if she doesn't come around to the tv, that's fine. its not abnormal. some cats are just afraid of tvs 

The weird thing is that the first week we had her...I had turned the tv on in the bedroom, where she mostly stays and she just sat on the bed watching it with amazement. The tv in there is a 32". I haven't turned it back on since we noticed her being scared of the living room tv because the bedrrom is her safe room and I don't want to take that feeling away from her.

As for the living room tv...I do keep the volume low and tried muting the volume but it seems to be the picture that scares her. I'll definitely try nature themed shows. I avoid any violent shows when she tries to come into the living room. lol 

Once or twice I had lured her to me into the kitchen area but once she saw the tv on she bolted. I had also tried playing with some of her favorite toys in the living room area and while doing so turn the tv on...she'd be ok for a minute but then see the tv and run.

I really do hope she will adjust to the tv because I think she'd be a good lap cat and would luv for her to hop up and hangout with us as she does in the bedroom. It'll be two weeks this Saturday that we have her so it is still very early, which I'm sure you'd agree with,
 

We have a cat who, as a kitten, was terrified of the tv. He came in at 5 months of age. We did a very slow tv introduction for him.

We first started with him being comfortable in the house without the tv on. Once this was accomplished, the tv was turned on, but muted. Over time, we slowly turned the volume up.

It took about 4-6 wks to get this guy acclimated to the tv with normal volume. He has no problem now.

Also, he (and his litter mates) had a safe room during this time of acclimating that had a radio, but, not tv.

When we get home from work we keep the tv off so she can come into the living room/kitchen area without fear. She'll always look around the corner in advance to check if the tv is on.

If we're sitting on the sofa watching tv and notice her attempting to walk over, I turn it off immediately or start with muting the volume. I'll notice her stopping dead in her tracks, watch the tv for a few seconds then run back to our bedroom which is her safe room.

Should I try turning the radio on in her safe room to acclimate her to some soft/easy listening music stations, which can possibly help her transition to the tv?

 

[lamiatron]

 
....

Should I try turning the radio on in her safe room to acclimate her to some soft/easy listening music stations, which can possibly help her transition to the tv?

I've tried pandora with my kitties. i put on classical or something easy and not too crazy for them to listen to. they both enjoyed it very much. neither of my kitties have an objection to me listening to music in my room, like when i'm working out or cleaning. i just make sure the music is at a decent volume. lol

i really think your foster kitty is scared of the size of your tv. my BF has a 52" tv, and its HUGE. can't imagine how much of a difference 3 inches might make, but regardless, its a big tv. she might have seen something on tv that scared her, and that's why she's now scared of both tv's. I think it would be good to keep her away from the big tv period. try and see if she'll gander at the nature shows on the big tv, if not, that's okay. i would avoid causing her any additional stress. she's hasn't been there long, and initially she may have been okay with certain things when she got there, or maybe she was too scared or nervous to show her "real" reaction...now that she feels a bit comfortable, she is not afraid to sprint here and there, to escape from a situation where she doesn't feel comfortable?...if that makes sense??

you might want to try some calming treats for her. they offer immediate relief. if you really do want to get her into watching tv, or being okay with the tv on, give her a treat at the beginning of her day, and then again in the evening. sometimes 1 will suffice. or maybe she'll just get used to the tv on her own. like i said, some cats will learn to tolerate it...and some will never tolerate it, and some cats just love the boob tube. lol

 

[cocheezie]

My Cocheesie is terrified of a television set. And it initially was right beside "her" window! She would disappear under the bed the minute the telly was turned on. We thought she would eventually get used to it, but no. The only solution was to move the television set to on the opposite side of the room in a place that was not part of her regular travels, and was much, much higher up (we have to crank our heads up to watch - it's like being in the front seats at the movies). She's still apprehensive about the television, but she decided that it's far enough and high enough away not to be an immediate threat. My other, totally opposite, cat couldn't care less.

 

[runninlow3]

I've tried pandora with my kitties. i put on classical or something easy and not too crazy for them to listen to. they both enjoyed it very much. neither of my kitties have an objection to me listening to music in my room, like when i'm working out or cleaning. i just make sure the music is at a decent volume. lol



i really think your foster kitty is scared of the size of your tv. my BF has a 52" tv, and its HUGE. can't imagine how much of a difference 3 inches might make, but regardless, its a big tv. she might have seen something on tv that scared her, and that's why she's now scared of both tv's. I think it would be good to keep her away from the big tv period. try and see if she'll gander at the nature shows on the big tv, if not, that's okay. i would avoid causing her any additional stress. she's hasn't been there long, and initially she may have been okay with certain things when she got there, or maybe she was too scared or nervous to show her "real" reaction...now that she feels a bit comfortable, she is not afraid to sprint here and there, to escape from a situation where she doesn't feel comfortable?...if that makes sense??



you might want to try some calming treats for her. they offer immediate relief. if you really do want to get her into watching tv, or being okay with the tv on, give her a treat at the beginning of her day, and then again in the evening. sometimes 1 will suffice. or maybe she'll just get used to the tv on her own. like i said, some cats will learn to tolerate it...and some will never tolerate it, and some cats just love the boob tube. lol

I definitely don't want to cause her any additional unwanted stress. And yes, makes sense that as she's getting more comfortable, she's showing more of herself. That first time she actually sat and watched the tv I figured she was a natural couch potato...oh well! lol
I'll update with any progress.

 

[runninlow3]

My Cocheesie is terrified of a television set. And it initially was right beside "her" window! She would disappear under the bed the minute the telly was turned on. We thought she would eventually get used to it, but no. The only solution was to move the television set to on the opposite side of the room in a place that was not part of her regular travels, and was much, much higher up (we have to crank our heads up to watch - it's like being in the front seats at the movies). She's still apprehensive about the television, but she decided that it's far enough and high enough away not to be an immediate threat. My other, totally opposite, cat couldn't care less.

Unfortunately, due to our condo layout, we can't relocate the tv but will accomodate Jasmine by turning it off when needed. Maybe we'll turn the bedroom tv on again and see how she reacts to that one. Actually the bedroom tv sits much higher than the living room tv but the bedroom tv is smaller.
My other cat Simba isn't phased by thetv at all...he'll gladly lay in front of it, across from it, etc. At times he block the path of the cable box making it hard to use the remote. lol

 

[kittykittymama]

DON'T MOVE YOUR TELEVISION.

DON'T DOWNGRADE YOUR TELEVISION.

DON'T MUTE YOUR TELEVISION.

My kitty had the same issue. Slowly move your kitties food bowl from its original location to the room with the television in it. I do meal-times rather than free feeding with my cat for the behavioral benefits, however it may work just as well with a free-feeder if you don't have the option of meal feeding for w/e reason. When I say slowly, I mean SLOWLY. We began inching our kitty's food from the kitchen, up the hall, and finally just a few feet away from the television. Moving forward with each meal. You need to open up your kitty's comfort area. Food & treats are POWERFUL rewards. We started seeing results w/ ours before we even made it into the living room. 

Don't allow your kitty to feel uncomfortable or hide. You want him to be as happy as he can possibly be within your home. However, you cannot force it. Check out some basic psychology principals: Operant and Classical conditioning. & Never EVER punish your cat. 

HOWEVER, if your kitty is exhibiting this behavior and nothing has changed (no recent moves/ stress events) PLEASE take kitty to the vet. Its always best to be a few dollars short and have a healthy kitty.

 

[Princess Softpaws]

We just adopted a skittish kitty and we are slowly making progress. We're 4 days in today and to deter her from going from the closet in my spare bedroom/office to the master bedroom where she hides under the bed, I've shut the door the master bedroom. There are plenty of kitty places set up throughout our house and her safe place is my office. Today she wanted to come out in the living room, but was scared of the TV. I never saw that before. We, too, have a 55" HD TV, so I can imagine it looked like a window filled with giant people. I'm glad to know we're not the only ones. I'm going to try Animal Planet and Sirius and see how she reacts. Good Luck!

 

[Janie_1224]

My cat is 6 and his being terrified of the TV came out of nowhere 4 days ago. He would sit just outside the living room and will not come in. He would go into my bedroom with the TV on but he would watch it warily. Last night I got him to stay in the living room...I had it off, loved on him, put it on but muted, then loved on him, put sound on low, loved on him some more....he stayed with a lot of comforting and cajoling and seemed marginally better. Now this morning as he and I were having our 6 a.m. 'good morning cuddle and conversation' in bed while I had my coffee, out of nowhere he acted like a bomb went off and flew out of the room and hid in his den. The TV had been on the whole time and he was okay...watching it warily but he was fine; snuggling, purring, good. The TV was on very low, a mellow commercial about bread. There wasn't any noise from the window or anything. It really was totally random. What could the problem be? Help!