Cat suddenly fear of ceiling light

[hayley nguyen]

Hello cat lovers,

My 2.5 years old cat is suddenly so scared of my ceiling light. The thing is we have lived here for more than 1 year and he has never be bothered by it. When we first moved in, he was scared of the ceiling fans but I removed the blades and he was totally fine. About 3 days ago, 20 mins after waking up from his nap I couldn't find him so I went to my bedroom and see him hiding under my bed. I was so confused since nothing was happening in my apartment nor any changes. So I let him stay there for a while, later that evening he came out to the living room by the moment he looked up and saw the light, he sprinted back to under my bed. He's now still under my bed as I am typing this. I have moved his litter box and food in there for him. He's still eating normally, using his litter box and playing with his toys. I tried my best to lay down with him and comfort him. He seems pretty relax under there. I bought Feliway and plugged in my bedroom as well. 

I was just wondering if there's any way I can help him to overcome his fear?  Has anyone experienced anything like this before? I am so confused and don't understand why he scared of the light after 1.5 years living in the apartment? Thank you.

 

[cat nap]

Hi @Hayley Nguyen...is your cat afraid of coming into the living room, with the light off?

Try coaxing him out from under the bed, with a string toy, and seeing if he will follow you into the living room, when the light is off.

He may be picking up on the sound of the apartment above, if anything loud happened and the light fixture vibrated.

Or just picking up sounds from the apartment above, and thinks it's coming from the light.

What type of light or bulbs are you using? Sometimes light fixtures make humming sounds, but are very low for us humans to hear, but cats can pick up these sounds.

Some energy efficient bulbs, or fluorescent light fixtures, have a noticeable hum.

Try changing the bulbs, and see if the same thing happens.

Also some light bulbs get a bit brighter, just before they stop working, so perhaps the 'lumens of light' is slightly different.

I don't think he would be picking up on the smell of the ceiling fan motor, since you said that you took the blades off, but if you can...then check to see if there is any noticeable smell.

Keep an eye on him, even though you mentioned that he is eating, drinking, pooping, and playing normally,...since it is strange to be hiding under your bed, if the light fixture is in the other room.

Has he ever tried to jump up towards the light fixture, and tried to catch the moving blades, or fixture, from when he was younger?

The best way to help him overcome his fear, is to first figure out what it is,...and then use play, food, or treats for positive associations.

(post some photos, and tell us his name, too.) 

 

[jcat]

What type of light or bulbs are you using? Sometimes light fixtures make humming sounds, but are very low for us humans to hear, but cats can pick up these sounds.
Some energy efficient bulbs, or fluorescent light fixtures, have a noticeable hum.
Try changing the bulbs, and see if the same thing happens.
Also some light bulbs get a bit brighter, just before they stop working, so perhaps the 'lumens of light' is slightly different.

That was my first thought, too. Perhaps the bulb is getting ready to blow, or the lamp is slightly defective and making a sound humans can't hear.

 

[hayley nguyen]

Hi, thank you all for your replies. I have removed all the light bulbs. We now just kinda waiting until he has the courage to come out. I tried to play and lure him out but he's very cautious. I placed some his aluminum foil balls under the bed and I can hear him playing with them at night. I was just wondering how long does it usually take for him to overcome his fear? 

 

[cat nap]

It's very strange that he is afraid to come out from under the bed, in your room, unless you have a similar lighting fixture in there, as well.

Although, many cats love to sleep under beds and sofas, because they feel like they are inside protected dens, and have protection on two or three sides.

It is good that he is playing, though.

Are you sure that he did not see something outside the window, such as a bird, plane, helicopter, and what he saw overhead was what initially scared him?

Could your television or computer have been louder at the time, when he entered the living room, and perhaps he was momentarily frightened by it?

Overcoming fear, really depends upon what the fear is.

(One of my cats, age 1.5 years, is still frightened of black socks on the floor, or fluffy dark slippers, anything out of the ordinary left laying about,...I think he thinks it's an animal. His brother and sister are not bothered, as much.)

• You can try moving his food dish, little by little, towards the door of the room, and then outside the room, and see how far he will venture.
  

             Just make sure he eats, regularly, everyday.

• Also, continue to play with him, and get him to feel comfortable through playing.

You're already doing most of the things in this Article, but it's still useful to read, and get some more tips:

 [article="30316"]Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats​[/article]  

•   Try reading out loud, in the living room, and see if he will join you. 
  

 

[hayley nguyen]

Hi, I was wondering the same thing too. The light fixture in my bedroom is different from the one in the living room. Yesterday he managed to come up to my bed but still hide under the sheet. I used the cat food to coax him out and he looked up to the ceiling, saw the light and go back to his hiding place. I am not sure? Any thoughts? I am thinking changing the light in my bedroom as well.

 

[mingsmongols]

Maybe a thorough check up at the vets is in order before you start replacing fixtures. Just to make sure this isn't related to something medical. If that all checks out why don't you buy a lamp to put in the room and leave the overhead light off. See if it makes a difference having a different light source.

 

[cat nap]

Maybe a thorough check up at the vets is in order before you start replacing fixtures. Just to make sure this isn't related to something medical. If that all checks out why don't you buy a lamp to put in the room and leave the overhead light off. See if it makes a difference having a different light source.

    At this point, being that he's been hiding for almost a week, I would totally agree with @ MingsMongols advice and take him in for a Vet check up.

Get his eyes, pressure, some bloodwork/urine tested.

 

[sofaremote]

TS, Hayley Nguyen? anything? any updates since last 2 years lmao? you somehow stopped at changing the lights. i had to google and see if anyone had any solutions to this because my cat had the same problem for the past 2-3 weeks. the cat had been living at my house for almost 2 years. still googling for answers in the net too

 

[di and bob]

I am thinking that since the cat has lived there for awhile and then suddenly has the fear of that light, It is because something happened, perhaps a bulb going out or a vibration with a passing truck, or even the off and on from a short power failure caused him to finally notice the light. Now that he has noticed it he is obsessed with it and fears it. and as you know cats take a long time to accept change, weeks to even months. My cats do this with a new piece of furniture, etc. but quickly become used to it because they can examine and smell it. Your cat can't, it is out of his reach. He will be getting used to it, but whatever happened to cause him to fear it in the first place has frightened him badly and it will take a while. You might try removing the bulbs and any shades, etc. you can and laying them on the floor below the light to let him examine it, it might help. Please post us on how you find a cure!

 

[susanm9006]

The first thing to try when a cat has a fright is to ignore it because sometimes when you get close, try to comfort them or even get in the space of the scary item it just freaks them out more. So, you ignore them, go about your usual routine and they begin to realize that the sky isn’t really falling and calm down.