Poor Binx hides when it rains...especially if there is thunder.

[myrnafaye]

I feel so bad for him; he was a rescue, I got him at a local shelter, so there is no way to know if, for example, he was on the street and got scared there during storms. Is there anything I can do? I feel so bad for him...

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think you just have to let him hide. There are many cats that are scared of rain and thunder. It may not even have to do with anything that happened to Binx in his past. I don't think any of my cats liked thunder, fireworks, or any 'off' noises. Feeby, when she was younger always hid, mostly under the bed, when it rained hard and/or there was thunder. I let her do it, rather than try to stop it because it made her feel better to hide. Not sure I know why, but she stopped a number of years ago. It is almost like she figured out no harm would come to her so there was no reason to hide anymore.

You could try to sit close by where he hides and talk softly to him - mayne even read a book out loud just so he hears your voice and knows you are nearby. You could also try to play cat music for him to help mask some of the noise.

 

[Caspers Human]

I think you just have to let him hide.

That's probably the best strategy.

Cats have very sensitive hearing. Some say that cats might be able to hear better than dogs. I guess it comes down to how the term "better" is used.

As far as sensitivity is concerned, cats and dogs are probably about equal. If you compare the frequency ranges that cats can hear, versus dogs, cats can hear sounds farther into the ultrasonic ranges than dogs can. If that's now you define "better" then, yes, cats can hear better than dogs.

Anyhow, we know that cats' and dogs' hearing is more sensitive than a human's. That means that certain sounds might bother them more than they do humans. The sound of rain on the roof might seem like a gentle "pitter patter" to a human but, to a cat or a dog, it might sound like a million marbles being dumped into a cast iron frying pan... loud and annoying!

If a jet airplane flew over, a human would find it loud, annoying and, maybe, a little bit painful. It would be natural for a person to try to get away from such a loud sound. If a cat or a dog hears a loud sound they'd probably be annoyed, hurt and try to get away.

Imagine that the sound of rain is as annoying to a cat as the sound of a jet is to a human and it's easy to understand why a cat hides when it rains. They are just trying to get away, the same as a human would.

My suggestion is the same as FeebysOwner : Just let her be until the rain stops.

 

[Biomehanika]

I attempted to wear some funky new oversized parachute pants I bought that have been sitting in my closet for months for the first time today. The material is very “slippery” and they made a good amount of noise when I was walking around in them. It absolutely terrified my cats. I may as well have morphed into a twelve foot tall demon. They ran from me and hid until I gave up on the idea and took them off lol.

 

[myrnafaye]

I attempted to wear some funky new oversized parachute pants I bought that have been sitting in my closet for months for the first time today. The material is very “slippery” and they made a good amount of noise when I was walking around in them. It absolutely terrified my cats. I may as well have morphed into a twelve foot tall demon. They ran from me and hid until I gave up on the idea and took them off lol.

Awww! Cats are so WEIRD!

 

[Alldara]

You can try some music and some feliway, but making him a cozy hideaway and talking softly might be best.

We've actually had some tornadoes here. Magnus is a bit nervous of storms. We try to tell him in advance if we know there will be one. We also go down to the basement and hang out there if it's particularly loud or long. He's pretty good about heading down there on his own as well.