My
cat seems to be afraid of people
and or other animals - why might
that be?
There
are many reasons that cats can
develop such fears. Your cat
may have had limited exposure
to people and other animals
when it was young. Socialization
is an important aspect
of raising a kitten. Without
adequate, continuous and positive
interactions with people and
other animals, cats may develop
fears. Because the socialization
period in cats begins and ends
earlier (generally between 3-9
weeks) than it does in dogs,
the early environment of the
kitten is most important. Because
of this, cats adopted as strays
or from shelters may not have
had adequate early exposure
to many new and novel things.
Cats can also learn through
the effect of even just one
unpleasant experience ("one
trial learning") that
was intense or traumatic. This
learning may then generalize
to similar situations. For example,
a bad experience with a small
child could result in a cat
that is fearful of all small
children. Sometimes a number
of unpleasant events "paired"
or associated with a person
or animal can lead to increasing
fear. For example, if a pet
is punished or some disturbing
event occurs in the presence
of a particular person or other
animal, it may begin to pair
the stimulus (the person or
other animal) with the unpleasant
consequence (punishment). Genetics
and the early environment are
other important contributing
factors to the development of
fear. Cats that are handled
frequently and regularly during
the first few weeks of life
are generally more exploratory
and more social. There are some
cats that are inherently timid
and fearful. These may never
become outgoing and highly sociable.
Still other cats experienced
poor nutrition during development
or while kittens and this affected
their emotional development.
Can
I prevent fears from developing?
Early,
frequent and pleasant encounters
with people of all ages and
types can help prevent later
fears. Genetics plays a role
in the development of fears,
therefore select kittens that
are non-fearful and sociable.
Since some evidence has indicated
the father's role in personality,
assessing and observing the
kitten's parents will
give some insight into the personality
that a kitten may develop when
it grows up.
What
are the signs of fear?
When
frightened a cat may hide, try
to appear smaller, place its
ears back and be immobile. On
the other hand, a cat may show
signs of agitation or aggression
such as dilated pupils, arched
back, pilo-erection (hair standing
on end) and hissing. See our
handout on ‘Fears, phobias
and anxieties' for a detailed
description.
What
information do I need to identify
and treat my fearful pet?
A
behavioral consultation is needed
for cats that are showing extreme
fears and/or aggression. If
the fears are mild, then owner
intervention may help to prevent
them from progressing. First
identify the fearful stimulus.
This is not always easy and
needs to be very exact. Which
person(s) or animal(s) is the
cat afraid of and where does
the fearful behavior occur?
Often there are certain situations,
people and places that provoke
the behavior more than others.
For
treatment to be most successful,
it is important to be able to
place the fearful stimuli along
a gradient from low to high.
Identify those situations, people,
places and animals that are
least likely, as well as most
likely, to cause the fear.
Next,
examine what factors may be
reinforcing the behavior. Some
owners reward the fearful behavior
by reassuring their pets with
vocal intonations or body contact.
Aggressive displays are a successful
way of getting the fearful stimulus
to leave and thus also reinforce
the behavior. Any ongoing interactions
that provoke fear need to be
identified and removed. This
could be teasing behavior, painful
interactions, and punishment
or overwhelming stimuli.
After
I have identified the stimuli,
what next?
Before
a behavior modification program
can begin you must be able to
control your cat. This can be
accomplished with a figure eight
harness and leash, or if needed
a crate. Next, teach your cat
to pair a non-fearful situation
with food rewards. The goal
of this training is to allow
the cat to assume a relaxed
and happy body posture and facial
expression in the presence of
the stimulus.
For
mild fears, cats may settle
down with constant (flooding)
exposure to the fearful situation,
provided there are no consequences
that aggravate the fear. For
example, cats kept in a cage
for a few days in a boarding
facility will often get used
to the situation and settle
down, provided there are no
events that add to the fear.
For
most cats a program of counter-conditioning
and desensitization will be
the most successful way to acclimatize
the cat to the stimuli that
cause the fearful response.
Do this slowly. Start by exposing
the cat to very low levels of
the stimulus that do not evoke
fear. Reward the cat for sitting
quietly and calmly. Save all
favored rewards for these retraining
sessions so that the cat is
highly motivated to get the
reward. The cat soon learns
to expect rewards when placed
in the cage and exposed to the
stimulus. Gradually the stimulus
intensity is increased. (See
our handout on ‘Behavior
modification, desensitization,
counter-conditioning, differential
reinforcement and flooding').
If the cat acts afraid during
training it should be stopped.
Set up the cat to succeed. Over
time, the stimulus can be presented
at closer distance, or in a
louder or more animated manner.
The situation may then need
to be changed to advance the
training. For example, if your
cat is fearful of a particular
person, once the person can
sit beside the cage while your
cat eats, the person could then
attempt to feed the cat favored
treats through the bars of the
cage. Next, the cat might eat
and take rewards while out of
the cage wearing a leash and
harness if necessary, but go
back to an increased distance
to ensure success and safety.
Over time the person can move
closer at feeding times until
he or she can give the cat its
food. Cats that are fearful
of other cats might be fed in
two different cages in the same
room. Once the cats will eat
with the cages next to each
other during feeding times,
you could begin to keep one
cat in the cage during feeding
with one out, and alternate
at future feedings. Next, both
cats could be fed while out
of the cages at a distance with
one or both on halters and then
progress to having the cats
side-by-side at feedings. (Also
see our handout on ‘Aggression
– territorial').
This can then advance to play
sessions, catnip and treat times,
and other times when the cats
could "enjoy" themselves
in each other's company.
My
cat still encounters the fearful
stimulus when we are not in
a training exercise. What should
I do then?
Each
time the cat experiences the
fearful stimulus and reacts
with fear, the behavior is reinforced.
Try and avoid the fear-producing
stimulus, if possible. This
may mean confining the cat when
children visit, or the house
is full of strangers. Drug therapy
can also be useful to reduce
fears and anxieties during times
when the stimulus cannot be
avoided. Drug therapy can be
discussed with your veterinarian.
This client
information sheet is based on
material written by Debra Horwitz,
DVM, DACVB and
Gary Landsberg, DVM, DACVB.
© Copyright 2002 Lifelearn
Inc. Used with permission under
license. March 11, 2004. |