Behaviour
Cat
Is my cat traumatized, and how can I help him?
Chances are, within your lifetime, you’ve encountered someone who has an imaginary cat. You know, that friend or family member whose cat you’ve never laid eyes on? The cat that takes off as soon as visitors come around? You’ve probably heard stories from the owner about how they bolt at the mere sound of the doorbell! Is this the result of trauma, and can this type of behaviour be corrected?
First off, “trauma” among humans can be defined as the entirety of the psychological damage that results from a dramatic event (Garland, 2001). The same thing can happen to an animal, notably cats, and may result in behavioural problems. For example, we know that when a cat is struck by a man they can easily become traumatized and become afraid of men. The situation becomes more complex when a series of events, rather than a single traumatic occurrence, causes them to limit their exposure to the fear-inducing stimulus. This can lead to a chain reaction causing the cat to respond to stimuli completely unrelated to that which caused the original reaction.
How trauma is created
As an example, let’s consider the case of the doorbell: is your cat really afraid of it? Unless your doorbell is capable of chasing down your cat and tormenting them, one could surmise that the sound, which signals the arrival of a guest, strikes fear in your feline friend. But the question remains: why? To the best of your knowledge, your cat has never been abused by anyone. Does this mean your cat experienced trauma as a kitten, or does it mean they simply aren’t sociable? And how is it that they weren’t scared the first time somebody came over? Here is an example of a series of events which could cause your cat to fear visitors.
- The arrival of a visitor can often be a drag for your highly routine-oriented cat. At first, they may be curious, but guests picking them up and staring them in the eyes (cats don’t like this), kids chasing them and new partners taking up their space on the couch can actually increase your cat’s stress level. They will thus begin to see the situation as unpleasant, and, in order to avoid any stress associated with it, will decide to hide in order not to be exposed. Often times, this response works — nobody bothers them under the bed — and their escapist behaviour is thus rewarded.
- From time to time, cats may regard the arrival of a visitor more and more as a negative experience. They may then find that the best way to avoid the situation is to run to their safe space.
- As the arrival of visitors is always foreshadowed by the sound of a doorbell, your cat will determine that their best bet is to run to their safe space as soon as they hear it. This allows them to more effectively predict an unpleasant situation and its associated stress. Under Pavlov’s classic conditioning technique (the old salivating-dog-and-bell story), the doorbell would gradually evoke as unpleasant a reaction as the visit itself.
Avoiding trauma
So. How can you prevent this kind of conditioning from happening? Do your best to ensure the visit is a pleasant experience for your cat, even one that could potentially pay off! How? Start by giving them treats or canned food they don’t usually get to enjoy. Alternatively, you can play with the cat or ask your guest to play with them. The most important thing is to establish that if the cat retreats to their tree or their favourite spot, nobody will disturb them. If the cat knows all they have to do is run to their spot to avoid being inconvenienced, they won’t feel the need to run and hide under the bed.
How to intervene when faced with trauma
What do you do when your cat has already been conditioned and the trauma has already been inflicted? Cats often reach the point where begin to fear fear itself. In this case, there is a very simple technique you should employ which combines desensitization and counter-conditioning. In other words, the unpleasant association with the stimula (doorbell) must be undone, and a positive association established. It is important that you take a progressive approach by employing the stimula at a very weak level in the beginning (i.e., recording the sound of the doorbell on a cell phone at low volume), and gradually increasing it. This is a very simple technique, but it requires a lot of patience. There are very few situations in which an animal may become counter-conditioned and desensitized while also letting go of their fears. However, it is important to remember that there is no single recipe, because every cat is different, and will respond to stimuli in different ways.
In most cases, your best bet is to contact a feline educator, such as l’Educateur, who will devise a step-by-step action plan. Even in cases of trauma, the success rate is very high. If your cat is showing any of the above-described symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact a professional!
Take care of your cat
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