Tyler Under Cover
I’m still not quite sure what happened last weekend, and am just a bit puzzled by the whole thing.
Our boy kitty Tyler was not shy as a youngster, although he had every reason to be. I found him in a hotel parking lot in Tyler, Texas (hence his name), chasing bugs and trying to follow anyone and everyone into the hotel. He was all but screaming for help. When my parents and I caught him and brought him back to Austin, he laid in our laps the whole way home, seemingly indifferent to all the 18-wheelers that whizzed past us along Interstate 35. Honestly he was so sick for awhile that I don’t think he cared what was happening.
As Tyler grew he became more and more introverted, which is such a shame because he is by far the sweetest cat I have. It’s hard to convince anyone else that steps into our home, though, of his innate sweetness because chances are they will never see him. He typically hides underneath our sofa until the intruder is gone.
Then this past weekend he became even more illusive than normal. It wasn’t until I saw him afraid to pass through our kitchen that I realized something was very wrong. My husband had been cooking chicken in the crockpot on our kitchen counter all afternoon, and he said the thing made a slight “hissing” sound whenever he opened the lid to check on the meat. Hhhmmmm, I wondered if that could that be the problem.
The Terrifying Crockpot
I picked Tyler up to try and carry him through the kitchen and he was in a pure panic, scrambling to get out of my arms. He headed straight for the back bedroom/sewing studio and crawled under the bed covers, where he stayed the majority of the weekend. His fear persisted for some time even after the “offending” large white metal object was removed from the kitchen counter.
Do you have a scardy cat? Has you pet ever acted suddenly or irrationally fearful of something in your home?
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Sassmuffins 
I have scaredy cats! My cat Luigi, I got him on a farm. . .when he was maybe 6 weeks old. Way too young for me to take him from his litter, but you live and learn. He was terrified that first day, spent the first few weeks under the couch. Now he wants nothing to do with anyone but me, and I constantly wonder what I could have done differently. God though, do I love him. . .so much.
Oh how I understand that “love him…so much”. That’s exactly how I feel about Tyler! My husband thinks it has something to do with the trauma he faced alone as a kitten, but one would think after five years it would be different now. But how he love us – it’s amazing.
No cats, but my shepherd mix Molly is terrified of random things. Like flies, even though she will chase down other larger, disgusting bugs. Oh, and a Christmas tie that plays music!
I guess it turns out they are really just like us with their sometimes unusual fears. I am not scared of flies, but sure don’t like them!
Could it be that he jumped in it whilst empty (akin to jumping in a shoe box) and accidentally turned it on warm….? I hope not! My momma used to have a tabby cat who used to jump in shoes boxes, pots (anything small/boxy/round) where he coult not fit. He would often run from room to room being chased by nothing…at times unplugging things. He was a hoot!
Oh no, he never jumped in it because it’s stored in my glass-front pantry in the utility room…no access. I have one kitty – Miss Big Kitty – who sometimes still runs through rooms like a crazy cat, as you describe. All the other pets always look around like, “What’s that all about?” Pretty funny to watch!
Not in the house and he got over it but he was irrationally afraid of certain garden statues for awhile.
Garden statues??? Oh my. How did you ever get him past his fear, or did he just eventually outgrow it?
I put food on/by it and he ate it. He was still a little jumpy but after a few days, he ignored it.
Smart move!!
We have a scaredy cat called Lola. One minute she’s fine with something and the next it’s the most terrifying thing on the world. Then later it doesn’t seem to bother any more.
Well I’m hoping that will be the case with Tyler – that later he just won’t be bothered by the crock pot anymore. Because we still fully intend to cook with it. Funny thing is it’s not the first time we’ve used it, but he never feared it before.
Oh no, there’s no need to be scared!
I could not agree more. No need at all!!
Our Gracie who is semi feral is just like your Tyler. No one else has ever seen her except perhaps her tail flying as they enter the house. She has been with us nearly 8 years and is still as fearful as the day we brought her home.
Aww…that’s so sad. I just feel like the skittish kitties miss out on so much goodness. But I’m sure your Gracie, like our Tyler, is just so very appreciative of your love!
Yes, it’s the hissing sound. I’d be scared too if I didn’t know what it was at first 🙂
I really do think it was the hissing sound. And I tried to show him it was ok, but he was not having any part of it, even if he DID smell the chicken!
Gosh Tyler, I hope things get all back to normal for you.
We hope so too!
Aw poor kitty. That is quite a strange object to be scared of! I’ve caught the dog barking and growling at trashbags filled with leaves before and other strange objects…
Pets are so funny. You just never know what things they will find “odd”.
Poor Tyler! Moosey is afraid of the doorbell. We adopted him as an adult kitty, so we have no idea what that is about. But when the doorbell rings, he heads up the stairs FAST.
Oh poor Moosey. Doorbells are pretty loud though, so I can certainly understand. Guess you just better clear a path if you are coming down the stairs!
Donna used to be scared of her pee pan. She used it once and perhaps it shifted from under her feet when she exited and she was scared to use it after that. After we realised this, we added rubber stoppers to the pan and counter-conditioned her to be comfortable on it. It took us a couple of weeks but it worked. 🙂
Smart move!! Glad you thought of such a good solution.
Is Tyler going back in the kitchen yet? Mom says she has had a few scaredy cats through the years; including Fiona (who lives with us now) and angel Louise. Louise was an intrepid outdoor explorer, but when it came to people, she was long gone until she got to be about 15 years old, and then people who thought she was a figment of Mom’s imagination, started seeing her around occasionally. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Maurico, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona,Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Yes, Tyler goes back through the kitchen now, which is a good thing because he needs access to his litter boxes which are in the utility room. I’m certain, though, that he may exhibit this strange behavior again once the crock pot is pulled back out for cooking (which it will be!). So I am going to have to work with him on his fear…poor baby.
I’m scared of people i don’t know. When mom takes me out, i climb up to her and dig my claws in. Ooh… She’d be so mad when i do that.
Yeah, that would definitely hurt. Ooch!! When Tyler started scrambling to get out of my arms I let him go as quickly as I could before he scratched me too much.