Help, my cat is afraid of anything black!!!

[angeleyez84]

My cat Nyoko is going on 2 yrs old, I have had her since she was 5 weeks old. She has never been afraid of anything her whole life but I'd say for the last month she has been afraid of anything black, I know that cats are color blind but that is the only color that she seems to have a problem with. She won't go into 2 bedrooms of the house but is perfectly fine in the other rooms of the home. She still plays with her sister eats about right and still goes to the litter box fine but is very jumpy. If she sees anything black she will go to attack it and then jump sky high and run off. I have been putting her in bed with me for the last 2 weeks and last night I guess I hit her or something but it scared her and she jumped up and ended up scratching my husband pretty bad on the neck. Has this happened to anyone else or is my cat going crazy? Any help would be nice.

 

[emb_78]

Originally Posted by angeleyez84

My cat Nyoko is going on 2 yrs old, I have had her since she was 5 weeks old. She has never been afraid of anything her whole life but I'd say for the last month she has been afraid of anything black, I know that cats are color blind but that is the only color that she seems to have a problem with. She won't go into 2 bedrooms of the house but is perfectly fine in the other rooms of the home. She still plays with her sister eats about right and still goes to the litter box fine but is very jumpy. If she sees anything black she will go to attack it and then jump sky high and run off. I have been putting her in bed with me for the last 2 weeks and last night I guess I hit her or something but it scared her and she jumped up and ended up scratching my husband pretty bad on the neck. Has this happened to anyone else or is my cat going crazy? Any help would be nice.

HMMMM.... Does she not like the dark??? You can try night lights. If you waer a black shirt what happens???

 

[angeleyez84]

She doesn't seem to mind the dark that much it's just black things like the bottom of the lint roller, remote controll, the phone cord, the cell phone...clothes when they aren't being worn. She is also afraid of the blanket that we have on the bed b/c the trim is black. I don't know what to do and afraid that it might be something bad, do you have any clues as to what would cause this or what it might be? Maybe paranoid or cluastrophobic I'm not for sure. Other than the small things that she is afraid of she is fine, eating is the same, playing the same, giving love and affection just sneaks around in the 2 bedrooms attacking anything black and then jumping whenever her paw touches it.

 

[emb_78]

Originally Posted by angeleyez84

She doesn't seem to mind the dark that much it's just black things like the bottom of the lint roller, remote controll, the phone cord, the cell phone...clothes when they aren't being worn. She is also afraid of the blanket that we have on the bed b/c the trim is black. I don't know what to do and afraid that it might be something bad, do you have any clues as to what would cause this or what it might be? Maybe paranoid or cluastrophobic I'm not for sure. Other than the small things that she is afraid of she is fine, eating is the same, playing the same, giving love and affection just sneaks around in the 2 bedrooms attacking anything black and then jumping whenever her paw touches it.

I would consult your vet! That sounds very weird. I really don't have any advice. Maybe she needs some behavioural meds!

 

[miss mew]

Hmmm..I've never heard of that before

Did something happen to her regarding some sort of black object??.. that's the only possible thing I can think of..but there are many other people on this site that are far more knowledgeable on these things than I am...I'm sure they'll have some good advice.

 

[iarecrystal]

Not too sure.. but I think cats can see color, not just in black and white like dogs do.

 

[valanhb]

Originally Posted by Miss Mew

Hmmm..I've never heard of that before

Did something happen to her regarding some sort of black object??.. that's the only possible thing I can think of..but there are many other people on this site that are far more knowledgeable on these things than I am...I'm sure they'll have some good advice.

That was my thought too, especially since it seems to be small items that are black. Perhaps she was chewing on something small and black and electrical and it shocked her or something?

 

[sumosmom]

Originally Posted by valanhb

That was my thought too, especially since it seems to be small items that are black. Perhaps she was chewing on something small and black and electrical and it shocked her or something?

Our Geisha was afraid of my husband's 20 lb. free weights when she was a kitten. One of them rolled near her and she was seriously freaked out for about 15 minutes, and then anytime she saw them again after that.

After a few weeks, when she realized the weights were not "coming after" her, I guess she learned that she didn't have to be afraid of them.

 

[beckiboo]

Today, Sugar was freaking out in looking at a green hand towel on the floor. She never spooked at it on the bathroom counter, but for some reason, finding it on the kitchen floor she had to really check closely before she was sure not to be scared.

I would guess that she was startled or scared by something, and isn't sure what it was. Maybe a cell phone rang when she was looking at it? But she doesn't sound real terrified, just curious. I think she will get over it.

Maybe get some fun black toys for her, like little toy mice, etc?

 

[goldenkitty45]

First of all cats CAN see color - not as much as us, but they don't see in black/white.

I think the one that suggested about something black scaring her (electrical or even a black cat/dog) might be triggering it.

I would think its more of a smell thing then the color. Sometimes cats will walk by an object 50 times and the next time, be scared of it. Who knows why, but your cat will probably grow out of it.

I know of a persian breeder who's male was beat up by a tortie female as a kitten - when he grew up he would breed with any color cat BUT a tortie - no matter how nice the tortie was to him, he would run from her due to the bad experience. We joked about blindfolding him, but they did that one time and he still avoided the tortie female

 

[caramelthekitty]

My cat, Shaggy, who is currently about 2 1/2 years old, is terrified of almost anything black. She is comfortable with most of the black decorations in our house, such as my black chair and piano stool, but she is terrified of anything else. Since she has almost no background information, (She was transported to a shelter after a cat hoarding) I'm assuming she experienced trauma some time when she was a kitten, or while she was in the shelter. She may have been frightened by a black carrying cage or something similar.

 

[AlienArtKitty]

Hey! I know it’s been a really long time since you posted this. I’m wondering if you ever found out what was going on with your cat. My cat just developed a sudden fear of black objects and I’m concerned about her. If you don’t mind sharing an update about if Nyoko recovered from her fear or what happened with her I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[kkward19]

Hey! I know it’s been a really long time since you posted this. I’m wondering if you ever found out what was going on with your cat. My cat just developed a sudden fear of black objects and I’m concerned about her. If you don’t mind sharing an update about if Nyoko recovered from her fear or what happened with her I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

My cat is afraid of black things too! I don't get it!

 

[Pepperdice 81]

My cat is attacks dark clothing or blankets too. I got him when he was 3 months and he is 4 yrs old. He was out in the cold and hid in a person's truck to stay warm. That person went to work and came home and the cat came out of hiding so that person kicked him out of his truck and my cat ended up on my friend's mom's door step and I took him home and have him till this day. But ever since I have had him he will attack dark clothing or blankets and jump a mile high and run away!

 

[terribowl]

my cat also is afraid of black items. i have no idea why, he has been with me since he was a kitten, never at a shelter or anything, never has been hurt by anything black that I have ever seen. he is very curious and doesn’t run away from the black item but he tries to paw and hit it, and if it falls or moves or makes any noise then he’s jumping into the air and running away. I have no clue whatsoever on why he does this ‍