My Kitty Scared To Death

[Ghoulofnagoya]

I used to live in Japan with my cat Levi. My Japanese apartment never had a ceiling fan. Now we are moved to Las Vegas and want to leave ceiling fan on for him but he saw it start to move and freaked out.
He hid for a day and after he came out from hiding I moved it slowly with my hand and said its ok its ok in a gentle voice but he freaked out again.

I have kept fan off since then but took 3 days for him to come out from hiding under the bed and he still occasionally stares up at unmoving fan.

I would like to use the fan so any suggestions?

 

[SDerailed]

Awww. Poor thing. He just needs to get used to his new house. Some cats take moves harder than others. I'd wait till he feels safe in your new house before using the fan again.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SDerailed is right. This is just going to take some time, and a lot of patience on your part. Hold off on the ceiling fan until Levi is completely comfortable with his new surroundings. Territory is EVERYTHING to a cat, and BOY has his been thrown into a state of confusion! He's in a new apartment, and America smells very different than Japan, and his sensitive little nose knows this. NOTHING seems familiar. And cats are very aware of "danger from above." A big raptor can pick up a cat and carry them off. That THING on the ceiling might be looking at him as a meal, for all he knows! Wait until he isn't watching the fan anymore, then turn it on briefly, and back off again, slooooooooowly building up the run time as he becomes more accustomed to seeing/hearing it.

 

[cheeseburger]

Give him time until he's calm and comfortable in the house before you try to acclimate him to the fan. Make sure he's eating, drinking and pooping consistently and walks around tail up. If he's still darting at new sounds and hiding it's not time yet.