Ailurophobia and methods of combating it

What is ailurophobia

So what is ailurophobia? This is a panic fear of cats, kittens and cats. The name is derived from the Greek ailuros, meaning "cat" and fobos, meaning "fear". Which ancient Greek goddess gave its name to the phobia of fear of cats? Eiluros. According to legend, at night she turned into a cat.

Ailurophobe is terrified of meeting a cat; he feels ill at the mere mention of it or at the sight of its image. However, there are specific forms of fear, for example, the fear that the cat will run away.

This is interesting! Alternative names for phobia: galeophobia, gatophobia.

Symptoms of ailurophobia

People with ailurophobia exhibit panic attacks when in contact with a cat. Avoidance of cats is another symptom of this phobia. In general, people may display the following behavior:

• Seeing a cat, as a rule, it runs away or tries to protect itself.
• At least 4 of the following symptoms may be present: rapid heartbeat, trembling, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, thoughts of death, shortness of breath.
• Regarding avoidance in gatophobia; a person will try everything to avoid cats, even if it means putting themselves at risk. Fast street crossing and other similar examples. Will avoid shows or television channels where they might see felines. They will also refuse invitations to friends' houses where there is a pet cat.
• A person with a phobia will close their eyes to scenes where animals are shown in films. Sometimes when going outside they take pepper spray or other means of protection with them.

Causes of cats' fear

Most often, fear develops against the background of childhood trauma: a cat scratched, scared, bit, etc. However, there are other reasons:

1. Intimidation by parents. Perhaps the trauma was not the negative interaction with the cat itself, but the reaction of the parents: they shouted, scolded, took them to the hospital, where the child was given many injections. Or the parents intimidated the child without communicating with the cat: “Don’t go near them, they are dangerous. If you scratch you, you will get sick and die.”
2. Other people's stories. Some people are afraid of cats because they heard someone's scary story about a negative, painful interaction with that animal. Fear caused by watching horror films falls into this category. For example, the movie “Pet Sematary” can be traumatic.
3. Fear of becoming infected with something, disgust. In this case, the person most often avoids stray animals, but sometimes this applies to all cats. Excessive cleanliness can also be attributed to this group of reasons. Some ailurophobes are infuriated by animal fur and are frightened by the thought of blocks and other parasites.
4. Allergy. If after communicating with a cat a person’s health worsens, then it is not surprising that he soon begins to avoid meeting this animal.
5. Superstitions. All people know the sign about a black cat that crossed the road, or other superstitions associated with this animal. Some people are indifferent to this, while others are terrified of becoming a victim of such a situation. By the way, the fear of black cats, like, for example, the fear of broken mirrors, is more likely to be Wiccaphobia.
6. Losing a beloved pet. If the fear of cats arose in response to the death of a pet, then in this case it is a defense mechanism. A person is afraid to become attached to someone again and to re-experience the pain that has already happened. Therefore, his subconscious makes him afraid of cats.

Causes

As with other phobias, there is no universally specific explanation for ailurophobia. Rather, it is each individual's different unique experiences that lead to the development of such a disorder.

There are many possible explanations for fear of animals:

• A common trigger for ailurophobia is negative reactions from other people. A child may become fearful by watching their parents (or even a cartoon character on a TV show) act fearfully towards an animal.
• Women are known to acquire gatophobia by watching shows or movies where characters (girls and older ladies) show fear by jumping on a chair or running away to avoid cats. This is further reinforced by the fact that the male character protects her from the animal.
• Cats are predatory by nature. Often in folklore they are associated with witchcraft and evil. Even pets can growl, hiss, or scratch.
• Directly or indirectly this leads to phobia.
• In many cultures, especially the ancient Egyptians, these animals were revered, protected and even mummified. Causing harm to them is still punishable by law. Such religious feelings can also lead to fear, especially in the mind of a person who is going through a crisis or who is very sensitive by nature.

Signs and symptoms of fear of cats

Severe panic fear associated with cats and cats is the only symptom. Everything else is the consequences of a phobia. These include:

• somatic reactions (more about them below);
• hysterical reactions;
• avoiding encounters with animals.

An Ailurophobe will never own a cat or cat. Such people do not go to visit those who have cats, and do not invite cat-loving guests to their place.

During a meeting with an animal, the patient has noticeable somatic reactions:

• increased sweating;
• pale skin;
• icing of extremities;
• tremor and trembling;
• dry mouth;
• labored breathing;
• tachycardia and arrhythmia;
• headache and dizziness;
• presyncope and fainting.

A panic attack lasts from a couple of seconds to several minutes. Severe fear can cause not only fainting, but also a heart attack.

It is important! The severity of symptoms varies in intensity. If some people panic only at those moments when an animal approaches them closer than a meter, then others experience hysterics at the moment when the animal just appears on the horizon. People from the third category live in constant fear, they are afraid that the animal is about to jump out from somewhere.

Causes

Pathological fear of cats can be of two types - unconscious irrational fear and hypertrophied, excessive manifestation of a defense mechanism in the implementation of the self-preservation instinct. Experts believe that in most cases this phobia is based on childhood experience. It is believed that pathological fear can develop under several circumstances.

If fear arose and was associated with an episode of panic, then it is possible that the image of a cat will be firmly entrenched in the child’s subconscious as threatening, dangerous, scary. It is not necessary that there were any attacks, bites or scratches on the part of the animal. Sometimes panic is caused by the sudden appearance of a cat, which can jump on the child to cuddle (as was the case with Napoleon).

Impressionable and vulnerable children with an anxious personality may become overly impressed by experiences that they themselves have not even experienced. For example, seeing the badly scratched hands of another person, the consequences of injuries inflicted by a cat, watching a film or news broadcast where the cat is presented as an aggressor and pest.

In this case, an incorrect logical connection is formed between the image of the cat and the degree of its real danger to humans. The danger of ailurophobe is somewhat exaggerated on an unconscious level.

Parental influence

It is difficult to say whether the fear of cats is inherited, because such a gene has not yet been discovered. But we can absolutely say that parents who are themselves afraid of cats form a similar model of behavior in the child, which gradually becomes part of him, his character.

Some parents are overly concerned about the well-being of their children, categorically forbidding them from petting cats on the street (“they can be sick and contagious!”) or keeping such an animal at home (“a cat can scratch or bite”). At the same time, the child gradually develops an imposed irrational fear of the animal, which, in fact, has not done anything bad to him or his relatives.

Well, a child was playing with a kitten, and his pet scratched him. You can take this calmly. Some mothers and grandmothers begin to cry heart-rendingly, chase the kitten around the house with a slipper, and then grab the frightened child and immediately drag him to treat the scratches with alcohol, although this treatment itself causes the baby more suffering than the scratches. But the job is done - the painful relationship between the image of a cat and the subsequent unpleasant and terrible consequences breaks down in the mind.

Diagnosis of fear of cats

There is no specific test for identifying ailurophobia. The main diagnostic method is a conversation with a psychologist and observation during the conversation. The specialist assesses the presence of clinical symptoms:

• obsessive thoughts related to cats;
• somatic and mental deterioration when meeting an object of irritation;
• avoiding encounters with cats and everything connected with them (in advanced stages, pet stores, trays, toys, scratching posts, etc. are scary).

This is interesting! Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Adolf Hitler suffered from Ailurophobia. Now you know what kind of disease this is.

Treatment for fear of cats

The main method of treatment is cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. The psychologist and the client get to the root cause of fear, reproduce and play out the traumatic situation. The psychologist helps the client change his attitude, learn to react differently to cats in the present. Together with cognitive behavioral therapy, NLP, Gestalt, hypnosis, and the desensitization method are used.

The psychologist gradually brings the client closer to his fear: he gives him to listen to a recording of purring and meowing, and shows pictures of cats. At the same time, at the same time, he stimulates the client’s positive memories (they first select a situation of strength, that is, some kind of pleasant memory). Thus, associations change, fear goes away.

It is important! In advanced stages, medication is indicated. At an early stage, a person can independently cope with a phobia by gradually getting closer to the object of fear and incorporating positive memories. You can learn more about this in another article.

To help children and to treat fear of cats in children, it is recommended to use fairy tale therapy.

How to read fairy tales:

• only in a calm environment;
• slowly and with expression;
• without discussion;
• possible at night (even if the child falls asleep listening to a fairy tale).

Reading Features:

• the gender of the main character is identical to the gender of the child who is afraid of cats;
• the name of the main character necessarily changes;
• The environment in the fairy tale unobtrusively replicates the child’s environment.

An example of a fairy tale: https://stolicadetstva.com/articles/terapevticheskaya_skazka_ot_straa_zhivotny.

Overcoming Fear

The great news for most animal phobias, including ailurafubia, is that it is easily treatable. The mildest cases of the disorder can be overcome in several sessions.

Exposure therapy with relaxation

Long-term gradual exposure. This can be done in stages:

• watching the cat from afar;
• looking at his photographs.

These limited forms of exposure are very helpful in breaking down the fear of cats. For gradual desensitization to be effective, it is important that the patient remains in contact with the animal for as long and as often as possible. This will reduce the use of cat avoidance strategies as well as other overprotective behaviors.

The main goal is to teach the patient various relaxation exercises, including breath control and mental visualization. As a person gets used to the presence of cats, they can control their fear. It is important to enlist the help of friends or family when performing exposure therapy. A competent doctor will also help you achieve positive results.

You need to learn to think about cats in different ways. Identify anxious thoughts and replace them with more realistic, positive ones. These strategies are used in conjunction with exposure therapy to overcome fear.

It is necessary to take steps to identify and understand the nature of the fear so that you can prepare to overcome your phobia once and for all.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is a method that aims to change a person's negative thoughts and actions. The therapist determines the reasons for the development of the phobia. This treatment helps replace negative thoughts that are a reaction to cats with positive ones. Counseling relieves the stress and tension caused by the phobia.

Why is the fear of cats dangerous?

At an early stage, the ailurophobe tries to avoid meeting a real animal, for example, he stops communicating with friends who have cats, or changes his usual route to work so as not to cross paths with stray animals. The more advanced the disease, the more a person withdraws into himself and within the walls of his home. Even images of cats or the mere mention of them begin to frighten him.

As a result, the person chooses complete isolation, becomes selective about books, videos, etc., and refuses to watch TV completely. Psychological stress leads to somatic disorders. Without correction, the ailurophobe’s well-being will worsen. This can lead to complete desocialization and maladjustment.

Treatment of ailurophobia

Most often, a patient who has realized the thought “I’m afraid of cats” can cope with the situation on his own - this requires an in-depth analysis of his own thoughts and a search for the etiology of ailurophobia.

If you realize the scale of the problem and cannot normalize your psychological state on your own, contact a specialist. The following treatment methods are practiced:

• Psychotherapy and search for the cause of ailurophobia;
• Prescribing mild sedative medications.

Experts note that most patients can recover from ailurophobia and get rid of a negative attitude towards our smaller brothers.

We talked about what the fear of cats is called - a phobia is not a death sentence, you can get rid of it! Noticed small signs of illness? Consult a doctor and start living life to the fullest - your little pet will no longer scare you.