So my cat (3yo standard issue neutered indoor boy) and I moved houses. He came to the new house three days ago.
I put his litter box, food dish, and water in a large walk in closet in a spare room. I left the door cracked. Here’s the issue. Every time he gets near the door, he sees the ceiling fan. If he sees the ceiling fan, in any of the rooms, he freaks out, slinks down like he’s in danger, and runs and hides. I know it’s the fans because I carried him through the house and every time he saw a fan, he would cling to me like his life depends on it.
He’s never lived in a house with ceiling fans. All the fans in the house are off but he still panics when he sees one. He’s taken to hiding in his litter box, and he isn’t eating. And his litter has only a little dirty litter in it (for the move, so he knew it was his), the amount of which hasn’t changed.
I was able to get him to come out and eat a soupie (his favorite) but then he immediately went back into the litter box and hunkered down.
I’m worried. The house is new construction so it’s definitely the fans. He almost came out when I said his name when I got home, but when he got to the closet door and looked up and saw the fan, he darted back to his litter box!
Do I just keep giving him soupies and hope the stress eases? Do I rehome him? This would kill me, but if he can’t eat or drink, it’ll kill him! I can’t believe my feisty little boy is being defeated by something I can’t change! (I’m renting. Taking the fans down is off the table.)
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
He might just need more time, three days often isn’t a long enough period for them to fully acclimate to totally new surroundings. It’s probably worth giving him another safe space that isn’t the litter box, maybe one of your moving boxes with some of your clothing in there for bedding.
Realizing that replacement is off the table for you given your rental conditions: most of the ceiling fans I’ve come across have readily accessible screws for cleaning or replacing the individual blades - could temporarily removing them be a solution? Give him a chance to feel confident in the space and then start putting them back as his comfort allows? In one of my old rentals it was on me to swap the blade orientation for winter/summer, but your terms are likely different than mine were.
I put a house in there and a bunch of my clothes (he loves sleeping in my clothes) which had come from the old place unwashed and even that didn’t tempt him. But thank you. I’m going to get my hands on a ladder and try the blades (I’m a short woman). Thank you.
Poor little guy =/
I’m wishing you both success!
Is taking down the fans an option? Do you expect to need them? It’s easy to just unscrew the blades, assuming you can get to them
I’m renting so I can’t take it down completely and I’m short but I’m going to get a ladder and try to remove the blades. I won’t be able to do it until Friday though…
I had good results when doing a search for “cat afraid of household object”. Instead of listing a bunch of links for you, I figure you might find something more helpful if you try it on your end. I’m genuinely worried about you and your kitty. I’m not trying to be one of those asshats that says to google it yourself, because I know searching for advice about a cat that is afraid of fans might be too specific. You can probably apply the same methods from any results about a cat being afraid of any general object. My guess is the cat just needs your love and some time. I wish you guys the best!
Holy crap. Cats fearing ceiling fans is a whole thing. I had no idea!
Thank you so much! Now I have a plan!
