Emotions: Fear

There is a belief that animals do not have emotions and that cats in particular are cold and unemotional. Fear is one of the most basic emotions and essential for self protection. We don’t always recognise fear in cats because their fears often differ from ours.

Our cats, especially Sherpa, are afraid of what might await them when they leave the house. Sometimes they find it necessary to inspect the garden from upstairs windows; often, after a door has been opened, they need to spend some time testing the outside air or the frame of the door for threatening scents before venturing out. Perception of high frequency sounds, inaudible to humans, may also account for some of a cat’s inexplicable behaviour. I once noticed Sherpa become suddenly alert, and going to a window, saw two bats flying nearby.

Both our cats, but not all cats, fear traffic. Even though the footpath at our house is separated from the road by a wide grass verge, walks with the cats come to an abrupt end as they scramble back into the garden when the first car passes. Stationary cars do not terrify them: Sherpa has sunbathed on the roof of mine.

Journeys in cars recall being brought to the vet, being neutered, being operated on. Our local vets and veterinary nurses treated the cats with great kindness and succeeded in saving their lives. Nevertheless, when Banjo returned to convalesce after having a plate inserted in his leg, he was met by a hissing, spitting Sherpa with back arched and fur erect who refused to be in the same room with him for several weeks. Months later, when Sherpa returned with no tail, smelling strongly of veterinary clinic the situation was reversed.

These cat fears I can understand. What seems to me irrational is the way, while alone in the kitchen with me, Sherpa sometimes nervously looks around her before and while eating.

There are situations where cats are fearless when it is natural for humans to feel fear. Sherpa, climbing a tree, races along branches until only a thin twig is supporting her weight. She climbs through an open window on to a window sill high above the ground. And, of course, she and Banjo have no fear whatsoever of spiders or mice. These humans! How irrational they can sometimes be!