CATS SUDDENLY SCARED OF THE ROOM: 3 REASONS

Cats suddenly scared of the room: have you seen your cat suddenly jumping up for no reason and running for his life for no apparent reason? Well, this is one cat mystery we are going to analyze.

Cats are suddenly scared of the room because they have seen, heard, or smelled something that makes them scared; cats’ senses can capture things we can’t. Often it is difficult to find the exact reason cats are suddenly frightened, but if you observe, you may find the cause.

Let’s examine what might suddenly scare a cat.

Cats suddenly scared of the room Pinterest Pin

ARE CATS SUDDENLY SCARED OF THE ROOM, AND WHY?

Cats owners are confronted with this unusual behavior from cats. One moment they are calm and acting normal. A moment later, they are jumping, running, and hiding for no apparent reason.

The sudden movement of our cats makes us look around the room and the house. But, we do not see anything wrong. Therefore the cat must be crazy; otherwise, why would they be scared of nothing?

What we forget, though, is that cats have improved senses; they can smell, see, and hear things that are happening far away. They can even listen to things that are too tiny for us to capture, including very soft sounds.

1. CATS’ SENSE OF SMELL

Cats could suddenly smell something that doesn’t exist to humans; this would make cats suddenly scared of the room.

A domestic cat’s sense of smell is 9-16 times as strong as humans’. In the olfactory epithelium (i.e., smell-sensitive cells in their noses) as people do, meaning that cats have a more acute sense of smell than humans.

(Ref. Wikipedia)

In fact, cats have an estimated 45 to 200 million odor-sensitive cells in their noses, whereas humans only have 5 million odor-sensitive cells. Cats also have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal (or Jacobson’s) organ. (Ref. Wikipedia)

It could be possible that a cat suddenly smells something that makes him scared. As a result, he may behave strangely, like jumping up, hiding, and being afraid of the room or house. On the other hand, it can be that humans cannot detect such a smell.

Remember that cats can hear their owner arriving home, even two or three flights above the entrance of a building.

2. CATS’ SENSE OF HEARING

If cats are suddenly scared of the room, it can indicate they have heard something that we did not. This is because they would suddenly go on alert mode, and if they do not like the sound of something or think it is dangerous, they would run out of the room or hide somewhere.

Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing on the low end of the scale, but cats can hear many higher-pitched sounds, up to 64 kHz, which is 1.6 octaves above the range of a human 1 octave above the range of a dog. When listening for something, a cat’s ears will swivel in that direction; a cat’s ear flaps (pinnae) can independently point backward as well as forwards and sideways to pinpoint the source of the sound.

(Ref. Wikipedia)

Although they are funny when they perform this theatrical performance, and we start thinking they have seen a ghost, the most common reason for this reaction comes from their improved senses.

3. CATS’ SIGHT

Cats can see much more than we do, so we should not be that surprised if cats suddenly jump up and start running or even if they start looking at an empty spot in the wall or space. This is because they are seeing something there, not necessarily a ghost.

Sometimes they can see a tiny insect, even from a very long distance.

Cats have a tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer behind the retina that sends light that passes through the retina back into the eye. While this improves the ability to see in darkness and enables cats to see using roughly one-sixth the amount of light that people need

I have seen my cat looking for hours in a corner or the ceiling. Although I thought he was going crazy, he suddenly decided to guard that part of the house, and I could not make him move.

I could not see anything, but I got intrigued by it. Therefore I thoroughly inspected the wall, and what do you know? I found a tiny small bug. I could not see at a distance, but I could see going close.

So, my cat was going crazy over it. One could quickly think he saw a ghost, but it was not the case. I am not saying cats can’t see ghosts either, but they surely see things we “cannot see.” Cats, suddenly scared of the room, can go back to cats’ sight.

MY CAT IS SCARED OF SOMETHING I CAN’T SEE; WHY?

At least one time in life, every cat is scared of something we can’t see. But unfortunately, some of us like to think they can see ghosts and other entities.

Cats have been staring at walls, ceilings, or even empty spaces for hours, making their owners doubt their cat’s mental sanity. Cats are weird in so many aspects that it is difficult to believe there is an actual meaning to what they do.

But, more often than not, they have a plan, and they are acting on something they have sensed. So, generally, if you look around, in the direction in which your cat is staring, you will find some small bug, a black spot, or something that your cat is guarding.

For example, one of my cats suddenly jumped on the floor from the table, meowing like crazy, and started to guard a point in the kitchen. Although however, I could not see anything at first; after a careful investigation, I found a tiny worm on the floor.

I removed it, and my cat stopped being crazy.

Cats suddenly scared of the room is just one reaction of those “hidden events.” Cats are very stubborn about prey; when they target or want something, they can sit and stare at the desired object for hours.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Cats suddenly scared of the room is something that happens to every cat?

Every cat may have an experience like this. However, cats that are more anxious than others can be more susceptible to those kinds of events.

Stress and anxious cats may be more inclined to be scared of sudden events. Therefore, if you have a nervous cat, it is essential to ensure there aren’t changes in the environment and do everything possible to be reassuring.


Why won’t my cat go in a particular room?

Cats don’t go in certain rooms because they do not like specific objects or smells in that room, it may also be that something terrible happens in that room, and they are afraid to go back there.

So look for sounds in that room that may scare your cat, fleas, and things you know your cat doesn’t like.


How do I get my cat to like my room?

Cats may like your room by default if you are in there and your cat likes you; cats would follow you anywhere you go. Otherwise, you may try giving the cats treats in your room.

Make him follow you with the sound of the treats bag. Once in the room, give him treats. You can put toys in your room to make your cat stay and a cat bed where he may like to sleep. In other words, put things in your room that your cats would like.


My cat is acting strange, sniffing everything. Is it a bad sign?

Sometimes a cat goes on a sniffing tour; they start sniffing around non-stop. Usually, it is because there is a new smell around; maybe a new person came into the house or another animal.

Cats try to figure out what it is by sniffing around.


Why is my cat scared of me all of a sudden?

Cats can be suddenly scared of you because you might have a new smell on you or because you moved too fast or changed your tone of voice or mood.


Will my cat forget me after two weeks?

Science aside, I know for sure cats will not forget you. I have been away for weeks more than once; my cat recognized me when I returned.

One of my cats was upset, but he knew who I was, and the morning after I got back, we started the everyday routines.

I know it is said they remember things for so many hours, but I know it is not true from experience. They will remember you.

How do you tell if a cat is traumatized?

You can tell if a cat is traumatized from a weird behavior. Generally, traumatized cats can act scared and shy, hide all the time, show signs of aggression, he is not comfortable, and have similar symptoms.

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4 Comments

  1. I have a semi-feral cat that is around 2 years old. I got her when she was young, though not quite young enough to fully tame her, so she has always been the skittish type; however some days she becomes extremely terrified of different rooms in our home. Normally she is fine, but it happens every couple of months, and I’m wondering if I should be more concerned? She has no health issues that I or my vet know of.
    It’s very distressing and can go on for days, even up to a week! Is there anything I can do to help her calm down quicker? I don’t know how to avoid these situations because I have been unable to figure out what is scaring her, to begin with.

    1. Hello there, thank you for your question. If your cat is fine medically, most probably, she can smell or see something that she doesn’t like.
      Cats can be challenging to figure out. In some cases, they like to change places every couple of months too. My cats like to sleep on the chairs for many weeks, and suddenly he would go and sleep in the cupboard for a few weeks. After that, I found him sleeping under a shelf. Possibly, she just changes places. Or she can spot things we can’t. You can try closing the doors to those rooms if you can, or give her a safe place to be for a while where she feels safe. You could try to give her some treats and pet her and comfort her for few minutes a day and try to spot what makes her scared. Let me know how it goes

  2. Hi there

    We have 6 cats and 1 dog. 2 are 5 years 1 are 3 years then we have 3 young ones which is year old the dog are turning 11.

    All getting along where well and all had sleep sofar in the room with us.

    Suddely one of my young ones are scared of the bedroom and the rest are tricker happy still. 5 of the 6 cats are day in and day out in the room but the other one refuse to come near the bedroom – i’m currently have now idea what could’ve happend that we doesn’t come in.

    I’ve pick him up and walked with him in the bed room and in the same movement he just running out, i’v switch the roof fan of to see if that is what could cause the sudden running out – even that was not the problem.

    What can i do, all 6 cats are getting the some amount of love, cuddles, food and treats – what do i do wrong??

    Hope to hear from you soon.

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