My Mom has a cat phobia. She knows it's irrational, and she knows what event caused it, but she still has it.
When she was about 9 years old, there was a rapist preying on women in the neighborhood. Her mother was a single mother (widow) and so she warned her daughters about it, and told them not to use a certain alleyway to get to the local shops.
About a day later she sends my Mom for bread at the store, and Mom uses the alleyway. She is scared already because she knows she isn't supposed to. As she is creeping through the alley, a big ol' black Tom cat just jumped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of her. Ever since? She can't abide cats. She literally screams if they brush up against her and she hasn't prepped herself.
I had my cat Buster for 10 years, and it was a HUGE thing for her that she petted him once. (One pat on the back, once in 10 years.) She was amazed at how soft he was. She said the only reason she could do it was because unlike most cats, Buster kept his distance from her.
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When she was about 9 years old, there was a rapist preying on women in the neighborhood. Her mother was a single mother (widow) and so she warned her daughters about it, and told them not to use a certain alleyway to get to the local shops.
About a day later she sends my Mom for bread at the store, and Mom uses the alleyway. She is scared already because she knows she isn't supposed to. As she is creeping through the alley, a big ol' black Tom cat just jumped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of her. Ever since? She can't abide cats. She literally screams if they brush up against her and she hasn't prepped herself.
I had my cat Buster for 10 years, and it was a HUGE thing for her that she petted him once. (One pat on the back, once in 10 years.) She was amazed at how soft he was. She said the only reason she could do it was because unlike most cats, Buster kept his distance from her.
N.