You probably know that ‘ailurophobia’ is the fear of cats. It is a rare condition but when it does occur it can cause distress for the sufferer and it is worthwhile briefly dipping into one possible cause.
Children are likely to regard a cat or kitten as a fluffy, cute creature in the home to be cuddled. They are attractive to children. They want to interact. If they’ve not been taught how to handle a kitten it may end badly.
Kittens sometimes react defensively aggressively to mishandling by children’s overzealous approaches. They strike out with sharp claws. For a child it would be a shock to suddenly discover that something so apparently soft and harmless can cause such pain because they have daggers on the end of their feet!
This may be enough to disturb an infant and distrust cats. It depends upon the circumstances.
Several factors can influence whether this initial fear and distrust of cats, because of the injury incurred, then develops into full-blown ailurophobia which is a psychological condition recognised by physicians.
One factor would be the intensity of the experience. If the scratch or bite causes significant pain and/or bleeding it may leave a strong impression on the child.
Another factor might be the parental or environmental reaction. If caregivers or onlookers react strongly to the aggressive behaviour of the kitten by scolding the child for example and emphasising the danger of cats or showing excessive concern in other ways, it could reinforce the perception that cats are something to fear.
And thirdly, we have the child’s personality and temperament. Some children are more sensitive than others and therefore more prone to developing phobias. Nowadays there appears to be more children than previously who suffer from general anxiety. Perhaps these people are more prone to developing ailurophobia.
And fourthly, if there is a lack of subsequent positive experiences with cats to counterbalance the negative one, the child might generalise the fear to all cats.
Of course, it has to be said that most children recover from such an experience without developing a phobia particularly if the parents explain what is going on and de-escalate the incident. It’s important that parents respond calmly and teach their child how to handle animals properly in the future. Proactive steps to prevent these incidents are clearly more effective.
If the parents’ reaction is the opposite and they inadvertently reinforce the bad experience the fear might persist and it might interfere with daily life. At this point it may be classified as a specific phobia requiring medical intervention.
More: ailurophile
P.S. Another factor here is the degree of socialisation of the kitten or cat. If for whatever reason the cat is not fully socialised it is far more likely that they will react agressively to mishandling or any kind of handling. A child interacting with a cat or kitten is a two-way process with both parties playing their part in the outcome.
