Cats and Cucumbers

     A cat's natural reaction is to be wary of the unknown or anything that sneaks up on them without making any noise because it could be a predator. 
     Youtube is full of videos of people who shouldn't own pets showing their cat's extreme reaction to cucumbers. Placing a cucumber behind a cat when it's eating and then waiting until the cat, whose head has been down in its food bowl, notices it and leaps into the air in fright may seem funny, but it’s not. 
     There is something about cucumbers which cats find absolutely terrifying. Jill Goldman, a certified animal behaviorist, says that it's possible that the cat's first instinct is to assume that the cucumber is a snake, which can be a deadly predator. 
     Scaring your pets isn’t very funny and it is potentially very harmful to them. It can result in injury and possibly have have long-term effects on their mental health. Stress leads to unwanted behaviors. What's more, the cat can also associate the scary prank with its owner which means it could become fearful of its owner.
     When cats are living in the wild, stress occurs mainly when they are exposed to a predator or other life-threatening situations. Like us, their adrenal glands respond to the threat resulting in an increase in the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. These responses are designed to prepare the animal to fight or flee the dangerous situation. Also like in humans, long-term stress is detrimental. 
     Cats don't worry about bills and such, but they get stressed out by things like boredom, territory anxiety, conflicts with other animals in the home, loud noises (thunderstorms, fireworks, music), loss or addition of a human or animal in the family, changes in routine or schedule, moving or traveling, visits to the vet, being left home alone, remodeling or furniture being rearranged, not enough food, water and clean litter, getting declawed, medical and nutritional problems and fleas just to name a few.  They can also be stressed over concerns unique to the particular animal. 
     When suffering from stress, cats may also exhibit a variety of behavioral changes that could include becoming restless, meowing, shivering or hissing. Some may cower in a corner or closet or hide behind furniture. 
     Other stress-related behaviors are destructive in nature. These include excessive grooming that may result in missing patches of fur and skin infections. Chewing on or scratching furniture or other items, inappropriate urination, defecation or marking behavior outside of the litter box. 

     Some cats may require anti-anxiety medication to decrease stress levels. Commercial products that release pheromones, signal-carrying hormones, can be sprayed or diffused in the home to promote feelings of calmness in the cat. The best stress reducer is interaction with the cat by petting it in a quiet room or putting aside play time.  Both often works wonders in relieving stress for both the cat and the owner.