Curious observation about cats and certain sounds

[Tina B and crew]

I had a bottle of beer with dinner tonight and when I was cleaning up I took the bottle and was blowing in it to make a sound. All three of the cats' eyes got huge and they all three ran and hid. When I found Doc he was cowering in his bed looking like he had a really bad fright! Poor little guy. Lucy and Chunk were under the couch and she started to come out she had the same look on her face. I am sure I have done this before with bottles but have never noticed such a reaction. I swear they looked as if they had seen their own ghost!

Any idea why this sound would illicit such a response? If I had known it bothered them so I would never have done it! Hopefully they have recovered by now.

[Traci]

I've done that before (not with beer), and they freak. I think it sounds like wind howling to them (or they think some evil spirit has taken you over), it's scary to them, and particularly when you have never done it or rarely do it.

Also, cats are keen to sounds, high pitches, weird sounds etc. Anything that isn't "normal" in their environment, they will react.

[Tina B and crew]

(or they think some evil spirit has taken you over)

That's exactly what I was thinking! I have never seen my cat so frightened. We get strong winds here frequently so they are use to that (except when we had the derecho last year, that scared them pretty soundly). Anyway, it was just a curious thing - bless their little hearts. Doc was almost trembling! Of course he's been out there in the wild and probably had to run from things like coyotes. Which, by the way, they don't seem to react to when they hear but they are always "out there" even when they close by, and they sometimes are very close by. We found coyote scat in our front yard a few months ago.

[Traci]

Tip: don't blow into your beer bottle again

[Tina B and crew]

well I wouldn't the first place if I had known it was going to scare them so bad!

[Traci]

Don't feel bad, just don't do the following:

Blow into beer bottles.

Grind coffee near a sleeping cat.

Use a blender near a sleeping cat.

Introduce squiggle dog toys to a cat.

Introduce remote control cars or helicopters to cats.

Allow batteries in your smoke detectors to go bad lest the ear-piercing warning scream of dead batteries send the kiddens into a major psychotic episode.

And a few other stupid things I'm ashamed to admit I've done (although innocently I must add!).

[Tina B and crew]

Don't shave with an electric razor near your cat either.

Yea, my cats hate the blender and the stick blender. I always look to see where they are and warn them (not that it does any good) before I use it - not that it does any good.

The funny thing about blowing in the beer bottles is I KNOW I have done with with other cats around before and have never seen such a reaction. Frodo use to hate things that buzzed like an electric razor.

[Traci]

Awww, good tip, but no electric razors in this house so no fears.

I think a lot of it comes from being so accustomed to the environment you create for them, calm, peaceful, harmonious, so ...when a strange noise occurs, it's a scary thing. Plus, indoor cats rarely hear what outdoor cats hear on a daily basis, so the differences can be huge.