Why does my cat freak out when I'm in the shower?

All cats have some idiosyncrasies (or idiosycrazies.) I wouldn’t let that one into the bathroom when you’re showering.

She must have some terrible associations with tubs. She was probably abused somehow by whoever had her before she ended up in a shelter. It might fade over time. If you can get her to play near the tub, she might relax more when you take your shower.

You should consider yourself lucky. My shower is the cubicle type: small and square. One morning my cat followed me into the bathroom and I didn’t bother to push him out. I got in the shower and this fool jumped up on the ledge between the shower and the tub and kept trying to jump into the shower with me.

I’m panicking because I can imagine what would happen if a cat with sharp claws jumped into a running shower in an enclosed space with a naked human. So I kept dropping water on him, hoping he’d give up. I had to shampoo with one hand while the other kept water ready to drop on him.

It’s not a problem, it’s really pretty entertaining. I just wonder why! She also hoards socks and tries to eat plastic bags….

I’m only guessing here, but she’s probably thinking you’re in danger and is trying to dissuade you.

After all, can you imagine what it must look like to her eyes. Most cats don’t like water. And here’s you walking into a deluge, apparently willingly.

What will these crazy humans think of next. Have they forgotten that they have a perfectly good tongue in their mouths that comes in so handy for cleaning and grooming. I’ve tried my best to set a good example for her many times a day. Yet here she goes walking into a downpour.

Silly humans. Sheesh !

@Buttonstc I thought about that! If she weren’t such a bitch I’d believe it….:)

My cat wigs out every time I clean her litter box. Which is to say she wigs out every other day. She starts crazy digging all over, looking for her favourite turds or clumps. I’ve had her since 1996, and she has yet to learn to just let it go..
She waits patiently outside the shower for me every day, then licks up water from the floor as if to make the point that I don’t feed or water her.
She’s a master of smartass subtlety, and maybe her little freak out routing is another layer of this, and is her attempt to tell me to leave her turds alone.

Take it as a sign of her love – she’s worried about you.

Seriously, though, you may be able to desensitize her. If she has a favorite toy or treat, try sitting in the empty bathtub and distract her (even if it’s just for 2 seconds). As soon as she begins to freak out, stand up and walk away without interacting with her at all. Do this over and over until you can increase the amount of time in the tub before her freak-out. Then gradually add water, etc.

I hear cats don’t like getting wet.Therefore she’s displaying empathy toward another pussy going through this trauma,at least in her eyes.I could of course be way off here,I mean you may be male.

@mrentropy and @Trillian , you both made me laugh out loud and my cat came in to see why!

I had a cat that did that once. He was terrified of the shower.

Ah – I knew Milo might nave something to say.

Milo here; I gravitate to the window sill in the bathroom when Gail showers because I like the heat. Then I lick the droplets on the inside walls of bathtub before having a refreshing draft of newly-flushed toilet water.

I just enjoyed the dregs in an almost empty can of vegetarian split-pea soup while Gail had her back turned.

(Gail here: From what I have read, mostly here, cats are very idiosyncratic, enigmatic and inexplicable.)

It scares me how I can read his mind. When is the duel?

@janbb: Milo here: Due to unusually terrible and scary weather conditions (Gail almost slid off the drive this AM) and more snow to come, I’m off to Guadeloupe for the duration. Gail gets to dig, nag the snow plow guy and make fires when the power goes off.

Aha, I hear my limo beeping. Luckily, the car has chains on it. Gail is so stupid.

Milo baby – Pick me up on your way out of town? I’ll catch fish for you and stroke your fur while we lie on the beach…...The weather is awful here too and I am laid low with a cold.

@janbb: MIlo here; Let me know when you are no longer infectious, and it’s a date.

:-)

It’s kind of sweet that your cat is worried for you.

Grumpy old man Gus says: “Back in my day, we walked in the snow uphill 15 miles just to be beaten with sticks. Then we took off our shoes and walked back. Guadalupe was for books and transients. bah!”

My cat Sebastian jumps onto the shower curtain rod so he can supervise my showers… He’s such a perv.
He also licks plastic bags, and will actually dig them out of the trash if I’m not careful.

Growing up I’ve had other cats that freaked out when people showered. One that would claw at the door if you didn’t let her in, and meow pitifully at the shower if you did. There was also Jade, who always hopped into the shower with me… It was our special ‘together time’, or something.

I think my friend Max puts it best: “Cats are just weird.”

@Milo HEY!! ARE YOU THE SCAD WHO GOT MY BLACK CAT PREGNANT?? (Getting shotgun out of the closet….)

she must have had a traumatic experience with water like loosing a mate. Or someone did something during a bath at a vet visit.

@Val

Pretty sure Gail mentioned he’s been snipped :)

@Buttonstc Sigh. I guess we’ll never know, and the kittens will have to live with the stigma. (Spaying after this!)

:)

Gods for you for spaying. That’s usually the first thing on the schedule when I get a new kitty, along with an FIV/FELV test.

Off topic a little. I watched a video of a cat putting his head under the running water of a kitchen sink tap. then he’d lap up all the drops real fast and go back under for more. He ended up keeping his head under while licking at the drops running off. Too cute. I had a cat that would sit on the edge of the tub to keep me company. Every once in a while he’d lick my shoulder.

Update: I closed the door last night and she BANGED on it to get in….her little paws were clawing under the door!
I think the theory that she’s worried about me is just precious, but this cat is not a snuggly cat. I had her to reacclimate her to humans and decided that she’d never be decent to anyone but me so I just adopted her!
How do I share a link to a picture?

Some cats ( a few cats…my cat) do get upset when interior doors are closed randomly. Cats, as you know, are curious, nosy and creatures of habit. I leave every door in the house open. Damage is less that one.

Last year I thought I had really lost Milo, an indoor/outdoor guy. After 13 hours of prowling the woods, the fields and the neighborhood, I discovered him shut inside a guest room I rarely used. Did I shut the door? Did he? Was the dead mouse and pile of poop a gift or a warning?

Why didn’t he meow when I walked by that door a dozen times while calling his name?

@kikibirdjones My cat has always loved to play “Paw under the door”. If you get on one side and close it, she will come to the other side and stick her paw under. She will grab at your hand, and wants you to grab at her paw. This can amuse her for minutes at a stretch, then she remembers she has muffins in the oven and leaves.

@Trillian haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

@Trillian I had a cat who would sneak under the bed at bedmaking time and play with my toes goin back and forth! Taught me to wear slippers and the game was on -no bedskirts at that time.

@kikibirdjones Down load it into photobucket, then click on the “direct link” option, which copies it, then paste it into your comment…

My cat does it too, sits and waits for me to come out the shower meaowing then follows me about desperate to be stroked! I think it actually has something to do with the scent. I am a massage therapist and he goes crazy for my uniform too if it has essential oils on it, but my other cat isn’t bothered at all! Must be something in the shower gel they like!!