ailurophobia

Ailurophobia is relatively uncommon compared with other animal phobias, such as ophidiophobia or arachnophobia. Ailurophobes may experience panic and fear when thinking about cats, imagining an encounter with a cat, inadvertently making physical contact with a cat, or seeing depictions of cats in media. The fear can also prevent the ailurophobe from doing certain activities, like visiting friends' houses, for fear of encountering a cat.{{Cite book|last1=Antony |first1=Martin M. |last2=McCabe |first2=Randi E. |date=2005 |title=Overcoming animal & insect phobias : how to conquer fear of dogs, snakes, rodents, bees, spiders & more |location=Oakland, California |publisher=New Harbinger Publications |isbn=9781608826803 |oclc=785781539}} They may experience extreme anxiety and fear when hearing meowing, hissing, or other sounds that the ailurophobe associates with cats. In one case, it was reported that a patient with ailurophobia was unable to touch clothing that had a soft, fur-like texture, possibly due to the clothing's similarity to a cat's fur.

Though the exact cause of ailurophobia is unknown, ailurophobes often trace their fear back to early childhood. This is a trend observed in many other specific phobias, especially those involving animals. One theory is that a singular traumatic incident, like being attacked by a cat or witnessing a cat attack someone else, can trigger the development of this phobia. Other theories as to the cause of ailurophobia include exposure to someone else's ailurophobia, or being inundated with troubling information about the danger of cats.{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323040259500210 |title=Developmental-behavioral pediatrics: Evidence and practice |publisher=Mosby/Elsevier |date=2008 |isbn=9780323070706 |editor-last=Wolraich |editor-first=Mark |location=Philadelphia |pages=627–688 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-04025-9.50021-0 |oclc=324995635 |chapter=Internalizing Conditions }}

It is widely believed that one of the best treatments for animal phobia is exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is conducted by systematically exposing a patient to stimuli that are increasingly fear-inducing while only progressing when the patient is comfortable with the prior stimulus. For example, one ailurophobic patient underwent exposure therapy for her fear by being exposed to fur-like fabric, pictures of cats, a toy cat, and finally a friendly live kitten, which the patient subsequently adopted; as the kitten grew and remained friendly, the patient was able to be less afraid of full-grown cats.{{Cite journal |last1=Freeman |first1=H. L. |last2=Kendrick |first2=D. C. |date=August 1960 |title=A case of cat phobia: Treatment by a method derived from experimental psychology |journal=The BMJ |volume=2 |issue=5197 |pages=497–502 |doi=10.1136/bmj.2.5197.497 |pmc=2097085 |pmid=13824737}} This method is used to help patients with both ailurophobia and cynophobia.

There are no medications designed to treat ailurophobia. D-cycloserine has been linked to facilitating better results in exposure therapy.{{Cite journal |last1=Mataix-Cols |first1=David |last2=Fernández de la Cruz |first2=Lorena |last3=Monzani |first3=Benedetta |last4=Rosenfield |first4=David |last5=Andersson |first5=Erik |last6=Pérez-Vigil |first6=Ana |last7=Frumento |first7=Paolo |last8=de Kleine |first8=Rianne A. |last9=Difede |first9=JoAnn |last10=Dunlop |first10=Boadie W. |last11=Farrell |first11=Lara J. |date=May 2017 |title=D-Cycloserine Augmentation of Exposure-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2599177 |journal=JAMA Psychiatry |language=en |volume=74|issue=5 |pages=501–510 |doi=10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3955 |pmid=28122091 |issn=2168-622X|hdl=2144/26601|s2cid=205144078 |hdl-access=free}}{{Erratum|doi=10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.0144|pmid=28297011}}

• List of phobias

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite journal |first=Nelson Antrim |last=Crawford |title=Cats Holy and Profane |journal=Psychoanalytic Review |volume=21 |pages=168–179 |date=1934 |url=http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=PSAR.021.0168A |access-date=9 April 2009}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Kenrick |first=Douglas T. |date=2013 |title=Our Natural Fear of Cats |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaning-life/201307/our-natural-fear-cats |journal=Psychology Today |access-date=31 May 2021}}

{{domestic cat}}

Category:Zoophobias

Category:Felids and humans

Category:Phobias

Category:Cats