A Note About Aerosols and Cats

It just occurred to me this morning, when I was spraying a dog bite wound on my knee with an antiseptic aerosol spray, that the sound of an aerosol spray in use can frighten cats. My cat, Charlie, showed signs of being frightened by it.

This must be due to the noise it makes, which is little like a cat hiss. We know that cats hiss to mimic a snake as a way of frightening predators or animals that threaten him or her.

It seems that the cat, in recognising that the hissing sound is frightening, are frightened by the sound of the jet coming from the aerosol.

I am reminded of a recently advertised device that stops cats going to places where a person does not want them to go. It makes a sound similar to an aerosol and is probably similar to an aerosol in function.

I think the answer is to not use an aerosol when close to your cat. Although I expect some cats won't mind. However, as cat hissing is an inherited characteristic I would expect most cats to be disturbed by the sound of an aerosol.

Note: Yes, I was bitten by a dog yesterday on the street while I went to the shops to buy a newspaper. Nasty wound and wrecked trousers but I'm alright. I was an entirely unprovoked attack as I walked past the dog, one of three on leads being managed (poorly) by their owner.