Flooding – CattleDog Publishing

Q: I volunteer at a refuge, and we use again scratchers to socialise worried cats. I feel this makes a few of them extra scared. Do I stay pushing it?

A: Many cats in shelters are afraid. We must watch out to not pressure them into scenarios they’re uncomfortable with as a result of it will make their worry worse. That is known as “flooding.”

What’s flooding? Flooding is a technique used to make folks or animals face their largest fears head-on, hoping they’ll recover from it briefly.

Why would possibly flooding be problematic? Take into consideration being truly scared and feeling trapped with out an break out. That’s how those cats would possibly really feel. Some would possibly simply appear to “close down” and now not react, however within, they’re terrified. This response is named “realized helplessness”.

What’s realized helplessness? It’s when anyone or an animal feels so beaten via worry that they only prevent attempting or reacting, despite the fact that they’re nonetheless deeply apprehensive.

Are there different ways to lend a hand? Sure, there are higher tactics to make cats really feel secure and pleasant. We will be able to introduce them to new issues slowly and praise them for being courageous. This manner, they’ll discover ways to affiliate excellent issues with what used to scare them.