Friday, March 03, 2006

Small but Scary

Other day Shekar and I were watching TV and this ad of a cat comes up. I immediately turn my face away from the TV, Yes that is how much I dread cats.

In my younger days I used to be scared of cats. We have never had a cat, but my grandparents always had a cat. Every summer when I used to visit I used to be very scared. My grandmother would always shoo the cat away when it came close to me. I remember one episode where all of us were dinning together. I usually sit with my feet on the chair (because of the cat), but that day for some reason my feet was set on the floor. The cat came and rubbed against my feet and I jumped on to the dinning table yelling cat. I was probably 6 back then, and even to this day my cousins remind me of that incident.

Like everyone says the way to get rid of one's fear is to face it and so Veena thought the best thing to do is to get a cat and chase me with it till I give up. So she grabbed our neighbor's cat and ran after me, through the house, around the house and finally throughout our street. All this while I just kept running. I had more stamina than Veena so she finally quit after she got tired.

Last year when I went to India that was the first time I was meeting Shekar's family. So we were visiting one of his uncles and aunts. The new bride that I was and not knowing his uncle and aunt I was very quiet for most of the evening till I saw a cat in their house. I jumped out of my seat and ran into their other room yelling "“CAT! CAT!"”. All this while everyone in the house is shocked and Shekar tells them she is scared of cats. Hearing that, they were shocked more. "People are scared of cats?" I actually heard someone say that. I was so embarrassed for the way I acted that evening.

The place we live now, our neighbors have cats and we see them walking around all the time. When I get home and get out of my car I see a cat, I just stay in the car for few minutes for them to go away. If they still don't move I get out, say a prayer and take a different way to walk to my house. If Shekar is with me I send him first to drive away the cat.

I do know that cats are harmless and they do not attack people, but there is something about cats that I'm not only scared of, but hate and consider it gross. Its not just cats kittens too... Please don't tell me they are so adorable and/or cute.

I think I need help...

18 comments:

silverine said...

KIttens? they are so adorable and cute :p Sorry couldn't resist that. I luv kittens, they make delightful pets and can entertain you with their impish monkey tricks for hours. Cats are ok if they retain their kittenish behaviour, else they are a piece of furniture. I understand your phobia. Some things are unsurmountable.

Rays Of Sun said...

Just like me! I ran from my Dept heads office when the secretary bought her dog to show off:O
I dread animals altogether...

Jagan said...

ha ha .. u did that when u went to meet ur in-laws ..man ..am laughing ..

let me kno when ur bday is - will definitely gift u a kitten ;-)

Sayesha said...

Hahahaha! I am scared of cats too... they look at you funny, isn't it? Those eyes... brrr... :O

educatedunemployed said...

Scared??? Its probably got to do with the feelings they invoke..Hmm..you need desensitization.They are harmless little things..But then people are scared of cockroaches..so there..

Deeps said...

Hmm to each his own (in this case, her own :-D). We've had kittens/cats at home since I was young, so I have never been scared of them. Moreover, I love any kind of animals, so have a habit of reaching out and petting them :). I am not even scared of cockroaches ;-).

Is there a particular reason you are scared? I mean did a cat scratch you or something?

Anonymous said...

:)

Cats can't stand each other...Here Kitty Here.. dont Purrr....:D

Anonymous said...

u need to decipher the cats` psyche ..so I guess u should be quarantined with a mature cat, and you can resolve issues mutually :P:P

Eclectic Blogger said...

i was always very scared of dogs.. but finally, i now live in a rented place and my landlord has three dogs.. irony

Ginkgo said...

:-)
How u doin Thanu..

Kusum Rohra said...

ewwwww... even i don't like cats :) and like sayesha says those eyes ewwww!

Geo said...

:_)

I guess being afraid of cats is much better than being afraid of cockroaches
:_))

The sight of a snake can send shivers down my spine... nothing else...

Unknown said...

Hey Thanu, Its just a fear u have to overcome. After reading about the escalator accident in Delhi where a kid lost her life I dread escalators....but then sometimes i even use them to just check out! SO maybe u shud fondle a cat once just for the heck of it. Its difficult but.... not impossible.

Kusum Rohra said...

Hey Thanu, i read sayesha's blog ... loved it absolutehhhhhllly, many thanks sweets infact a *hug* too, BTW Wish you a happy women's day :)

Aashi said...

hehe!!!...i too am too scared of cats...hv mentioned that several times on my blog also..
came here through geo's blog..

Thanu said...

$silverine
NO.. Chant with me.. cats are gross cats are gross

$Rays Of Sun
Mujse badtar bi log hain..

$Jagan
Better is no gift that a cat gift

$Sayesha
THey ahve evil eye... thank god u think so too..

$educatedunemployed
cockroaches - they are not scary...it is just cats

$Deeps
No reason never been attacked. Just scared. Roaches and spiders don't scare me it just roaches.

$jaguu
NO mention of cats pls.

$Grain Saint
I see a cat and my maturity goes out of the window.

$Eclectic Blogger
So u don't sit in the car waiting for htem to go away?

$Vikram
tu bi catophobic?

$Ginkgo
I'm doing well, how abt ya?

$Kusum Rohra
Feel so much better that I'm not alone.

$Geo said...
Hope u don't see a snake..but cats are so common.

$RandomThoughts
It is always better to take stairs instead os escalator. If there is stairs I alwaz make a point to take those insread of escalator or elevators.

$Kusum Rohra
Thank u...RIte back at ya.

$AF
Welcome here and hope to see ya ard.

Rays Of Sun said...

Cant open my gmail..Know you would have emailed:)

Anil.kumar03@gmail.com said...

Thanu :

I cannot but agree with you. The only difference is , its dogs in my case.

There are people and especially, Reshmi, a blogger friend, who find dogs so cute
and adorable, but I have seen them in raw light. My nights in BTM , bangalore, India
I have seen the most dreaded creatures in my life. When they growl and roar,they are no
less frightening than the Tiger in the jungle. The moment I would put a step in the lane of
my house,the dogs of that stret from the start to the end would start barking like crazy.
And they would give me a real horror show. Many a times they would come in dreams as nightmares.

I used to carry stones in my hand when walking in night, just to be safe from those "cute and
adorable creatures".

-ATG