Unusual Pet Reactions

[Shorty]

Do your pets have any strange reactions or behaviors triggered by other people or things?

Achilles has recently developed an episode of hysterics whenever I play Fallout He tries to crawl into my lap, he whines, he shakes madly, tries to literally get on top of me, hyperventilates. A few moments ago he started whining as if he were hurt! It's so unusual, only developed in the past week or so. I'm not sure if it's the gunfire or my reactions to enemies (I often squeal and screech at the screen). When he's clearly distressed, I'll pause the game and calm him down or let him outside to be away from it.

I feel terrible but it's so peculiar and almost funny! I've had him since he could fit into both of my hands, so it's not as if he's having flashbacks of being in a households with gunfire or anything. I really have no idea what it is, it's such an odd development.

Additionally, my mom's dog goes nuts at the UPS guy. Any other kind of truck can pass - USPS, industrial or moving trucks, transportation vehicles, garbage trucks, but she loses it when she sees that big brown truck going by our street.

[Madame Adequate]

Our cat Sugi is terrified - terrified - of headgear which changes the outline of people's heads. He's okay it's like a wool cap or something but if it's got a wide brim or worse yet sticks up somehow, he loses it and runs away. We discovered this one year when it was Christmas and we were all wearing our antlers, and he walked into the room, stared in horror usually reserved for Elder Gods, and then absolutely belted out of there.

[Shorty]

Oh god, Achilles is also terrified of hats and large slender objects that are picked up, like brooms, guitars, lengthy paint rollers, etc. He's an absolute chicken and will sit there cowering and shaking. I have no idea where he gets it from!

[noxious.sunshine]

Kitty goes nuts whenever she hears Parker 's voice when P isn't here.

My Bozo would only chase certain color cars. the

My sister's poodle had to wear clothes .. She hated not having a shirt on.

[Shorty]

I turned on Fallout just now. Achilles heard the startup cog noise, then the music came on, and he started shaking uncontrollably and jumped into my lap to be comforted.

How am I supposed to play my damn game like this!

[KentaRawr!]

Maybe he's started to worry about you when you play because you squeal sometimes. That's so odd, though, that it'd be that game specifically. Maybe something happened to him while you were playing once and you didn't notice, and now he associates the two things.

This might just be an all-dogs thing, but my sister has these giraffe statues that terrify her dog, and her roomie's dog, too.

[Shorty]

I do think the squealing and shrieking is definitely a factor, but he just knew from the music! Odd little thing.

[Colonel Angus]

I do think the squealing and shrieking is definitely a factor, but he just knew from the music! Odd little thing.

Your dog associates whatever it is he doesn't like from the music of the game. Dogs aren't stupid. They understand things. If there's loud noises or unpleasant visuals in your game, & the music plays whenever those things appear, then your dog will associate that to the music & get weird.

[Shiny]

The bulldog is terrified...of plastic bags. I have no idea why but if she hears the crinkling or even just sees a bag she freaks out. She literally ran away from me when I walked in with groceries a few times. Yet she is completely unafraid of large public buses and proceeds to chase after them every chance she gets. When one stopped on the side she bit the tire. I couldn't believe she did that.

[Sephex]

Our cat Sugi is terrified - terrified - of headgear which changes the outline of people's heads. He's okay it's like a wool cap or something but if it's got a wide brim or worse yet sticks up somehow, he loses it and runs away. We discovered this one year when it was Christmas and we were all wearing our antlers, and he walked into the room, stared in horror usually reserved for Elder Gods, and then absolutely belted out of there.

That is semi common with some cats, I think. Years ago one of my parent's cats FREAKED OUT when my mom put on a pair of cat ears for a costume. The cat just got all wide eyed and tore out of the room faster than Sonic the Hedgehog at a cocaine convention.

[Christmas]

My hamsters try to eat my finger when I stick it near them.

Or something horny, I'm not sure.

[Pheesh]

Well I don't know if this counts, but our chicken freaks the smurf out when she hears the door to the back yard unlock. She will stop whatever she is doing and run to the part of the coop closest to the door. This is behaviour totally normal for most affectionate pets I guess, but it's just funny to see it from a chicken. She also paces once you're in the back yard.

[Loony BoB]

Smitzy reacts to people in the kind of way that Gollum does.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

My cat juts likes to give me love maulings. Most of the scratches on my hands aren't from working on cars, but from Martin.

His eyes get all big, like he just took some horse tranquilizers right before he attacks, so I do get some warning.


EDIT: Shorty, I wonder if you tried playing the game on mute, if he would have the same reactions. I know you need sound, but if mute helps, maybe using headphones could be a work around.

[Jess]

Achilles is so cute.

My dog is terrified of the vacuum. The vacuum comes out and he goes nuts and runs away.

My parents have a furry rug in their lounge and he will lay upside down and just wriggle around on it because he loves it.