My cat is terrified of cars...?

Question

i was holding my cat like i normally do she was purring and rubbing against my face however when a car drove past she went crazy and clawed my arm to run inside is this normal??

also she is a rescue cat and for the first 4 years of her life we know nothing about her could it be something that happened in early life

Answer 1

First of all, congratulations for rescuing this girl and saving a life.  

You didn't state how long you've had your kitty, but I think her fear might be the result of having been an outdoor cat until she was rescued and she might have had a close call from being hit by a car.

If you've only had her a short while, I'd keep her indoors until she is totally acclimated and then only allow her to have supervised outdoor time on the porch or deck so she doesn't spook again.  Right now she is obviously not comfortable being outdoors.

Answer 2

She could have had a near miss with a car or just not like the noise.

Answer 3

My cats are afraid of cars too.

And it's usually a good thing because it keeps them away from the streets. They are also scared of scooters, skateboards, bikes, garage doors.

It could be because of and earlier expirience, but in my case it's loud noises. THat could also be the reason for your cat's fear

Answer 4

yes it is very likely that this is something from before you had her. she may have nearly been hit by a car and so this should explain why she is terrified of them. some rescue cats hate noise because of trauma from before. it is probably something to do with her old life. just keep her away from the road as much as you can and if she wants to go outside near the road let that be her choice and she will eventually be more used to the road.  

Answer 5

It could be something that has happened to her earlier, but a lot of cats are afraid of cars.

it could be a good thing, she would probably never be hit by a car!!!

nothing to do about it, just try to avoid taking her to places with a lot of cars.

care about her and make her feel safe and in time maybe she can be more able to handle stressful situations,

Answer 6

She may have been hit by a car or had a close call with a car in her early years.

Answer 7

cats are afraid of cars because of the loud sounds they make! remember cats can hear better than humans! Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing on the low end of the scale, but cats can hear much higher-pitched sounds, up to 64 kHz! if you noticed when you use a high tone of voice the cat will be afraid the just run away so we must be very careful!

Answer 8

Cats should be afraid of cars.  I wouldn't view this as a bad thing.  I've had many, many outdoor cats get hit and killed by cars in my life.   I now have only housecats that I would never let go outside.  I keep them inside where they are safe from harm.