Cat freaking out over new mirror

[DustinG.]

So the wife and I purchase a fancy new mirror to go over our fireplace yesterday. We come home and i can see our girl cat lounging at the other end of the room. I walk in the mirror and her eyes bulge out of her head, she fluffs up and takes off running as though something is trying to kill her. I put the mirror up. I find her under the bed, bring her into the living room, and she pretty much tried to claw me to death when she saw the mirror.

i figured she'd get over it, so i let her be. Middle of the night, she hasn't left out room and is now meowing be the door, sitting just far enough out to where she can keep and eye on the mirror. i had to take it down. she will NOT leave our room if the mirror is on the wall. silly cat.

Im wondering how i should approach this, i want the mirror. Should i just leave it up? will she eventually get over it? anyone had any similar experience with kitties being terrified of inanimate objects? The mirror is down right now, and she is creeping around the house looking for it, occasional stopping in my office to look at me and cry.

P.S. she is not normally afraid of mirrors. the only think i can think of is that the border is huge and thick and black. Shes deathly afraid of black trashbags, even sometime large black pieces of clothing if im carrying them wrong.

oh and P.P.S. i had the mirror leaned against the wall in my office last night and she walked up to it an sniffed around it?!?! but put it back on the wall and she gets terrified? silly small brained fur ball.

[Owned_By_Two]

I'd try eliminating the potential border issue first. Tape some colored paper over borders. Then I'd try to introduce her slowly to the mirror. Does she allow you can hold her? If so, while holder her, stand as far away from the mirror as you can, and take a few steps closer. With you holding her and whispering to her she will be reassured. As soon as she gets uncomfortable, stop and back off a step but still hold her if you can. Hopefully you'll be able to approach the mirror with her closer in the next few days. After she gets used to the mirror, you can slowly reveal the black border by stripping it away over time.

[Heidi n Q]

Can you also leave the mirror on the floor for a week or so? Long enough for her to thoroughly check it out and grow bored with it?

Our former feral, Pretty, had a *difficult* time adjusting to being inside due to the TV. It wasn't the sound that bothered her, it was the *movement*. It took her a while before she realized the movement remained on the screen and did not come into the room to 'get' her. I think your kitty just needs a little time to adjust.

[DustinG.]

well, i think i will leave it out for her on the floor for a bit first and see how that goes. strange thing is she walked up to it last night with no problems when it was on the floor, sniffed around it and only seemed slightly uncomfortable.

if she was still willing to move around the house, but just being spooked a bit, i wouldnt worry about it, and id leave it up. but she refused to move from the bedroom all night while the mirror was up, not even to get water or food, or use the potty.....so i had to take it down.

thanks for the input! i will go more gradual with her.

oh and ps, it HAS to be the border, i brought the old mirror back out (thin light colored frame) and she is not bothered by it at all.

[Heidi n Q]

Originally Posted by DustinG.

oh and ps, it HAS to be the border, i brought the old mirror back out (thin light colored frame) and she is not bothered by it at all.

Wow! I find that very strange. ...what odd things kitties decide to freak out about...

[DustinG.]

indeed! i dont get it. she is normally the calm one, and Mr Higgins is prone to freaking out about stuff, he pays the mirror no mind at all.

right now the mirror is on the floor in my bedroom, and Allie wont go in there. but she is voicing her complaints about the mirror being in her favorite room. shes sitting behind me fussing at me not stop. silly brat.

[Heidi n Q]

Ooooooooh! She's telling you off!

[DustinG.]

Originally Posted by Heidi n Q

Ooooooooh! She's telling you off!

YEAH she was!

then today i got in the shower, and she came in and CRIED at me the whole time....but it was a horrible sad sounding cry, like a desperate sound. it was hurting my heart, ive never heard her do that before, normally her cries are full of attitude and bratyness.

[DustinG.]

OMG get this.....wierd kitty. Issue seems to be resolve.

my wife painted HALF the thickness of the border of the mirror to a silvery color (the boarder is very thick, maybe 10 inches) and now Allie isnt bothered by it any more.

she painted it, put it up on the wall, then emailed me picture (im at work) of Allie sitting on the back of the couch looking satisfied with the mirror in the background. Still a lot of black on the mirror, but apparently it was enough to not scare her anymore. Kitties can be so strange!

[Heidi n Q]

O.M.G. You know you've got a weird cat, right? How crazy is that? ...painting the black to make it less prominent is all it took to satisfy her... Maybe she was a decorator in her former life and she was protesting a decorating faux pas or something? Your cat is weird. You've got the Feng Shui kitty!