On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:49:08 -0400 (EDT), "Tigger"
wrote:

Our oldest cat is deathly afraid of the Goldfish. It's not so much
afraid of the fish, as afraid of seeing them under the water. She's an
avid mouser, so it's not fear of the fish.
(snip)
Opinions.

It's hard to say what spooks kitties but I think your suppositions
are sound. It seems like that kind of abuse to me too. Our Speckles
was a stray, estimated by the vet at 3-years-old at the time. We've
had her for nearly 12 years and she's still deathly afraid of *paper*.
We don't need to make a sound with it or come toward her, and it can
be a newspaper, magazine, or single sheet of paper; she runs as soon
as she sees it picked up. Any sudden loud noise strikes terror in
her little breast, which is more understandable - most kitties don't
like it either - but hers seems more traumatic than the others. A
couple of years ago, she had her first X-ray and, much to our
surprise, she was found to have a B-B pellet lodged in her body.
Obviously she didn't have a very happy life before coming to us but
hasn't forgotten it in these 12 years.

Jeanne