My cat tolerated the lion mane hood after three tries

I saw someone on here mention that their pet freaked out when they first put on a costume, and that made me feel better about my own struggle. My cat Max absolutely hated the paper lion mane I made for him last Halloween. He just sat there frozen for a good five minutes the first time I put it on him. I took it off, gave him a treat, and tried again the next day. By the third day he was walking around normal and even let me snap a picture. It took patience and a handful of catnip to get there. Has anyone else had to slowly introduce a costume to get their pet comfortable with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

marymorgan1mo ago

Oh man, my cat just gave me the "I'll kill you in your sleep" stare for a full hour after I tried a Santa hat on him. I'm pretty sure the catnip bribery is the only reason I'm still alive.

brian_jackson1mo ago

Kinda makes you wonder if cats ever just forget about the whole Santa hat thing once they're distracted by something shiny, doesn't it? Your mileage may vary but I've noticed they hold grudges way longer than dogs do. Might be the fur on the hat combined with the static electricity - my cat acted weird for days after a similar situation and I'm pretty sure it was the weird scratchy feeling, not the hat itself. Could also be that the hat blocked their side vision for a bit and they got spooked. Either way, catnip is probably your best bet for smoothing things over, but maybe wait until New Year's before trying any other holiday accessories.