Travel with a cat phobia

[frenella]

I suffer from severe ailurophobia and after several disastrous holidays many years ago to Spain and Cyprus and the like, I resigned myself to holidaying pretty much entirely in the UK, the US and Canada.
My friends want to go to a carribbean all-inclusive and I'd LOVE to go too. But all the reviews for every island and resort mention the cats around the pool and restaurants. Is there anywhere warm and exotic that doesn't have lots of cats!?

Indonesia. Or the Philippines. Never seen any cats in either place. Avoid Cyprus - there are millions of them everywhere. I was astonished at the number.

Avoid Cyprus - there are millions of them everywhere. I was astonished at the number.

The locals like them. They keep the snakes and spiders away.

I thought my mum was the only person who had this phobia. It rules her life and she is constant embarrassed by having to ask people if they have cats. I feel so sorry for her and for you because you can’t help having a phobia. I would definitely try to get help because honestly you will miss out on so many experiences because of your fear. Phobias usually are illogical but they are very real, the good news is they can be overcome

Cats are illegal in Svalbard. But it’s very cold

I didn't see any cats at the hotel I stayed at in Dominican Republic

What a heartless thing to post when OP has such a severe phobia!

Stray animals are very rare in Sweden, so as long as you don't visit people's houses you should be OK.

Have you tried exposure therapy? I tried hypnotherapy for a phobia and it was useless; I think it only works for certain people. Gradually exposing myself to the object I was afraid of in a way I was in control of was the only way I got over the fear.

🙂 That's a good reason to have them around! They were all well-fed and seemed happy. The cats, not the locals.

Currently in Malta and seen 2 stray cats at a water park. None in the hotel or on the streets surrounding.

I’ve been to Barbados twice and didn’t see any cats.

I feel for you, I have a phobia of all animals and it’s a nightmare to go on holiday. I’ve also been recommended Barbados

Kesha's been dead for two years (and was from Barentsburg, the Russian town where they weren't banned), so I don't think he'll present much of a problem for the OP these days.

Have you tried reading about them, and their behaviour. Looking at what their behaviour means, and what it means.

Once you can read them, and their behaviour it makes them seem less unpredictable. You have more of an idea of what they are doing. Knowledge is power!

Really ? I have a pretty severe dog phobia and street dogs don't upset me much because they're always chilled out, unlike the boisterous labs at any park in the UK. A street cat will stay as far away from you as possible !

Mexico. Didn’t see any (playa del carmen)

I used to leave the premises if I saw a spider but when I had baby DD I realised I wouldn't be able to do that and became fiercely determined to do something about the phobia.

I did my own exposure therapy and did a lot of reading about spiders and learned that they can only run forwards, that they run towards the TV if it's on etc. The next time a sizeable spider appeared I made sure I wasn't in it's running path but I stayed in the room and watched it until the cold sweat/ palpitations calmed. Your body can't stay in that state of adrenaline forever and it does eventually reduce. I did this whenever I got the chance. I realised that half my fear had become the fear of my reaction because it feels horrible when your adrenaline scoots around in a scary situation. I know it sounds implausible and hard to believe that my phobia was as severe as yours but honestly I was truly extremely phobic to the extent that I nearly didn't go to my sister's wedding because it was in a country known for spiders and I'd be incredibly stressed at spider time of year here.

I was recently sitting in bed reading when a big spider appeared on the far wall in my bedroom and I just watched it for a while then went to sleep! I can't even believe the difference in me to be honest but all it took was that first stand off making myself stay in the same space as the spider and it was a huge turning point.

Just realised this thread is very old!

Hah? I've been to Indonesia twice and Philippines once, they are both full of stray cats waiting for food outside of restaurants and where people sit to eat. In Indonesia even more than Philippines.
Unlike Vietnam which is full of small dogs, but I did not see any stray cats.

For some reason it just popped up for me now! So glad it did as I missed a ton of these replies. Thank you so much everyone 🙏 about to book for Barbados...I think! 😀

I hope you have a great trip, and that you can make some progress on lessening your phobia.

Hi I spent my whole life terrified of cats (their unpredictable jumping and sharp claws) until a couple of years ago when I saw a mouse run across my sitting room. Traps didn’t work so I realised I had to choose between the mouse and getting a cat. Terrified of both, I decided on getting a kitten. Too scared to go see it, my partner went to meet the owner and mother and kitten. When he brought it home it was very sweet (I was still very scared but knew I had no choice). It has completely changed me and now I’m a cat person. I’ve realised they don’t usually jump up on people and rarely get claws out. Cats are in fact very gentle and loving yet independent. An ideal pet! And the mouse disappeared and never came back. Places I’ve not seen cats include New York and Singapore. Maybe you’d be best with a city break. Less chance of seeing cats. I’d avoid southern Mediterranean eg Cyprus as lots of cats wandering. They don’t come near you but I imagine that doesn’t help if you have a phobia. A cruise sounds a great idea too! Good luck OP.

Go to Japan. Cats are mainly kept indoors.

Don’t go to Turkey. When we went to Antalya cats were loose everywhere! We went to a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the bay and an absolute horde of the buggers crowded round our table begging for food. Actually quite cute small ones, and they never jumped up, but if you don’t like cats it would have been alarming…

I live in Malta and its overrun by stray cats! So I'd advise the OP not to go there.

The Caribbean has a LOT of cats - they use them to control mice/rats. You need to look at developed countries with high welfare standards.