Are you more of a dog or a cat person? A question you’ve probably heard many many times and opinions differ greatly. People love dogs or love cats and some are also afraid of dogs but it is rare that people are afraid of cats.
Because that's exactly what we talk about with an ailurophobia and that's exactly what the pop singer Beatrice Egli is affected by, as she confesses to you as a guest on the show.
What is ailurophobia?
Ailurophobia is an intense fear of cats, a fear that is so strong it causes panic and anxiety attacks when someone is around a cat or even just thinking about a cat. This specific phobia is also known as elurophobia, gatophobia and felinophobia.
German singer Beatrice Egli suffers from ailurophobia and she confessed this on a show where she was a guest. For the singer it is difficult to understand why cats are wonderful creatures. Many cat owners have tried to convince her that there are lovely animals, but there is nothing to do, she is really scared of them. In the interview, she explains how far her fear goes: "I think I'm the only one who's afraid of cats. Really really scared. So at night, alone, when a cat comes towards me, I panic."
The 33-year-old singer explained that when she was a child, she had experienced a bad encounter with a cat which deeply affected her: that she had as a child and that she has not let go of to this day:
"As a child, my cousin used to hang a lot of small cats on me and they totally scratched me, and I was literally wounded." "And then there was a scene: We didn't have a cat and I went to the bathroom at night and a strange cat jumped at me during the night."
Cats are one of the most popular pets in Germany and the same applies to Egli's home country, Switzerland. There are 2 million cats in Swiss households and around 15 million in German households.
With 15 million cats in Germany and 2 millions cats in Switzerland, the feline is one of the most popular pets in both countries (Egli is Swiss). It must be hard for the singer to walk around the streets of Germany and Switzerland hoping not to come across a cat.
What about dogs?
The pop singer does not always trust dogs either. It always takes her a while before she gets comfortable with the animals. But then Egli doesn't want people to think she doesn’t like animals, after all, she used to spend a lot of time on farms and so she thinks cows are perfectly fine.
It always depends on what experiences you’ve had in life, and that also applies with animals.
