10 Adorable Videos to Cure Cat-Phobics

For someone with ailurophobia, the internet must be a rather frightening place. Because, as we all know, the internet is teeming with cats, and an ailurophobic is utterly afraid of cats.

To the medical community, ailurophobia is an irrational or abnormal fear of cats. We’re not talking about just not being a cat person -- we’re talking about people who are frozen with dread at the thought or sight of a cat, seemingly for no reason. These people exist and they are, well, scaredy cats, to put it mildly.

Enough is enough. We feel sorry for these phobics, and we say it's time for these poor souls to face their fear and embrace all the cat-titude the Internet has to offer in order to get over their phobia.

So, to all the ailurophobics who somehow found their way to this page, hello! Here are 10 adorable cats just waiting on YouTube to, yes, scare you but, more importantly, help you move on.

Train Sets, Beware

If you are a train set or a teeny-tiny model townsperson, you definitely have a reason to fear cats. Otherwise, how is this at all frightening? Look at this guy. He’s only interested in unleashing his somewhat lazy wrath on toy trains.

Outer Walls, Beware

It might be frightening to imagine that all cats can defy gravity and pretty much go anywhere they want, but if you think about it, this cat is probably just trying to get to some food or find a comfortable place to nap. After all, eating and napping comprise approximately 99% of a cat's day.

Inner Walls, Beware

This wall was just quietly standing there, doing its job, when it was viciously attacked by this cat. The scene is chilling indeed, but if you watch closely, you’ll see that no harm actually comes to the wall. It may have suffered a spike of adrenaline and some post-attack anxiety, but clearly no physical damage. If a cat can’t hurt a wall, it probably can’t hurt you either. Besides, you can run away.

Soda Boxes, Beware

Kittens have a tendency to gather in large numbers and then gang up on their victims. Of course, their victims are usually fairly easy to attack, like this onetime home to 24 cans of soda. To be clear: If you don’t want to be messed with by a handful of cute, fuzzy kittens, make sure you don’t resemble a cardboard box. Oh, the humanity!

Remote-Control Helicopters, Beware

Cats prefer a challenge. They don’t have any fun attacking people cowering in corners; they would much rather chase you around as you fly through the room zigzagging all over. What this means: If you have none of the characteristics of a remote-control helicopter, you have nothing to worry about.

Noisy Birthday Cards, Beware

You have to sympathize with this cat more than fear him. Who wouldn’t want to destroy an annoying “meowing” birthday card? It’s not enough to be a year older, but then someone has to send you a card that'll give you a splitting headache? This cat isn’t scary, he’s thoughtful—he’s doing us all a favor by putting this card out of our misery.

Laptops, Beware

Most of us have seen this one before, so maybe it’s one of the reasons people have developed ailurophobia. Much like laptops, we sometimes just sit around, minding our own business, not bothering anyone. To prevent a kitten disturbance, it’s best to keep your desktop clear and avoid having moving icons on your monitor. Also steer clear of clicks and beeps.

Balloons, Beware

For very thin, colorful, floating objects, a kitten can be a monster. In other words, if you’re a yellow balloon, look out. (If it makes you feel any better, it seems like he also scared himself pretty good, though.)

Mirrors, Beware

It is a little-known fact that a cat’s mortal enemy is his own reflection. Most felines spend their entire lives trapped in an existential battle with the mirror image of himself, which stares back at him with equal parts apathy and smug arrogance. So, as long as you have no resemblance to the mirror image of whatever cat you're with, you're probably fine.

German Shepherds, Beware

A true ailurophobic may find this final clip a bit disturbing. The fierce attack launched against the napping German shepherd by a most ferocious five-month-old kitten is difficult to watch. And by "difficult" we mean hilarious. What exactly does this cat think he’s doing? The good news is that, clearly, cats are not very smart about knowing who or what they can take down. If that still doesn’t soothe your nerves, maybe just make sure you can run faster than the dog, so the cat gets him first.