Conference misery::feline

    I've got one that runs in terror and two who use them as punching bags.
    You figure?
    
    But then all three of them freaked out one night when they saw my
    husband in a cowboy hat and a bandanna over his face.
    
    Giudi

    
    Bailey is SCARED TO DEATH of helium balloons.  For my birthday last
    year I got this great helium balloon with a clown face.  It had a nice
    long streamer with a bell as an anchor.  I figured that it would be 
    a great toy for the Bales (with supervision because of the bell) and
    could not wait to get it home. He flipped out!  He walked around the 
    the perimeter of the room so he would not have to be near it and when 
    it moved he flew out of the room.  I picked him up and tried to show 
    him that it was o.k. and he flipped out of my arms scratching me with
    his claws. Now, Bailey is one of the most laid back cats you can
    find, but he just cannot deal with helium balloons  
    

      Hamilton is TERRIFIED of helium balloons. I got some for my birthday
    when he was 6 mos. old and thought he'd like to play with them. He
    went totally berserk and couldn't run fast enough to get away. But
    later on he got close enough to play with the ribbon and got it twisted
    around his stomach. When he started to walk away the balloon followed
    him. It was about 6 inches off the floor and he turned to look, saw it
    behind him and began to walk faster. He turned again and must have
    thought it was after him because he took off like a shot! He ran as
    fast as he could upstairs, then back down again, then into the basement
    and back up again to the living room, all the time with the balloon
    right behind! He ran under the recliner and that's what made the ribbon   
    come off. That was 15 mos. ago and needless to say he still runs from
    the room if there's a helium balloon anywhere in sight!
      But he was scared of them to begin with and I don't know why. Some-
    times I think the fear of something strange overcomes their natural
    curiosity and they'd rather get away from it than find out what it is.
    Just don't get Patches any balloons for HER birthday!
    
    b.r.
       

    hawks....
    

	This string is really funny for me to read (although I'm sure not
	so funny for the cats!) :^}  Our Beau, who is afraid of most
	everything, absolutely *loves* helium balloons.  If I bring one
	home, he comes out of wherever he was hiding to claim it.  We
	usually tie a small toy to the end of the ribbon, and he'll grab
	it in his mouth and walk away with it - generally upstairs.  He'll
	often lose the balloon up the stairwell where he can't reach it.
	When this happens, he'll sit at the bottom of the stairs looking
	very pitiful until one of us 'rescues' it.  :^}

	The other cats play with them as well, but Beau is the undisputed
	master of the balloon.

	Sandy

    Mittens loves them!  I had received a single helium balloon and
    tied it to the back of the kitchen chair.  Well...hmmmm...attached
    to the balloon was this nice long string - what a playtoy.  He
    spent so much time sitting on the chair pulling on the string watching
    the balloon bounce up and down...he never did have one pop on him
    though  :)
    
    C.
    

    
    	Nilla is also petrified of balloons, when I got a bouquet
    of balloons when it was just me and Nilla she took off soooo
    fast so I hid them in the bathroom until I could figure out
    where to put them (Nilla and I shared a 1 bedroom apartment)
    Well she finally came wandering out from under the bed went in
    to the bathroom and came out faster than lightning.  I ended up
    putting them in a closet but she ran when you opened the door.
    
    She still hates them now, when she was with Kitt at my mom's
    house my mom had balloons and Kitt never noticed the balloon,
    only the string grabbed it and ran then flipped out when this
    big giant purple thing started chasing after her but of course
    Nilla was no where to be found she saw the big giant purple thing
    before Kitt did.
    
    Janna, Nilla (minus Kitt)

    I gave Dana a helium balloon for Valentines day and the cats were
    mostly interested in the string.  But, when he came home with a huge
    Garfield Helium balloon with arms and feet the cats were terrified!! 
    They approached it slowly and cautiously, except for Nikki, who ran
    down the cellar and hid.
    

    If I were a cat and was unclear on what "held" a baloon up, I'd think
    of them as weirdly colored rocks constantly on the verge of falling
    down onto me.
    
    -Scott