Toto is a big "fraidy cat" about any noise she cannot identify! When she knows what the noise is she just kinda adds it to her little mental list! She can hear you call her if you go to the far side of the house and "whisper" her name.
I think they have "super sensitive" ears ... or they are just plain nosey and don't want to miss anything!
We didn't notice her being afraid of thunderstorms until a few months ago when she suddenly started being frightened. Then my husband remembered ... our friends were at our house and it started thundering ... one of our friends quickly grabbed Toto saying "I know you're scared of the storm, come let Aunt Karen hold you!" and was tightly holding her! From that day if it starts thundering she nearly climbs our leg trying to get into our arms! I have begun to just casually go sit on the sofa and watch TV and she will curl up on my lap and doesn't seem to be so frightened. I also massage her ... starting with her head and just slowly over her entire little body and this seems to help also! I can remember being "terrified" by my two older brothers when I was a child and it's just about the most awful thing in the world ... we don't want her to be afraid!!
