The man looked at me and said, “I hear you. My sister and uncle have angoraphobia, still do as far as I know. It’s no joke.”

I was confused. I struggle with agoraphobia and when it came up, he told me about his sister and uncle, but they had angoraphobia which can only mean one thing. An irrational fear of angora cats!

A phobia is defined as an extreme or irrational fear of something; agoraphobia is an extreme and irrational fear of leaving one’s home or going out into public places.

My agoraphobia is  secondary to surviving an act of gun violence. It’s a challenge I fully accept.

That said, the very idea of fleeing in fear at the sight of an Angora cat (or any cat!) makes my head spin in disbelief.

Wait! I just thought of something. If someone had agoraphobia and angoraphobia, all loved one’s need to do is give this poor soul an angora cat and voila! They’re out of the house in a flash and free of the angora, all in one fell swoop!