Concerned Pacing And Circling

[spazthecat]

My cat is acting totally out of norm today. ive noticed for 3-4 hours now hes pacing the same areas for 30-40 mins and then moves to a different area and paces that area. He wil let me pet him but he doesnt pay attention to me calling him or anything else. he has pooped and peed even though he didnt cover them up. He sniffs stuff over and over in the area he is pacing at the time. Im totally freaking out. Its Sunday unfortunately so the vet is closed. i dont care about money when his life is in jeopardy. also dont want to spend 4-5 hundred dollars on an emergency vet visit if it isnt necessary. he is 2 years old and this is my first cat. he literally hasnt stopped pacing all morning. he continues to sniff the same thing over and over such as the handle on desk drawer then the door frame and then back to drawer. anyone can set my mind at ease or have any ideas they are welcome thanks

 

[verna davies]

Could another cat have been on your house and left its scent? Try cleaning the two areas that he is sniffing, there could be a smell that is unsettling him.

 

[spazthecat]

Could another cat have been on your house and left its scent? Try cleaning the two areas that he is sniffing, there could be a smell that is unsettling him.

No nothing like that my wife has a puppy jack russell that he plays with for the last 3 months. He tolerated him a lot more than I thought he would and he will play with him when nobody is looking. So I wouldn’t think that. He sniffs 2-3 spots in a 5’ radius for 30 mins then move to a different spot and does same thing there and after about 1.5 hours he comes back to same spot. I had to put the puppy up cause he is meowing really loud and long at him today. Again not normal. He usually just jumps on couch or bed so he can’t be reached. Someone said he’s trying to work up a hairball? He’s never had one in the 2 yrs we e had him. I’ve never seen him act this way. We have had other animals in house lots of times before. He just comes in our room and gets under covers til the coast is clear. What do u think about hairball thing

 

[verna davies]

All my cats get hairballs but none act in that way. Could something have happened to cause him to be anxious, often pacing can be a sign of that. Is he eating, drinking and using the litterbox as usual

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Have you gotten down close with your nose and smelled those areas - could the puppy have accidently peed a little in those spots, or maybe even your cat? Could something have happened between him and the puppy that you aren't aware of and might explain why he is meowing at the puppy?

I have never seen a cat look like they are sniffing the ground when trying to cough up a hairball, but maybe he isn't sniffing and rather making a motion that looks like sniffing but is really a form of gagging?

Ditto V verna davies ' question about eating/drinking/litter box use being normal or not.

 

[verna davies]

Is he neutered?

 

[Azazel]

This sounds like behavior when a cat feels that their territory is threatened. Are there any windows around that area? He could have seen a cat outside. My cats have done this before when they saw the neighbor's cat in our backyard.

It's also possible that there's a rodent of some kind in your house that he spotted in that area and ran away. Usually these things just go away with time and distraction, but it won't go away if the thing that's making him feel threatened keeps coming back.

 

[spazthecat]

No nothing like that my wife has a puppy jack russell that he plays with for the last 3 months. He tolerated him a lot more than I thought he would and he will play with him when nobody is looking. So I wouldn’t think that. He sniffs 2-3 spots in a 5’ radius for 30 mins then move to a different spot and does same thing there and after about 1.5 hours he comes back to same spot. I had to put the puppy up cause he is meowing really loud and long at him today. Again not normal. He usually just jumps on couch or bed so he can’t be reached. Someone said he’s trying to work up a hairball? He’s never had one in the 2 yrs we e had him. I’ve never seen him act this way. We have had other animals in house lots of times before. He just comes in our room and gets under covers til the coast is clear. What do u think about hairball thing

 

[spazthecat]

Is he neutered?

yes hes neutered

 

[spazthecat]

Could another cat have been on your house and left its scent? Try cleaning the two areas that he is sniffing, there could be a smell that is unsettling him.

its not just two areas hes doing it all over the house and hes not so much sniifing as he is looking. he finally broke the monotany and got on bed with me but he just sat at foot of bed and layed down. he still wouldnt be still he was looking at floor then fan then behind him then back to floor. he did this for about 15-20 mins then he started pulliing hisself around in a circle on the bed like about 360 degrees in 1 min. he continued that for 10-15 mins. he was draggin hisself like his hind legs were hurt but then all of a sudden he got back up and jumped down now hes pacing again. i have video that clearly shows what hes doing but its too large to upload on the site. i know im asking a lot here but if someone has an email that i could send it to i would be happy to. im just really concerned

 

[spazthecat]

This sounds like behavior when a cat feels that their territory is threatened. Are there any windows around that area? He could have seen a cat outside. My cats have done this before when they saw the neighbor's cat in our backyard.

It's also possible that there's a rodent of some kind in your house that he spotted in that area and ran away. Usually these things just go away with time and distraction, but it won't go away if the thing that's making him feel threatened keeps coming back.

 

[spazthecat]

no rodents or anything like that our house is only 3 years old and very clean. occasionally a bug will get in like a moth or something when we leave door open but nothing like that. also he is looking at ceiling then floor. for a lack of better words he looks like hes drunk or high. No medication is laying around. he was perfectly fine when we went to bed last nigh. he doesnt eat anything thats not cat food or treats. ive tried giving him steak ham turkey all kinds of things he looks at them then walks off. ive left steak on a paper plate on floor and told them they were treats. i left them there all night and he never touched them. u can set ur plate down somewhere and rest assured he wont mess with it. a very good animal. i have never had a cat before but i know this isnt normal something is wrong with him. he hasnt been still since 8 this am and we are now going on 2

 

[Azazel]

it's likely he saw another cat outside. Is he keeping his body low to the ground?

 

[verna davies]

@mrsgreenjeens @denice @Mamanyt1953 @neely
Any ideas?

 

[FeebysOwner]

he started pulliing hisself around in a circle on the bed like about 360 degrees in 1 min. he continued that for 10-15 mins. he was draggin hisself like his hind legs were hurt but then all of a sudden he got back up and jumped down now hes pacing again.

He's is unsettled by something. Sounds like he was trying to nest in order to take a nap and just couldn't settle down enough.

i have video that clearly shows what hes doing but its too large to upload on the site.

See if this instruction on how to load a video (which also includes how to reduce the size) might help you to share the video with us.

How To Upload And Add Videos To Your Posts

 

[spazthecat]

im trying to do it on a mobile because i cant get it on my cpu so i tried sending it to my email but somethings not working. it says its sent but it s not showing up in my email. Now hes just laying on bed looking at ceiling then behind him then ceiling. he has been doing this for hours now something isnt right and im starting to get very worried.

 

[FeebysOwner]

it says its sent but it is not showing up in my email.

I have had that happen too - I just resend it and most of the time that works; have no idea why...

 

[spazthecat]

IM

I have had that happen too - I just resend it and most of the time that works; have no idea why...

ive

 

[spazthecat]

I’ve tried and tried to upload I can’t get it. But he’s laying on be looking at ceiling floor behind him ceiling floor behind him for10 mins then he stands up walks around on bed looking at ceiling then bed then ceiling bed then he paces doing that for 5 mins then lays back down doing same thing. I know he’s got to be tired. His eveyes are very large right now and they have a blue reflection when he lols at light. I’m soooo beyond worried

 

[Jem]

It really does sound like an animal is in the house/attic/walls somewhere or possibly a larger animal was lurking around your house recently and he can smell it. You may have a new house but critters can get in. Clean houses are just as susceptible to critters too, especially in the fall.
Hibernating animals are really out and about right now trying to fatten up for the winter (not sure what your geography is like), but we've had to clean up our fare share of bear poop in our yard for the past week.