Cat Lashes Out in Sleep

Nobody111

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I have a 10-month-old male Tuxedo cat, who displays strange behaviour when he sleeps.

Simply put, he violently lashes out in his sleep when he dreams -- not little kitty spasms, but almost as if he is having a seizure. This has on occasion included launching himself off of the sofa onto the floor.

His claws also come out when he is having one of these episodes, which has meant damage to the sofa, the carpet and even deep scratches to myself. He grabs onto something with all his strength and simply does not let go.

I have looked this up and spoken with the vet, and this does not appear to be any sort of seizure as he will immediately wake up when I call him. He is not disorientated then and he does not tense up, but rather looks at me to ask why I am disturbing him.

He socialises when he is awake without any incident, he is playful, curious, a bit mischievous and has a healthy appetite -- normal kitten behaviour , in a word.

It's just this one thing, and it is causing me concern as it happens every evening. Sometimes it happens only once or twice in the evening, whilst other times it is constantly happening. I'm almost afraid to be near him when he is sleeping as his hind legs are also incredibly strong and can kick as well as deeply scratch.

It's as if the mechanism in his brain that normally inhibits movement or acting out during REM is not properly working.

I also do not have any noxious substances in the house beyond the usual cleaning agents, but they are sealed and out of reach.

The vet tells me that the cat will likely outgrow this as he gets older, but I must say that the outbursts that I witnessed Thursday night seemed to contradict that.

Has anybody else seen this and is there any advice that one might give?

I want to address this situation for my furniture, myself and -- most importantly -- the cat's physical well being and safety.

Many thanks in advance for any advice or assistance.
 

Mamanyt1953

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I do know that this can happen in both humans and cats...it is caused by a deficiency in one or both of the chemicals that "paralyze" us during sleep. And I've forgotten the name of them, off hand. And in cats, some otherwise benign brain lesions can cause it. As for what to do about it, you would need to see a feline neurology specialist to pin down the exact cause, and go from there. A CAT (right, the joke just makes itself) would reveal any lesions. If that is impossible, and NOTHING else is wrong with him, about all you can do is throw a cover on the places he sleeps most often, and toss a pillow down for him to land on. That second probably isn't necessary if we're talking about sofas and chairs. A fall like that is unlikely to seriously injure him, but for dresser tops and such, yeah. A soft place to land would be a good thing.

edited to add: This may just be nightmares, but the fact that it happens EVERY time he sleeps makes me think that something more is going on.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Not sure I can help any, but what Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 is referring to is actually called 'sleep paralysis disorder' - like all mammals, cats are paralyzed during REM sleep, which is when they dream. Psychologists theorize that an animal is paralyzed during REM to prevent it from getting up and moving around, potentially harming itself. The reason any animal twitches during sleep is because the brain is sending impulses to motor neurons, telling the corresponding muscle group to contract, but the signal is blunted. Since the animal is effectively paralyzed, the muscle does not contract fully but instead merely twitches. There are brain chemicals that work to blunt the signals. It sounds like your cat isn't effectively paralyzed when sleeping, and could be deficient in the same chemicals. And, because this is tied to REM, it can happen multiple times in one night.

I would ask the vet about this aspect, and see what they say. There are meds that are given to humans to help counteract this. I am sure there has to be something comparable for cats/animals. If not, ask about something like a cat calming product or CBD oil that could be administered at night.

I would still try to video an incident and show the vet to see what they think. I am not sure that just because he isn't disoriented when he wakes up would entirely rule out some sort of seizure; the video could possibly rule that out, or at least confirm the sleep paralysis disorder. If the vet still thinks he will grow out of it, and he doesn't or it gets worse, you might consider getting a second opinion.

Feeby jerks quite a bit when she is sleeping, and normally if I gently place a hand on her, she will stop.

Edit: Don't be too concerned, as far as I know the disorder is not 'life-threatening' - at least not to your cat! ;)
 
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Sidewinder

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I witnessed a similar incident with my cat Sage... he was twitching in his sleep, clearly having some sort of confrontational dream, when he suddenly leapt a foot or more into the air (from a prone position, lying on his side), landed and looked around him as if to say, "What happened? There was a cat here a second ago!" Sage was a powerful cat too, his muscles were rock solid and his claws extremely sharp, so I was thankful that he was just far enough away on my bed to miss me as he whirled in midair. Is that cat of yours having daily confrontations with another cat, a hostile cat who might be stressing out your young kitty? Seems odd, his violent behavior, but a daily stressor might be causing the problem... something triggered Sage and gave him enough energy to break through his sleep and leap into midair like a crazed cat. That incident occurred not long after I rescued Sage, so I know he was still hashing out the "pecking order" with regard to neighborhood cats... later, he would dominate that corner in Coronado, but first he had to scrap with several contenders, 10-4? I'm talking loud prolonged cat fights too, enough to stress out any kitty... :eek2:
 
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Nobody111

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The cat spent the first four months of his life with his sibling, a female from the same litter, plus his parents.

His father is a gollden tabby, who is very docile and seemingly would not hurt a fly.

I obviously was not there when he was first born. I can say that my cat sees his dad from time to time, however, and they get along very well. They pal around and occasionally play bite, but anybody can see it’s not out of malice.

The cat was also a little nervous and timid when he came to me, but adjusted without any issues.
 

Leomc123

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I was going to say the same thing as Sidewinder said, daily confrontation with another cat, or someone is playing roughly with him, or when he plays he gets way too excited that he scares himself while he is playing when he is awake and then get night terrors about it ? Or it could be REM related issue as well. My two cats when they used to sleep they would only move their paws like they are clawing something and their mouths would twitch and bite like they were dreaming about preying on a bird or something similar, but they wouldn't go into a full blown panic jump. When i played with my cats , i wouldnt work them up into a frenzy with the feather toys etc , i would be calm and pet them etc. They both had very calm nature because of this.

When you play with him, does he get into aggression mode very quick like he is afraid, really wide eyes open that they look black after playing with him or can he work himself into an anxious state? Is something or someone rough housing him ? Does your cat seem on edge lately when he is awake, for example , if you walk past him will he be cautious, is he jumpy like he is expecting someone to pounce on him.

I think if you are able to post a video of him sleeping and doing what he does it might help to your vet or someone to figure out what is going on.
 

Lorraine King

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I have a 10-month-old male Tuxedo cat, who displays strange behaviour when he sleeps.

Simply put, he violently lashes out in his sleep when he dreams -- not little kitty spasms, but almost as if he is having a seizure. This has on occasion included launching himself off of the sofa onto the floor.

His claws also come out when he is having one of these episodes, which has meant damage to the sofa, the carpet and even deep scratches to myself. He grabs onto something with all his strength and simply does not let go.

I have looked this up and spoken with the vet, and this does not appear to be any sort of seizure as he will immediately wake up when I call him. He is not disorientated then and he does not tense up, but rather looks at me to ask why I am disturbing him.

He socialises when he is awake without any incident, he is playful, curious, a bit mischievous and has a healthy appetite -- normal kitten behaviour , in a word.

It's just this one thing, and it is causing me concern as it happens every evening. Sometimes it happens only once or twice in the evening, whilst other times it is constantly happening. I'm almost afraid to be near him when he is sleeping as his hind legs are also incredibly strong and can kick as well as deeply scratch.

It's as if the mechanism in his brain that normally inhibits movement or acting out during REM is not properly working.

I also do not have any noxious substances in the house beyond the usual cleaning agents, but they are sealed and out of reach.

The vet tells me that the cat will likely outgrow this as he gets older, but I must say that the outbursts that I witnessed Thursday night seemed to contradict that.

Has anybody else seen this and is there any advice that one might give?

I want to address this situation for my furniture, myself and -- most importantly -- the cat's physical well being and safety.

Many thanks in advance for any advice or assistance.
[/QUOT
i think Nycats has hit the nail on the head , sounds like night terrors to me as well
Hi owner of Tuxedo Cat. Have you taken him to the veterinarian yet? I would do that and then I‘d try putting him on a nightly routine of bedtime with a nice calming cat scent in the air (you can buy a diffuser and scented oil for not very much) and also a cd playing for him quietly in the background. You can try different cd’s for him, I don’t know if cats would like ocean sounds like we do or if they would prefer bird and forest sounds in the background. But these are things to do for people who have night terrors and why not cats?
 

KiranKay

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I have a 5 year old male tuxedo with the exact same issues. On top of the violent thrashing in his sleep he also loses control of his bladder when this happens. It's almost like he is marking and fighting in his dreams. I can wake him up easily and it seems like he has no idea what is just happened. There have been a few times where he has launched himself high in the air want me to wake up once his face hit the ground and then he seemed confused. I have taken him to vets who have ruled out seizures and anything physical. It appears to be a sleeping disorder but for the life of me I cannot seem to find a vet that has any research in this.

To cope with the damage from his thrashing as well as the loss of bladder control, we cover any any surface he can sleep on with washable pet pads. Other than that I don't know what else to do for him. It would be nice to find a vet that has researched sleeping disorders in cats and perhaps have some sort of medicine that would help with any hormones or chemicals relating to sleep paralysis or other sleeping disorders.
 

FeebysOwner

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K KiranKay - you should ask for a referral to a vet that specializes in neurological disorders. Surely, your current vet has to have some kind of contacts they can use to find some references for you. And, it would be helpful to have a video of what happens to share with any and all vets you do see.

Did you read through all the posts here - specifically #s 2 & 4. They discuss a particular disorder that might apply to your cat (sleep paralysis disorder). I would ask the vet about this aspect, and see what they say. There are meds that are given to humans to help counteract this. I am sure there has to be something comparable for cats/animals. If not, ask about something like a cat calming product or CBD oil that could be administered at night.
 

lennylou

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I realize this post is very old, but on the off chance that you see this I’m curious if there was ever a diagnosis or a solution? I am very much in this exact same boat with my cat. No vet has been able to help, even after several attempts at anti seizure medications (and several different vets.) It’s very sad for my boy and I’m at a loss at what to do.
 

Alldara

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Ah Jackson Galaxy actually had an episode on this.
 
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