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.
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.