Losing his little kitty mind???

leli

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Ever since he was a baby, Sammy has had occasional incidents that my boyfriend and I refer to as spaz-outs. For no apparent reason and out of nowhere, he'll suddenly become tense and agitated looking, and is very easily spooked. He will usually pick some inanimate object that is familiar (as in, it's always been here so it's nothing new....today it was my shoe) and do that nevous bat-and-smack-the-thing-then-jump-back-like-james-brown move. He's particularly easy to startle during these episodes. It usually passes within a half hour. The first time this happened, he turned out to be ill and the behaviour persisted until he felt better. However, he isn't always sick when he does this, since I've taken him to the vet on other occasions while he was spazzing and he was in tip-top-shape......and he was back to normal fairly quickly.
What do you guys think? Is he reacting to occassional tummy aches or the like that I don't have to worry about or is it possible that he's actually crazy? I mean, like, hallucinating? I'd appreciate any imput you can give me.
Thanks,
Leli
 

ollyextra05

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Could be he just has a very strong prey drive and gets a little wound up, and likes to take his "hunting" instincts out on your shoes! If the vet has done tests to rule out any neurological problems, and he's physically healthy, chances are he might just be, well, a little bit of a weirdo! Lol!
Have you described the "symptoms" to your vet? Maybe try to see if you can get a video of him next time he does it, and then bring it in. Chances are, he's just practicing being a mighty hunter, but if the vet can see the behavior it might be helpful to rule out any physiological issues.
 
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leli

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thanks for the quick reply! I've actually had him AT the vet while he was acting that way. It's not a hunting thing though....he's scared of the shoe...like he thinks it could move at any time and bite him. He seems normal otherwise and has no indications of any neurological problems that I or the vet have seen. Hopefully he's fine and just weird like you said.
You're right, he does look like Oliver, but I don't think "little" is quite the right word. He's almost 2 ft from nose to where his tail starts and can knock things off the top of my dresser, which is over three feet high. On top of that, he's getting a little pudgy lol. They do look remarkably similar, though!
 

rockcat

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Originally Posted by OllyExtra05

PS- Your Sammy looks a lot like a little version of my Oliver!
And my Oliver resembles your Oliver in gray.
...well, not exactly, but they're all beautiful!
 
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leli

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Originally Posted by valanhb

I'll move this to Behaviour for you.
Thanks a bunch! And sorry about that, I TOTALLY forgot that I was in the wrong forum. One of those days, you know
 

duke816

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Smokie has similar behaviour sometimes. She gets really jumpy sometimes, like if you make a noise, she about jumps out of her skin. Once, she was sitting on the window sill looking at something and I made a kissing noise to her. She literally jumped a foot in the air, and then took off running. I think she might have been embarassed or something. She'll also "attack" random things too. Also, she'll run up and down the hallway growling. It's like a low, rumbly growl. I have no idea what that's all about. I always just thought she was a little weirdo. It's nice to see someone else has a little spaz!!
 

ryobious

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I have a couple of my younger cats (about a 1 to 1 1/2 years old) that occassionaly spaz when they are really really wired they do this. Their tails start twitching really fast and their ears go back and they start attacking everything throwing toys up in the air and just tearing through the house like there is no tomorrow. They usually calm down after about 10 minutes. I always have fun watching them do this!
 

darkeyedgirl

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I thought all that was part of a cat being a cat????


Mine are generally well-rounded and sane, but trust me... they have their moments.

Hammie does this thing lately --- where he will turn around and bite himself, then act like he sees something and attack it. He'll make the weirdest spooky noises and run off with his eyes as big as dinner plates. I was really scared but I figured out he was just in a playful mood, cuz he always chills out after a few minutes.

Snickers will take off like a freak through the house... hitting chairs with his head, attacking corners of walls, knocking himself into things... ears flat back, tail tucked, like he's being chased by the invisible demon! Then he'll go lay down somewhere once the crazies wear off.

We just enjoy the comedy of these two when they get the Crazies... I've seen far worse from my mom's cat... I think it's adorable!
 

duke816

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Oh yeah, forgot to mention the phase Smokie went through where she would sit right up against the wall looking up at the ceiling and then.... RAAR!! She'd jump up as high as she can, like she's trying to get something (that was NEVER there). Then, she'd take off running into the bedroom, like this phantom thing was going to chase her. She hasn't done that in awhile, thankfully. That was really bizarre.
 

ollyextra05

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Yep, we all have little weirdos!
Oliver's always been very laid back, but Emma will occasionally get pretty "twitchy" and jump at things for no reason--usually Oliver!
 

loveysmummy

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Lovey likes to stare at a particular corner of the wall. For a long time.
The first few times I saw him do this (its always the same place), I moved the microwave cabinet (on wheels) out of his way to see if there was anything back there he had lost...But nothing.

He got very excited when I moved it though...I like to think that there are mice in the walls and things they can hear rather than come to the conclusion that they are just plain wacky.
 

j171978

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Cat's see things that we can't so it doesn't surprise me that he's doing that. Harvey will be in the laundry room and run (ok fly because he's going so fast) thru the kitchen and living room and leap up in the window except he lands half way up and slides down. It's like something bit him but he's just a nerd.
 

arlyn

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When my old gal, appropriately named Spaz, does this, we think she is playing with her invisible friends.
 
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