The Goofiness of Cats

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Hello-can you tell me why my 8 yr.old cat goes into the bathtub, runs in place with his front paws...at times he will lay his head on the same spot he ran in-other times he doesn't...but then he will meow a somewhat deeper meow than normal. It is quite funny but I just wonder why he would do this g

The Goofiness of Cats

Cats can be pretty funny creatures, but there is a method to the madness. First of all, cats sleep for the majority of the day (sometimes close to 20 hours) so, for the few hours that they are awake they have A LOT of excess energy to burn. Which is why, when you are sound asleep at 3:00am, your cat may suddenly decide it needs to run laps around your house at mach 10, stop suddenly and pretend like nothing happened, and then do the same thing again, but this time counter-clockwise. It is also why cats engage in a number of odd behaviors during the day. Another reason that cat's act "strange" is that they are practicing their predatory skills. An activity that may look very odd to you (like jumping from the floor to a 4ft high banister, stopping on a dime and then sitting there for a minute before jumping back down) may very well be your cat honing it's hunting and survival skills (this is also why they will make an obstacle course out of various parts of your house and run it a few times in a row before settling down to a nice cat nap). As to why cats sometimes knead, (when they look like they're running in place if they are de-clawed or when the pull at the carpet, a blanket or your tummy if they have claws) this is a vestige of when they were kittens and were still nursing. In order to get more milk from a mother cat kittens will knead the area around her teat while they are suckling. This helps the flow of milk to the teat and enables them to consume more. Once cats grow up they sometimes still do this just as a comfort activity, perhaps it reminds them of mom.

   

Comments

4/8/2007 7:08:51 PM
Isis said:

We call this "Psycho Kitty Hour" and when they knead, we call it, "Playing the Piano", we're dorks who love our cats.
These are great tips!


2/16/2009 7:53:51 AM
New Cat Owner said:

I'm not a animal person. Came home one day and a stray cat was on my porch. I wanted her as soon as I pulled up and saw her sitting there. All of this to say that every characteristic about her is new to me. (and may i add quite funny) but this tip just made me laugh because it describes my "Baby" to the tee. She makes me laugh everyday.


12/22/2011 10:27:09 PM
kayleigh said:

ur artical really helped me understand more




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