My cat will be really calm one minute and then all of a sudden hes running around the house chasing something thats not there and then he starts howling at it. Is there something wrong with him or what is going on that hes doing this?
Thanks a bunch.
2007-08-21 04:15:50 · 24 answers · asked by ♥♫§weetTart§amantha♫♥ 5 in Pets ➔ Cats
This is something called a FRAP- Frenetic random activity period. In short, when cats were wild they would need adrenaline to hunt and catch their prey. Their bodies would give them quick spurts of energy around feeding time, usually early morning and evening to help them hunt. Now that most cats are domestic, they still have this built in mechanism and it is called a frap- your cat is just burning off extra energy. All cats do it and although it is sometimes surprising (even comical) to watch, it is a natural occurance and nothing to worry about.
2007-08-28 07:40:05 · answer #1 · answered by ♥Warrior~Cats~Rock♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be a few things. Its hard to answer based on your information. It could just be simple cat play. They get all hyped up and take off like a bullet. Dose he crouch down and wiggle his butt just before he runs off! This is normal play. It mimics the hunt of prey. Dogs sometimes do this also. If the sound is more intense then there could be a medical problem and he needs to see the vat ASAP. Cats eat all kinds of stuff. I had a cat who ate tinsel from the Christmas tree. Luckily it passed thu her with no problem. Some cats are not so lucky. When in doubt that the cat to the vet. The Vet will so xrays. Also bring a recent stool sample (same day) with you. This is how we learned about my cat.
2007-08-25 14:52:12 · answer #2 · answered by mchlw43 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's just playing. My cats all did this - more so when they were young. They have an instinct to hunt their food. He's just practicing the hunt since the food is now readily available.
My ginger cat used to love to chase the plastic ring from a bottle of milk. She would carry it around in her mouth and howl then drop it and chase it until she lost it under the rug.
2007-08-21 04:26:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We had a cat that did that, minus the howling - would be just walking around doing normal cat stuff, then ZIP! Off he went at full speed for no apparent reason. If you ran after him, you find him back to normal, maybe he'd give you a "What up?" look and meow wondering why you were staring at him.
The only logical explanation is that he could see into the netherworld, and was chasing ghost mice.
2007-08-21 04:25:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's called "the evening/afternoon crazies".
I thought it was just our cat, but this is perfectly normal behaviour for a cat that doesn't need to hunt for its food. Cats are crepescular, which means they are active mostly at the dawn and twilight hours. They'd normally do hunting around then. Pet, domesticated cats don't, generally, but their systems are still tuned to being active, running around, and generally taking life quite seriously at these hours. When they're not hungry, they still feel the need to chase, or burn off energy. So they go nuts for a little while. Because pets often get tuned to their owners daily cycle, it doesn't always happen at dawn or twilight though.
It's just one the many rewards of having a cat.
2007-08-21 06:08:44 · answer #5 · answered by dm_cork 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just think cats do this to burn off energy and a little bit of stress. How old is the cat? Is it fixed? If is not, it could be going into heat, that may cause the howling...Mine goes bonkers about 3 times a day. It is pretty comical.
2007-08-21 04:41:21 · answer #6 · answered by nickiearmywife 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nah, your cat isn't crazy; he's just full of himself. My cat does the same thing. She will all of a sudden start chasing something, howl, give me a look like she wants me to chase her. When I do, then she will chase me back. So no your cat isn't crazy, just playful.
2007-08-28 01:28:57 · answer #7 · answered by Karen K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like what I call a "running jag", they just take off tearing through the house. I think it's funny. Normal cat behaviour
2007-08-21 06:25:55 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my cat does that too, she runs from one side of the house to the other like it's an obstacle race, but she doesn't howl, more like meow really really loud as if she won the "race"
2007-08-21 04:23:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My cat does that too. My dad told me that it means the weather is going to change, when a cat does that. It seems to be accurate too!
2007-08-21 06:28:00 · answer #10 · answered by SHARI 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋