I’ve noticed my 5 year old cat, Giga, acting quite strange the past few days. There are a number of possible causes that I can think of, most of which can be verified by online articles as well. A few days ago she started meowing more than usual at the top of the stairs as if she was stuck and couldn’t get past the locked baby gate. But she’s always been able to fit through the stair railings. I make sure she has enough food, and she hasn’t been eating all of it, but most of it. She also is meowing and getting closer to the back door when it’s open, so I think she wants to go outside to enjoy the warmer weather we’ve been having. I think I even noticed the same behaviors last spring. But what’s strange is that she seems skittish and scared of nothing that I can see. She’ll move in a crouching motion like she’s stalking something, but then back away a few steps like she’s smelled or seen something she doesn’t like. I know animals have better senses than we do, so maybe she’s smelling something strange. But it happens in random places around the house.
First of all we need to determine if she’s sick. You can read about diagnosing possible illnesses and checking for certain behaviors in this article at HowStuffWorks. The biggest take away there is to make sure you’re describing your cat’s behavior in detail to your vet. I’m worried that her stalking-scared-backing away might be a neurological issue because it almost seems like she doesn’t have a good sense of balance. My previous cat had an imbalance problem due to second hand smoke, but we don’t smoke.
There are some articles online that mention weird behaviors once every month or so, which could be hormonal for a female (even if she’s spayed) or related to the moon cycle. I’m not sure about this one, even though the full moon is only a couple days away, her behaviors don’t reoccur every month. I’ve only noticed it in the Spring.
If your cat is acting more affectionate, it could be hormonal but it might just be that she’s lonely and wants more attention. Although cats are pretty independent, they still want attention. My cat doesn’t rub against me any more than usual, but she still sleeps on my pillow at night.
I think I’ll keep monitoring her for symptoms and see if anything strange occurs with her eating or elimination. Have you noticed your cats ‘acting funny’ occasionally?
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