Abnormal Cat Behavior
What is considered to be an abnormal cat behavior that should raise a concern?
Cats can display a whole range of weird behaviors; some cat behaviors can be amusing and are nothing to worry about like when your cat chews or sucks on your hair or fluffy pillows, frantically kneading and salivating… but other times, especially when there is a sudden change in your cat’s behavior pattern, it could be a sign of a psychological or medical problem.
Unusual cat behavior which can be associated with medical problems
- attacking you or other house pets for no apparent reason
- anxiousness, hiding , dilated pupils and hissing with no obvious reason
- eating non food substances like fabric, wood, wool (also called pica)
- self-destructive behavior, self mutilation like chewing or biting parts of the body, constantly grooming
- constantly meowing and avoiding litter tray (in a male cat this could be a sign of urethral obstruction – contact your vet immediately!)
- unusual lethargy
- twitching, circling or other balance disturbances, bumping into objects, head pressing
If you see any of the above listed abnormal cat behavior, call your vet to have your cat checked over.
My cat is about 3 1/2 mo old & is a rescue cat. we hav had her since she was a little under 6 wks. overall she is a wonderful petBut we cant seem to break her of one bad behavior. she will start by nipping at ur hand thn quickly begin to bear down hard in to bitting u. also whn she does ths she kind of uses her front legs to “hold” ur hand to her body. when she was little we figured she was teething but she is growing fast & becoming strong & this biting hurts. im afraid it will get worse. wht can I do? i dont hit my pets. any advice?
Hi moni basil,
Kittens often display this kind of behavior also called “play-biting”. It is a common mistake with many cat owners to use their hands as “play instruments”.
If your kitty starts nipping at your hand simply say “NO” in a firm voice, stop petting/touching and ignore the kitten for the next 10 minutes. Play with your kitten regularly but never use your hands to do this, there are plenty of cat toys available and you can make your own as well. Here you can find some fun cat play ideas: http://www.catbehaviortraining.com/catplaytips.html
Good luck with the kitty!
hey
last December i got a kitten she is now one her name is angel.she is an inside cat but we have a cat run outside as well as that she has a harness and we walk around the back yard together. as as soon as i brought her home she has either suckled on my hair or on a fluffy pillow. i know its not a problem but i was just wondering why she would do it . i got angel from a pet shop so i don’t no but i was thinking could of been taken from her mother to early .could this be a reason ?
we have 2 dogs witch bark at anything they see outside of our gate. Angel is really friendly with our dogs and the other day the dogs were barking and angel herd them so she started to bark like a dog. why would she do this ?
angel molts really bad she doesn’t have any bald spots yet but what can i do to stop her molting ?
thank you bye
Angel also is a very smart cat she knows many tricks including.
.sit
.shake
.stand
and im trying to teach her to lye down is this messing with her brain?
Our cat sits with her head against the hot radiator. It’s hot to touch, but she seems to like it. Why is she doing it?
She’s not ill that we know, about 16; she may be bored.
Hi John, I wouldn’t worry about it, cats just love to be warm… it’s rare that they would burn their skin as they have an insulation cushion all over their body (their fur). Great that she is doing well at 16! With older cats it’s good to keep an eye on her water intake and appetite…. older cats tend to suffer from kidney insufficiency (drinking more, some will eat less) and hyperthyroidism (eating like a horse and losing weight,oily coat, character changes etc.)
We have a young rescue cat that joined our two almost adult rescue cats as a kitten. My daughter, finding what looked like the same cat in the neighborhood, brought it home. We kept the second kitten until we found a good home for it, about a month. Then one of the older cats “adopted” him. Sadly, the older cat was hit by a car. Back to the shelter, and home came three kittens. “I’ll find homes,” my daughter said. Our now half-grown cat “adopted” the three. He didn’t just play with them, he watched them constantly, herded them, and called for them when he couldn’t find them. At the same time he started mounting the adult male cat. That’s what I said, mounts. Jumps on him and grabs his scruf. When I try to get him off, he hangs on all the tighter. This little cat was a sweetheart when I left for a month to visit family. When I returned, he had developed fears of many things inculding the family, and stays indoors most of the time. I included his whole story thinking it might explain his behavior.