Do your cat’s strange behaviors confuse and frustrate you, making you think that you’re the only one who has such crazy cats? You are not the only one, and surprisingly, cats may be considered completely normal. Here are 10 strange cat behaviors, why cats do this, and how you can learn to live with these strange behaviors or even enjoy the behavior of your cats.
10. Some alone time
Have you ever wanted to play or snuggle with your cat, only to be met with a cold shoulder? While you can initially think your feline is simply oblivious to its surroundings, researchers at the University of Tokyo have found that there is something a bit ruder going on. In a study of 20 domesticated cats, researchers determined that about 30% of felines sampled essentially ignored those who called out to them.
So do not worry, your can probably isn’t a complete jerk and may just be suffering from behavior deeply rooted in its evolution.
9. Cat-tension
Of course, for every time your cat decides to ignore you, there are probably many instances when it decides to plop its furry overgrown body right in the middle of your laptop. Sure, your computer is worm and fits your kitty’s body perfectly, but, perhaps there is another reason it chose that exact spot.
One of the more popular reasons for this intrusive behavior is that your tiny family member is looking for attention. There is a good possibility your cat will sit on anything it sees you are messing with, even something as small as a piece of paper.
8. The kitty sprint
Unless you are new to the interwebs, you’ve probably seen a video or two of cats sprinting randomly to no specific destination. Well, while you are sitting there judging their mental state, you may take a cue from that four-legged speeding fluffball.
One of the most common reasons for a random outburst is the need to release energy. Instinctively, cats are programmed to hunt and chase down their meals, and since the domesticated house cat is hand delivered its meals, it has a built-up store of energy and no small critters to expel it on. If your cat is shoving obsessive scratching and grooming, it can be showing signs of hyperesthesia syndrome.
7. Everything is food
Should you find inedible items around showing up with kitten teeth marks on them, it might experience what’s known as pica, or the urge to eat non-food items.
While pica is not necessarily dangerous to cats, if you observe yours chewing on an unexpected item, it is always best to first visit a vet. Additional causes for this strange behavior can include dietary deficiencies, a compulsive disorder, and even feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus. If it is just the case of pica, removing what your cat is chewing on and giving it more attention may be the simple fix.
6. Unwanted gifts
When a friend of yours brings a dead mouse to your door, you immediately call on the police or grab two forks and some butter, depending on what kind of friend you have. but when your cat does it, you’re disgusted but also should feel a little fluttered. You see, cats do not deliver dead animals to any person.
They are instinctual creatures still acting on the natural-born need to hunt and where there is dinner to be had, who better to share it with than family? That is right when your cat brings a deceased bird or rodent, it is simply providing its family with the nutrition it needs to survive. Whether or not you going to eat that nutrition is totally up to you.
5. Kitty headbutt
There are several reasons why your cat may tend to smash its head against yours and self-defense is not one of them. When your cat engages you in some light headbutting, either against your chin, cheek, or the thick of your skull, it is doing what is known as bunting and absorbing.
Known for being a social response, cat bunting is a means of spreading the scent from their many scent glands to you, further solidifying your place as a family member or it just scratching against you.
4. Kitty kisses
kitty kisses are just another means for that adorable fluff to tell you that they like you. Kitty kisses aren’t what you think, however, and actually, involve the cat’s eyes. Yes, those adorable, lovely, creepy, lifeless eyes are believed to help your cat express itself.
While a slow blink and vary relaxed face may look like one is about to get ready to zonk out for the day, what may be happening is that your fluf is showing you affection. These cat kisses are a common sign between felines and its family.
3. Cat chat fever
You are lounging around one day, enjoying your silence, when suddenly, from a corner of your house, you hear this strange chattering. Your mind may wander to something sinister in your home, like being from another world, but you can just tuck that silliness back.
What you are hearing is your cat who, experts believe, could be making noises of frustration at its inability to catch viewable prey. Another far more gruesome theory point to the chattering being the reflex motion linked to your cat’s instinct to bite down into the prey’s neck.
2. Cat mischief
Let’s face it, your cat can be a handful, especially when it decides to just randomly knock over your finest possessions. It is not just being a big feline jerk, however, in fact, it is just believed that your furry friend just practicing its hunting strategies, specifically when it toys with its prey before killing it.
As your cat learns its surroundings, it is likely to test out some of your belongings to see if they try to scamper off and give a good hunt. Though cats eventually learn this isn’t the case, they also realize that knocking over items produce another reaction – the presence of their human companion. If you notice your feline knocking over a lot of your stuff frequently, try giving it a little attention.
1. Box love
Our cats are some pretty strange creatures, but one of their most meme-worthy habits is their desire to sit inside a small space, most specifically cardboard boxes. While we think it’s adorable, to your feline friend it is more than being cute.
Researchers at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands were just as perplexed as the rest of us and, taking days off from curing the nastiest of diseases, decided to set their sights on cats. What they determined is that when a cat clamps itself into a small space, it may be coping with stress. Being encased in its 4 walls, a cat can tend to feel a sense of security and warmth that helps calm them.
