What Is My Cat DOING? Odd Cat Behaviors!

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Cats. Beautiful. Mischievous. Elusive. Independent. I could go on and on! With dogs you pretty much know what you are going to get. But you never REALLY know what’s going on in your cat’s head! Having had many cats growing up and ever since, I have come across some pretty quirky cat behaviors!

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Kittens

It’s no secret that kittens are funny little creatures! They steal your heart with those big eyes and ears and then sometimes turn out to be pint sized terrors! They can go from walking normally to jumping and hunching, skidding sideways ears back then taking off at lightening speed! Then OH THERE’S A TOY flopping all over with it, and in the next second racing across the backs of the furniture or scaling the curtains!

Right then and there you know that you are in for it! But then they cuddle up on your lap or in the crook of your neck, start purring and fall into a deep sleep. And you’re in love. You never really do know what’s coming next or what is behind their funny behavior but cats can develop some pretty interesting habits over the years!

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Tosh

When we lived in Calgary we found a kitten in the middle of winter, a stray. She was so tiny and it was SO cold that my brother and I just couldn’t leave her out there! We already had a dog, Mack, but no cats at that point in time. My mom couldn’t help herself. The baby kitten was here to stay! We named her Tosh (Mack ‘n Tosh…get it?). But she was a WEIRD cat! She did things we have never seen any other cat do!

This was my mom’s cat through and through. She would make her partner at the time BLEED every night in the middle of the night! If she tried to shut the door that cat would hurl her full body weight against the door…over and over…Until someone opened the door! She learned to flush the toilet. She dragged full bowls of water across the entire house! She was a hunter. We always found piles of feathers tucked around the house! She was a different kind of cat that’s for sure!

Attack!

This seems to be a common theme when it comes to cats! I had not one, but TWO cats who made one boyfriend in particular bleed! My cats always seem to really attach to one person and if they feel the need, protect their person! Or maybe it’s jealousy. Who really knows??? They are cats after all!

The first was my boy Carmichael. He lived with my parents and was devastated when I went to university. One time, my boyfriend came to visit and was sleeping in my bed, Carmy crawled up under the covers and BIT his feet until he bled! Carmy slept curled up to me at night, and I think he was more than a little peeved someone was in his spot!!!

Gizmo was the second. The same boyfriend! And the boyfriend who got Giz for me in the first place…He would wait in the hallway for him to get up and go to the bathroom in the night and launch a full scale ATTACK on him! I’m talking fully fluffed up, ears pinned back, eyes dilated and growling and hissing like a maniac! But looking back I guess those cats were picking up on something I had clearly been missing at the time…So it could just be jealousy but I really believe cats can sense when something is off as well.

You Can’t See Me!!!

Have you had a cat that pretends they are invisible when you call their name??? Whiskers, who is a huge fluffy white Ragdoll, does this! He likes to prowl around the yard. And if ANYONE says his name he hunches up and peels off in the opposite direction! Like NO you didn’t just see me! But he’s pretty impossible to miss…

My mom’s cat Emmy does this too! If you say her name and call her over it’s ears back, hunched up and peeling off to another part of the yard or house! I’m not sure why some cats don’t like to be acknowledged at times! Makes me think they are up to something…Like you are interrupting their plan to take over the world or something.

Hairspray and Perfume

I know of several cats that go WILD for certain hairsprays and perfumes! My mom’s cat Chubby would act almost crazy and amorous if my mom wore one particular perfume! His eyes would go HUGE and he would rub and lick and BITE her! I’m not sure what they put in that stuff but clearly the boy loved it! She had to only wear it on certain occasions because of the state it would put him in!

And some hairsprays seem to really attract cats too! I have had cats (when I wore hairspray…those days are long gone along with the 80s) climb behind me and almost seem to NEST in my hair! Kneading, licking, rubbing and making a proper mess out of it!

Split Personalities

This seems to be a trait of the vast majority of cats I have known! Loving and cuddly one minute and in full ATTACK mode the next! But while there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why they act the way they do, their body language can be a big cue! If they tense up, ears go back, pupils get big and their whiskers move forward they could be thinking of ways to inflict some sort of pain!

As one of my friends puts it with his cat Riley “He might (swat), or bite, or sit there purring, he’s a warrior poet!” I’ve learned to read my cat’s body language relatively well, so scratches and bites aren’t as common but they definitely still catch me off guard sometimes!

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Sticking Their Butt In Your Face

Ok, I don’t know of a single cat that DOESN’T do this! I’ve woken up to cat butt in my faces more times than I can count. But it’s actually pretty interesting WHY they do this! It’s actually a good sign and a bit of a greeting of sorts, like ok go ahead and give my butt a good sniff. Ew. Cat equivalent I guess of hugging. Another way your cat shows it’s happy even if it’s kind of gross haha. You can read more on signs of a happy cat HERE.

Walking Across Your Computer…Or Pushing Your Book Away

Jealous much??? Your cat wants you to pay attention to THEM instead of whatever else you might be doing at the time! I always have an animal it seems trying to either get on my laptop or push it right off my lap! If I’m reading before bed you can bet Miesha will crawl up on my chest between my head and my book! And if I’m baking or doing something in the kitchen Whiskers will wind his way through my legs yowling the whole time! It’s already bad enough maneuvering around the dogs!

So maybe give what you are doing a bit of a break if you can and give your kitty some love!

Get Out of the Bath!!!!

Who has had a cat that seems to get upset or concerned when you are having a bath or shower?? Miesha will prowl the edge of the bathtub and meow the whole time at me! So much for relaxing…and she’s usually knocking everything in her path off into the water too! I’ve had books, bottles, glasses and coffee knocked into the tub!

Your cat is actually expressing their concern for your wellbeing! They don’t see you as a person. Cats, being as self-centered as they are, figure you’re just a big weird cat. And water is BAD! My mom’s cat Emmy does this too and it drives my mom just about nuts!

Instinct

A lot of the behaviors we see out of our cats are due to instincts that have never really gone away. They are much further behind the domestication train than dogs are! Wired actually has a pretty good post on why cats react to their owners like they do. Likening us to a “huge, unpredictable ape”! You can read the full article HERE!

Does your cat have any quirky behaviors? Be sure to share them in the comments below and check out the rest of the blog for more cat related posts!!