Cats And Their Odd Behaviours

If you’ve ever had a pet cat, then you know that cats can be quite an enigma. They may sometimes exhibit strange behaviours that leave pet owners scratching their heads in confusion.

Whether it’s sleeping in unusual places or drinking from your taps, cats often have us wondering why they do the things they do.

Fortunately, there are simple explanations behind many of these odd cat behaviours and we’re here to help decode them!

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what makes our furry friends behave so strangely and provide some advice on how to overcome behavioural issues.

Gift Giving

Pet cats are known for bringing their humans gifts, commonly dead mice or birds. But why do they feel the need to shower us with presents?

Gift giving is just a part of their instinctive behaviour. Cats naturally hunt for food. By bringing you back their catch, they are proudly showing you what they achieved and offering it to you because they care about you.

You should never punish your cat for this natural behaviour. However, we don’t recommend rewarding it either as it may encourage your cat to do it more often. Simply accept the present then later throw it away.

Drinking from Taps

Have you ever noticed that cats have an affinity for standing at the tap and drinking the running water? Turns out, they have a good reason for it. 

According to experts, wild cats evolved to drink from running water sources to help eliminate contaminants and stay healthy. Many domestic cats have held onto this instinct.

This can become an issue if your cat begins to knock over cups of water or learns to turn on your taps when you aren’t home.

We recommend investing in a pet drinking fountain that keeps your cat’s water fresh and running. You may also have to change your house taps over to ones that twist and cats cannot turn on.

Not Using the Litter Tray

It can be very frustrating when a litter trained cat suddenly refuses to use the litter box. Owners are left finding surprises in unexpected places and cleaning up smelly messes.

Change is one of the biggest triggers – any change in environment, routine, food and even new people in the house can affect cats and cause them to turn their noses up at the litter tray.

Even something seemingly insignificant, like accidently placing the litter tray somewhere slightly different can be enough for your cat’s proudly independent nature to kick in.

Sometimes during this period of transition, cats might seeking comfort from familiar surfaces (like carpet) instead. 

To overcome this, look around and see if anything has changed lately. If it has, try to put it back to the way your cat preferred it before. 

Cats are also very clean creatures and may refuse to use a dirty litter box. Luckily this is an easy fix – change your kitty litter more often!

Hairballs

Cats coughing up hairballs may seem gross, but it’s actually a very normal and healthy behaviour!

Cats groom themselves by licking their fur and in the process will ingest a significant amount of hair. Cats may also consume excess fur when licking their bedding or hunting small animals such as mice.

Inside their digestive system, the fur accumulates and collects into large clumps which are then coughed up as hairballs.

If your cat is suddenly coughing up hairballs that are larger or more frequent, have them checked by your local vet – better safe than sorry!

Scratching Furniture

One aspect of owning a cat that can be difficult to manage is when they scratch your expensive furniture. Contrary to what you might think, your cat is not causing damage out of spite.

Scratching is their natural way of keeping their claws in good condition. It also marks their territory and releases pent up energy, giving cats an alternative form of exercise.

The best approach is to provide your cat with a scratching post that will divert its scratching away from your furniture.

Choose a scratching post with sisal rope as cats naturally love to scratch this! Also look for fun features that will attract your cat’s attention, such as fluffy platforms, bells, tunnels, caves and hanging pompoms.

Active at Night

Known as the ‘night crazies’ or ‘night zoomies,’ you may hear your cat running around your house at night-time. This can be very noisy and frustrating while you are trying to sleep.

The most common reason cats get sudden bursts of energy at night time is because they relax too much during the day and are not worn out by the time it gets dark.

To help end this cycle of destructive nocturnal behaviour, it is important to provide your cat with enough physical activity during the daylight hours.

This could be anything from chasing a laser pointer to playing with puzzle toys that require mental exercises to earn food treats. Rotate toys regularly so your cat doesn’t lose interest.

This should exhaust your cat enough that it will want to go to sleep and finally have a rest once you head off to bed.

Sleeping in Strange Places 

It’s a strange thing when you go out of your way to buy your beloved cat a fancy bed – only to have them decide they’d rather sleep in an old cardboard box. So why do cats have such a preference for sleeping in weird places?

Most cats are naturally drawn to sleep in small, sheltered places such as drawers and cabinets. Cats are vulnerable when they sleep so small places help them to feel secure and protected.

Cats may also choose to sleep in places up high, such as the top of shelves.

Being up high gives them a good viewpoint and allows them to see everything that is going on around them. It also gives them privacy from anyone who may disturb them, especially dogs or children.

If you let your cat sleep with you on your bed or couch, you may notice they like to sleep on your head.

This is because your head is warm and it smells like you! Plus your head stays in place, unlike your body which tosses and turns.

Knocking Things Over 

If you own a cat, you may have experienced the infamous behaviour of cats knocking over items. Whether it be pushing your glass off the table or knocking books off the shelf with their tail, cats seem to have an innate urge to knock things down.

While this sometimes may be an accident, cats will often purposely bump things to either get your attention or because they are bored.

To reduce the possibility of your belongings becoming victims to feline curiosity, try keeping valuable items out of reach and make sure your cat has plenty of stimulating toys to amuse them. A bored kitty is much more likely to break stuff!

Eating Grass

Cats are carnivores so you may worry if you see your cat outside eating grass. Rest assured; grass is safe for housecats to eat in small quantities.

Cats will usually eat grass if their stomach is upset. Grass is high in folic acid which aids digestion, acts as a natural laxative, and can help them vomit if they feel they need to.

If your feline friend is prone to nibbling on your lawn, ensure all the plants in your house and backyard are non-toxic for cats.

If your cat is suddenly eating a lot of grass or throwing up regularly, visit your local vet for a check-up.

Biting 

If you’ve encountered a biting cat, it can be a shock! There are several reasons why a cat may bite. Working out the reason why the cat bit you is the first step to prevent it from happening again.

Cats typically bite out of fear – if a situation is beyond their comfort threshold and they cannot escape it, they will defend themselves with a warning bite.

Cats might also bite as a way to assert their dominance. Other causes could be playing that has gotten too rough or simply wanting attention from you. 

Unfortunately, some cats are more prone to biting than others.

 

Sources

https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/resources/14-weird-cat-behaviors-explained/ 

https://www.rover.com/blog/strange-cat-behaviors/

https://www.purina.co.uk/articles/cats/behaviour/understanding-cats/why-do-cats-eat-grass