Cat weirdness

[roadie gal]

I came home from walking the dogs yesterday afternoon and found the cats acting very strangely. The female cat was sitting in the window in the loft, hunched up, with her eyes wide open, starting toward a place above the front door. The male cat was in the kitchen window box, one floor directly below the female cat, hunched up, eyes wide open, staring toward the front door, obviously scared.

The window box is a normal place for the male to hang out, but the upstairs window isn't for the female. I couldn't get either one of them to move... for hours. The both just sat and stared. I couldn't even lure my usually voracious boycat out with his favorite fish flakes. I could go up to them and pet them, but they just stared at the same spot. They wouldn't pull away, but they wouldn't purr, either.

I thought maybe a chipmunk or some other critter got into the house, but I couldn't find anything and a small critter would have been prey, not something scary. There was no sign that anyone had come in while I was gone. I couldn't figure it out at all. Maybe they were communicating with the mothership. I have no idea.

At first I was completely creeped out by them. After about 3 hours I decided that I had to get them moving. So I carefully took the girlcat out of the window and put her on her favorite spot on the bed. She took a few tentative steps, sniffing and checking it all out. Then she decided it was OK and went about her business. I had to bribe the boycat down with some of MY shrimp that I'd bought for dinner. But he finally came around, too.

I believe that cats can see into dimensions that we can't and they act weird sometimes, but I really don't like the thought of something coming into my house that could spook them like that. They're both fine today. I'm still a bit creeped.

[KnottedYet]

I had a cat who would do stuff like that sometimes. A bit more low-key than your cats. Eventually I decided she was just watching interesting ghosts.

Now, if she had stared at one spot and acted scared, I'd've probably had a panic attack...

[Zen]

I believe that cats can see into dimensions that we can't

I think so too. How old is your house? How long have you lived there?

[tulip]

Maybe they were communicating with the mothership.

That sounds about right to me.

[badger]

how creepy, indeed!

I lived in an apartment a while back where it was occupied by the previous tenant's spirit or something like it. My cat refused to come out from the kitchen cupboard for a month while the spirit was lingering. A lot of electronic gadgets failed, too, like the fridge, toaster, and computer.

I felt a presence, too, and it was remarkable how "airy" it felt when the spirit finally moved on.

[Biciclista]

as entertaining as these suggestions are, i suspect a dog had been nearby, or a bear or a coyote or whatever sort of critters are in your area. Lacking dogs i respect my cats' opinions of what is going on outside since they can smell and hear better than i can, and in the dark they can see better too.

[WindingRoad]

My cats used to do that a day or two before we would have an earthquake.

[zoom-zoom]

I don't really believe in ghosts, but the first few years we were in our house (which is now around 90 years old) there were times that I swore there was a cat that brushed by me, only to look down and see no cat.

We have 4 cats. I sometimes like to think that it took a while for some "ghost kitties" to realize that we didn't need them, since we have living cats...so eventually they figured it out and left.

[BellaMTB]

My cats used to do that a day or two before we would have an earthquake.

That does creep me out. Roadie Gal, what part of No. Cal. are you in? I'm right near the Hayward fault which averages a major quake every 140 years & it's been 141 years since the last big one . . .

[roadie gal]

as entertaining as these suggestions are, i suspect a dog had been nearby, or a bear or a coyote or whatever sort of critters are in your area. Lacking dogs i respect my cats' opinions of what is going on outside since they can smell and hear better than i can, and in the dark they can see better too.

We have been seeing a lot of coyotes lately, even in the middle of the day. There was one that would go across the backyard at noon for a while. That's a possibility.

My cats used to do that a day or two before we would have an earthquake.

They've done that, too, but they usually hide under the bed.

That does creep me out. Roadie Gal, what part of No. Cal. are you in? I'm right near the Hayward fault which averages a major quake every 140 years & it's been 141 years since the last big one . . .

I'm up near Lake Tahoe. We have had some very small earthquakes here, generally not more than a 3. The cats will panic before the quake, but they don't act like this. They hide under the bed.

[Brandi]

When we have earthquake's that i don't feel my cat's act very strange as well! But the spirit thing I am not to sure about. When we bought our house we found out a man had killed himself in the garage after his girlfriend he was living with in it broke up with him.After he had helped her fix the house up.
I expected a ghost. An unhappy one at that. But nothing. The break up was so bad. I knew this because there were axe marks in the walls and he had axed all the work he had done for her. Talk about creepy! We removed all signs of it the day after we moved in.But not a thing has been seen or heard. I don't know maybe he was ok with us and decided to leave us alone. Oh and I don't tell that story very often.
I have not been around in a while. So busy it seems. My hubby had knee surgery this past month. And the month before that we were trying to get stuff done that he would need use of his leg for. sorry I have been missing in action. Hubby is doing well. We bought a trainer which has done wonder's for him and his mood. Now I don't feel bad when I get on my bike and he can't. He just said " I can feel my leg coming back". We are day 13. Sorry to take over thread. My bad!

[Biciclista]

get that boy on a trainer Brandi.
I haven't been around much either. My bike is in the shop and even though i have a second bike, I have not been riding much at all for the entire month.

[NoNo]

My friend has a ghost cat that multiple people have seen and heard while over her house. That stuff creeps me out. I don't know why a predator outside would freak them out to that extent if that were the case. Maybe they know something we don't

[arielmoon]

Cats are very interesting creatures. The fact that both of them were acting strangely makes me think it was more than just some individual quirk. A mystery indeed.

[jobob]

That does creep me out. Roadie Gal, what part of No. Cal. are you in? I'm right near the Hayward fault which averages a major quake every 140 years & it's been 141 years since the last big one . . .

Heh heh, I live about 5 miles from it and I often cross over it when I ride on the Alameda Creek Trail out to Mission Blvd (which parallels the fault) and Niles Canyon. You can tell where the fault is because the asphalt on that part of the trail buckles a bit over time.

Back on topic, sort of .. this morning the neighborhood Roof Cats were hanging out on our shed roof (hence their team name) and roaming around our backyard, as they often do. I had named them Jens, Stuey, Fränk, and Andy. Fränk and Andy are both orange tiger-stripped cats, but Andy has white paws and chest. Stuey is a tortoise shell, and Jens is a regal black & white (kind of like V's Tucker Cat). Someday I'll get good pictures of them.