How To Calm a Hyper Cat? Questions Answered
Cats are pretty peaceful animals who sleep for the majority of the day. Some cats, on the other hand, display aberrant behavior, such as an excessive activity that could be called abnormal. Hyperactivity in cats can be caused by a variety of factors, including the animal’s age, personality, and health problems that must be identified quickly.
Do you ever have moments when your cat acts erratically and you’re not sure why? Find out when this level of activity is regarded as typical, as well as what hyperactivity in cats entails, so you can intervene if your cat isn’t feeling well.
What Does It Look Like When a Cat is Hyperactive?
An anxious cat might display a variety of tense behaviors. Running all around the home, bouncing over things, pursuing people as well as other pets, gaining attention by mewing and striking, and even persistent licking are all behaviors that can be observed.
The noted form of hyperactivity is commonly seen in cats as a way to relieve boredom or release pent-up energy. When pets are left alone in the home for an extended amount of time or after a period of rest, they need to move and can do so quickly.
You may find it weird if your cat wakes up from a comfortable slumber and runs and jumps all around the house. Although puppies are significantly more likely to do this, some adult cats do it regularly.
Cat Zoomies
Whenever a cat goes nuts for no obvious cause, it is known as cat zoomies. The cat begins to take an aggressive attitude, the fur on its back and tail stands up, and it begins to move about, vaulting.
The cat goes quiet after a few minutes of pointless running and retires to its favorite place. What can be said to be wrong with the cat? Well, it’s perfectly typical and happens to the majority of them, with an incident of this nature occurring virtually every day until they reach adulthood when the zoomies become less frequent or milder.
When Does Hyperactivity in Cats Become a Problem?
Hyperactivity in cats can also be a sign of stress or worry, as previously stated. In these situations, professional assistance is required to identify and address the problem.
If you can’t figure out why your cat is doing something weird every day, the first step is to look for a physical ailment or sickness. You can do this at home, but if you can’t figure out what’s causing the problem, take your pet to the doctor for a physical checkup right away.
When a cat is normally calm but suddenly becomes more active, along with other symptoms like weight loss, lack of appetite, hair loss, and so on, it could be a sign of a major health problem.
Why Do Cats Get Hyper During a Particular Time Of The Day?
Wild cats are known to hunt up to 40 times every day to survive. When they’re at home, however, it’s a different story. They unwind more and, as a result, sleep excessively. They’re bored, lonely, and have a surplus of energy that they can’t put to good use.
Unlike in the wild, they are unable to hunt like their prey. They are unable to climb trees and must confine themselves to the interior. That is why they become hyperactive and will do anything to amuse themselves. Cats are hyperactive in the same way that people are when they are overly energetic. When they need to burn off all of their surplus energy after sleeping, they become a little hyper.
7 Ways To Calm a Hyperactive Cat
1. Often take your cat for a stroll
Isn’t it true that taking your cat for a stroll will help? It’s also a means for them to deplete their energy during the day. This allows your cat to receive some activity, which helps to reduce obesity in cats.
Please don’t leave them alone while they’re outside, though. Especially if they aren’t accustomed to venturing out on their own. If you don’t keep an eye on your cat, he or she may get into conflicts with other animals, injuring himself or herself.
2. Organize daytime play sessions
Cats are overactive because they have so much more energy but not enough action, as previously stated. So, the first step in calming your energetic cat is to schedule play sessions during the day.
Don’t just expect your cat to play by themselves just because you gave them toys. They’ll run amok all over the place if you do that. Apart from during the day, play with your cat 1 or 2 two hours before night to exhaust them. Play with them with appealing toys that will help them develop their prey-hunting abilities.
You can connect a feather to the end of a fishing line that has been tied to the end of a pole. This is meant to make them act as if they’re catching their prey. Allow your cat to grab their prey once they appear weary to make them pleased and content.
After a great game, your cat’s endorphins levels will soar, and it will most likely get a good night’s sleep and have a good dream. Some owners also adopt the use of lasers as prey but they ensure that the cats will eventually catch it. Without the ability to catch the disguised prey, laser games can lead to personality disorders in cats, such as shadow hunting which will require serious veterinarian attention.
3. Treat them calmly
Cats are highly intelligent animals. If you talk to your cat gently, any hyper kitten or cat will respect you. Your cat’s personality is defined by your character. Communicate calmly with them and make an effort to read their body language.
4. Get your cat a companion
Although playtime is crucial, you cannot abandon your responsibilities and spend all of your time with your cat. Consider bringing another pet friend for them to play with to remedy this problem. However, there are times when adding another cat to the household will result in even more chaos.
This could be attributed to a variety of factors. One of your cats may not get along with the others and may even be jealous of your minor treatment differences. This is why you must carefully supervise the first introduction of a new cat to your family pets, or your good intentions toward your cat may backfire.
5. Don’t give in to their hyperactivity
Never succumb to their negative moods and habits. Cat owners frequently make the mistake of acting on their cat’s wishes, which only serves to exacerbate the problem.
If your cat disturbs you at a certain time of day, the worst thing you can do is give in. Bad habits will follow you throughout adulthood. If your cat believes it’s appropriate to do it once, they’ll do it every other day after that, and this tendency will never alter.
Instead, you should strive to train your cat and correct their undesirable habits. If you just keep doing this, they will eventually stop bothering you and calm down.
6. Allow them space
Stress and insecurity can cause cats to become hyper. Instead of reprimanding them, you should simply give them room and allow them to do their own thing.
They may be a little more sensitive than usual at this phase. As a result, everything you do, such as extending out your arm to comfort your cat, may result in backlashes, aggravating your cat. You can only keep an eye on them from a safe distance till they have calmed down.
Allowing them to stay in one room is another way to give them space. Your cat will claim the room as their personal space, and no one should enter it. All you need to do is supply your cat with needs like a warm blanket, cat food, and a litter box.
7. Feed your cat well
After a large meal, cats tend to sleep, therefore feeding them well is the easiest thing to do. Your cat will not have the energy to become energetic and rush around if they are adequately fed. This also decreases the likelihood of them having to wake up in the middle of the night to get food.
Why Does My Cat Get Hyper at Night?
Sometimes cats are up and raring to go extremely early in the morning or stay active all night. Because many owners are gone during the day for work or school, the cat may spend the day resting and napping, especially if it is the only pet in the house. When the cat’s owner returns home, the cat’s day begins with food, play, and social interaction.
Cats are most active in exploration around dusk and dawn, thus nighttime is the most natural time for them to be active. Cats that nip or jump on the owner’s ears or toes in bed, stroll across sleeping owners, nightly vocalization, or highly enthusiastic play sessions across the furniture and/or owners during the night or early morning are all regular nighttime activities for some cat owners.
How to Calm a Hyper Cat at Night?
1. Feed them before going to bed
Feeding the cat at different times can help to change the cat’s sleep routine. For instance, by serving smaller, more frequent meals and serving evening meals at a different time. Owners can feed one meal in the evening and another closer to bedtime. This reduces the likelihood of the cat waking up its owners in the middle of the night for a meal.
Cats are normally nocturnal and hunt for food, so having it in the same spot at the same time each day is strange. Hide food about the home – on windowsills, bookshelves, mantle pieces, concealed inside paper bags, toilet rolls, etc. – to improve your cat’s quality of life and curb its midnight shenanigans. Your cat will have to expend energy to find its food, and one of its basic biological behaviors will be satisfied. Initially, you may need to show your cat how to find the food, but after a few sessions, they should be able to find it on their own.
2. Look into daily playtime attention
Because nightly engagement can be a type of social connection and attention-seeking habit, the first question to ask is if the cat is having enough social engagement and social play during the day and early evening. This could be especially difficult if you have only one cat and your owner works all day. Providing multiple opportunities for social play will assist to expend some of their energy and address some of the cat’s social and behavioral demands earlier in the day if you do it in the afternoon or early evening.
Keeping the cat company and giving it plenty of attention during the afternoon and early evening can assist to lessen the midnight activity. Because cats are instinctual, it’s a good idea to schedule these play and social outings at the same time daily. That way, the cat will learn to expect high activity times and adjust their body clocks accordingly.
3. Check if it’s a medical issue
Before treating any behavioral concerns, including discomfort or hormonal issues like thyroid illness, consult your veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical explanations for the nocturnal activity.
Attempt to gently alter the cat’s routine. Cat lovers can try to gently adjust the cat’s routine by encouraging playtime and mealtime throughout the day and earlier evening hours so that the cat’s schedule more closely matches that of the humans in the family. This is a behavioral modification strategy that can assist the cat’s activity time to be shifted.
4. Provide your cat a play environment
Enhancing the cat’s habitat can help keep him busy and minimize boredom throughout the day, as well as reduce nighttime movement. Tips for improving the environment include:
- Cats need to scratch to keep their nails healthy, so provide a variety of scratching posts. Some cats prefer horizontal posts to vertical ones, so mixing them up is a good idea. Also, keep in mind that the posts should be robust and at least 1.5 times the cat’s length when stretched.
- Make sure there are places to hide. Hide-and-seek games can be played with cardboard boxes with holes punched into them. Cats love to live and sleep at higher elevations, so provide a variety of elevated spots throughout the house for your cat to watch the world go by or nap.
- Cats enjoy drinking moving water that is distant from their food source in nature, so investing in a cat water fountain is a terrific way to improve their surroundings. Some models even feature a spot where you can grow cat grass!
- If your cat is an indoor cat, you should consider acquiring an outdoor cage to keep him stimulated while you are at work. If you have any plants, make sure they are safe for cats. Some common plants, such as lilies, are fatally toxic to cats, so make sure you don’t have any on your property. To add some extra entertainment, consider purchasing a catnip plant or cat grass. Indoor cats can benefit from having access to an outside escape-proof enclosure, owner-supervised outings outdoors, and having a companion with whom they get along well.
5. Manage your own space
If daytime adjustments aren’t working, close your bedroom door to keep your kitty out. Set up a nice sleeping place with a litter box as far away as possible from your room. To avoid scratching or rattling, place a cloth at the bottom of the door.
Conclusion
Cats require mental and physical stimulation. It’s crucial to realize that energy bursts are simply a part of who they are, in addition to addressing any behavioral issues and toxic home disputes.
