Reptile & Amphibian Forums

1yr old male orange cat, every night he gets into this wierd crazy psycho mood. Its extremly hard to explain. his face gets all narrow and intense looking, whiskers flared,eyes huge and black and he dashes around the room very fast up ad down on furnature and his little head whips back and forth when he pauses like he is seeing ghosts.. I thought it was funny at first so i would run from my bedroom to the front door(almost a straight shot)to see what he would do.. he ran after me launching him self at my legs every bit of the way, biting and trying to hang on with his claws, then when i got to the "safe point" at the door or the bed he would look down, crazy eyed and meow very deep and long, walking in front of me, tail high with pride,back and forth till i would run again. but....now he gets more violent and almost demands i run from him every night and bites very hard and claws me when i walk by the bed if i havent played his game. this is wierd to me. i love playing with my cat but he is starting to scare me now.he is puurfect during the day though, he is so lovable and sweet but when night falls.....HELP! any thoughts???

You're not alone. My cat does that too, only we call it "chasing demons."

You have discovered the "night-time crazies" something almost every cat has. This is because cats are nocturnal animals and when twilight approaches they feel like it is time to gear up for the hunt. You are feeding into his instincts by "playing along". If at all possible you need to stop allowing yourself to be the prey and get some other cat toy, like a feathered tease, to take your place. When the cat gets the wild-eyed look, whip out the tease and play until he is lying on his side and panting.

Good luck! You can help turn his instinct into a fun, creative playtime that will be a bonding time for you.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

When I was a little girl, many years ago. We had a grey and white kitty named smokey. We lived in a very small house with the kitchen and living room combined. One evening my father fell asleep while watching a football game. He was in this old broken down recliner that almost touched the floor when it was extended back. Smokey had one of the episodes you were describing. He got all wild and was running through the house crazy. He jumped onto a kitchen chair, onto the table, then to the refridgerator, to the kitchen cabinet, and down to the floor. And as he zoomed past my father sleeping in the chair he took a very fast moment to smack my dad on the head in the middle of his bald spot. I still laugh so hard when I think about that. My dad came up so fast I thought he was gonna have an accident right in his pants. Smokey hid for about an hour. Both Smokey and my dad have since pasted away. But I remember it just like it happened yesterday.

What you are experiencing is not at all weird or crazy. This is actually typical cat behavior and is indeed referred to as the night crazies (although my cats also do this in the morning and the evening and all hours inbetween). This is cat play to hone their hunting skills and burn off energy, which every indoor cat needs to do. You have two choices here: 1)Follow Alto's excellent suggestions to divert this play, but this will take patience since you have made yourself the "prey" and the cat may still launch at you rather than the toy. (Remember, cats don't play with dead prey, so stop running and do not respond at all if attacked). 2)Get your cat a cat pal which is the best option. I go through this with adopters all the time. Everyone thinks one cat is easier than two until they realize they will have to function as the "other cat." Getting a pal gives your cat someone who will appreciate this behavior and who won't mind biting your cat's ear when it gets out of hand (I don't expect you are going to do this.) and teach it some manners. It will also keep your cat in shape over the long run. Finally it will stop your cat from being lonely when you are going. Often cats overreact when their people get home because they are bored so many hours of the day. And yes, everyone who has taken this advice and adopted the right friend for the cat (for the cat, not themselves)has stopped being attacked by their first cat.

If you do adopt a cat as a friend, pick a complementary personality. If you cat is the dominant one, do not get a dominant cat or you will have problems. In other words, do not pick the most gregarious kitten in the litter because that is the dominant one. The best way to play it safe is to pick the kitten or cat who gets along with everyone. It is also just as easy to adopt an adult, if you have a good idea of personality. An adult cat's personality is set, so if it is the submissive one or the get-along-with-everyone one, the cats will be fine. No matter what, if you get a kitten or adult as a friend, separate them for two weeks and introduce slowly. The new cat is overwhelmed by a new place anyway so this is actually the kinder way to bring the new cat in and is not cruel or mean in any way.

Zanne