Strange Cat Behaviour (or is it?)

KatieDee

I have two cats, brother and sister, adopted as kittens from the RSPCA. Both lovely cats, mischievous but very loving!

Both of them have a strange habit of collapsing. I am positive there are no medical issues at hand as they're both eating properly, playing, no obvious signs of ill-health. They'll walk a few steps, meow, then fall over. They will lay down for a while then usually get up and walk off. There are times when they walk and don't roll over/collapse but they seem to do it at the strangest of times! For example, Milo was just sitting at the window, decided to jump down, walked a couple of steps and just plonked himself down. They have an annoying habit of doing this right in front of you as well, resulting in me having to do a Michael Flatley impression to avoid standing on them!

Another thing I've noticed is that the female cat will always walk with me up the stairs, meowing like crazy, wait until we get to a particular spot, then roll over and meow until I stroke her tummy. She will then continue up the stairs, often following me.

Why do they do this?! Is it normal cat behaviour for them to just fall down? I thought cats were supposed to be wary about showing their tummies, as it makes them super vulnerable?

Better_Days

A happy secure relaxed kitty will roll over to have his/her tummy rubbed. You are obviously doing a good job with your kitties

Also kitties are dreadful for getting under your feet - so your description of what your female kitty does is no surprise. It may be attention seeking behaviour, or it maybe that cats like to see us dance to their tune!!

When you say collapsed - do you mean with legs and head at funny angles or do they just flop down on the floor as if totally exhausted from sleeping 99% of their lives? If the latter I wouldn't worry

xnatillyx

I am no vet or expert but my cat Salem is a funny one. He is a very random cat.

He loves the windows and when he plops out he then walks a bit as well and then just lies down on the floor exactly like what you mentioned.
He also goes from lying randomly in one place moving a bit and then lying down in the middle of the hallway floor.
He does what you mentioned your cats do also , follows us then randomly rolls around or lies down.

I wouldn't worry , they just like being random i think. They love lying down in random spots for literally no logical reason.

KatieDee

Better_Days wrote: »

A happy secure relaxed kitty will roll over to have his/her tummy rubbed. You are obviously doing a good job with your kitties

Also kitties are dreadful for getting under your feet - so your description of what your female kitty does is no surprise. It may be attention seeking behaviour, or it maybe that cats like to see us dance to their tune!!

When you say collapsed - do you mean with legs and head at funny angles or do they just flop down on the floor as if totally exhausted from sleeping 99% of their lives? If the latter I wouldn't worry

It's the latter! You'd have thought they had the hardest lives in the world from how they flop down at times...it's often accompanied by a little cat sigh as well, which is honestly the most disapproving noise I have ever heard!

Perhaps she knows that if she does it at that point, I'll definitely give her a tummy rub...learnt behaviour I suppose!

xnatillyx wrote: »

I am no vet or expert but my cat Salem is a funny one. He is a very random cat.

He loves the windows and when he plops out he then walks a bit as well and then just lies down on the floor exactly like what you mentioned.
He also goes from lying randomly in one place moving a bit and then lying down in the middle of the hallway floor.
He does what you mentioned your cats do also , follows us then randomly rolls around or lies down.

I wouldn't worry , they just like being random i think. They love lying down in random spots for literally no logical reason.

This is reassuring...I've had cats before but none of them have been this odd!

Ps - is that Salem in your avatar? He's a cutie!

Gold_Dust_2

Sounds normal to me. If they were falling over then I'd be worried, but if they're just planting their backsides on the ground at inconvenient/odd times or lying down mid-stroll, then they're just being cats. I used to sweep one of mine a short way across the floor when he flopped down on the kitchen tiles didn't phase him!

scaredy_cat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3841745

calicocat

Lol....normal. It's just cat flopping.

Mine does it the older and more relaxed she gets....usually as soon as you have walked through the door....or when you are about to go into the next room or when I get to the top of the stairs.


It's all attention seeking....."hello, look at me, i'm fab, rub my head, if you don't rub my head i'll do it again 3 foot away and trip you up"

SavingPennies_2

Mine does it every day, usually first thing on a morning and again when I get home from work. It's her way of saying, Im ready for my chin/ ear/ arm pit tickle, which she loves, for about 5 minutes until I get "the paw"

tea_lover

My cat's favourite place to flop down for a rest is just in front of my feet - but only when I'm trying to walk somewhere.

Tiglath

There is a disease called feline cerebellar hypoplasia, but I think you'd know if it was a medical condition.

gunsandbanjos

My girl cat flings herself down, quite often head first so she's nearly doing a forward roll. It's hilarious when she does it too close to a wall and gets stuck!
Boy cat sniffs everything like its poisonous then places himself down precisely.