Why does my cat sit in the same spot for hours

Cats are intelligent, independent, playful, and amusing. At times, they can be snuggly companions, at other times, they act more like creatures from the great beyond. Some helpful hints on feline behavior include encouraging cats to engage in active play. Cats need to amuse themselves by pouncing, stalking, and chasing things. These cat habits are somewhat expected. You see the same behaviors when watching lion cubs at the zoo. Other feline activities seem to have no explanation. For example, cats may run frantically across the house right before settling down to stare at the wall. You might be wondering if staring at the wall is a normal behavior for cats. Could a cat staring at a wall be a sign of a medical problem? Could it be a sign of the supernatural?

We’re not sure whether cats can see ghosts. However, we do know that cats have a sharp sense of sight. They notice things that humans don’t. For example, your cat may notice the sun reflecting off of a dust particle or your cat may see a small spider making its way along the crevice where the carpet meets the wall. These sensory experiences may seem insignificant to you but they’re a big deal to your cat.

Cats can detect even the most subtle motions. A 2014 study found that cats can see some wavelengths of light that are invisible to humans such as ultraviolet light. Cat eyes have more light-sensing rods than humans, this gives cats the ability to see even when the light is dim meaning that they may perceive reflections and glints of light that you can’t see.

Sometimes, you inspect the empty corner in which your cat has imposed himself voluntarily and don’t see anything moving. What may look like your cat staring at the wall may actually be your cat listening to something that you can’t hear. Many people have detected rodents in their walls or in their attics after their cats would sit in a specific spot and seem to stare through the plaster. Your cat isn’t necessarily a pest control expert, however. Cats can hear creaks that your house makes as it settles, or whistling noises within your air ducts.

Researchers don’t completely understand the cat brain. Experts know that cats are highly curious creatures. A sensory stimulus that causes a dog to simply sniff and look away may hold a cat’s attention for hours. So when your cat stares at a wall it might be trying to figure out what’s going on with the movement it sees or the sound that it hears. Cats may also stay still if they feel that they’re in danger. They’ll move again when they perceive that they’re safe from the threat.

Cats are also trained to focus on prey. Even though your cat is far from wild, it has inborn hunting instincts. In the wild, stalking prey helps a cat survive. Stalking allows felines to sneak up on their targets without being noticed. When your cat stares at the wall, it may be stalking a potential victim that you can’t hear or see.

Does your cat ever stare at the wall in between episodes of seeming mania? Your cat might paw at something in the air before taking off down the hallway, only to return an instant later and screech to a halt at your feet, skin rippling and tail twitching. This may be a cat or kitten behavior referred to as hyperesthesia.

Some other signs of this syndrome include the following:

• The cat aggressively attacks its own tail.

• The cat’s pupils are enlarged.

• The cat meows or howls loudly.

• The cat is sensitive to touch.

• The cat frantically grooms itself, focusing on the base of the tail.

Experts aren’t sure what causes feline hyperesthesia. It could be caused by stress, abnormal brain waves, electromagnetic signals in the brain, seizures, or lesions along the spine. It also might be normal cat behavior. If this behavior accompanies your cat’s wall staring and is becoming a problem, you may want to have a veterinarian perform a complete examination. You can also minimize stress by maintaining a regular routine, playing with and exercising the cat regularly, and addressing any aggression between your cat and other pets.

If your cat is pressing the top of its head against the wall without moving for significant periods of time, the behavior could be a sign of a serious medical condition, called head pressing. This odd activity is not the same as head butting. A normal cat may repeatedly butt its head against a wall, corner, piece of furniture or person. Head pressing on the other hand involves simply holding the top of the head firmly against a hard surface for a long time. If you’re concerned with your cat’s head pressing, you should make an appointment to speak with your veterinarian.

What Should You Do When Your Cat Stares at The Wall

Some cat owners are worried that they aren’t giving their pets enough attention, leading them to go crazy and fixate on things that don’t really exist. If you have the same worry, you are probably much too attuned to your pet to withhold stimulation. Cats that aren’t properly stimulated may become depressed or aggressive. Bored cats may overeat, obsessively groom themselves, attack your furniture, or mope around the house. However, staring at walls is not a symptom of poor stimulation.

If you really want to bond with your cat, you can join in on the behavior; we won’t judge. Put your ear against the wall to show your cat that you’re listening too. You can move a flashlight beam against the wall to give your cat something else on which to focus. Proper cat care involves addressing your pet’s need for instinctual play. You won’t harm your cat by letting this normal cat behavior continue. Sometimes, cat habits just don’t have an explanation.

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Spend less time taking photos and more maintaining litter trays. Here are other some tips to keep your cat contented

Cats are stressed. This month there’s a BBC2 documentary called Cat Wars (not exactly a soothing title), and in October a BBC2 Horizon series, ahead of which the anthrozoologist John Bradshaw has claimed that cat owners expect too much of their cats. Conditions such as dermatitis and cystitis are increasingly common, and often stress-related. “If cat owners understood their pets better, they’d recognise the demands we’re putting on them,” he told the Radio Times.

This is understandable. The UK’s cat population is estimated at over 10 million. Cats are no longer simply pets. They are social media stars. If you live with a cat, you are living with a kind of celebrity. Or, your cat is living with your sense that you are living with a kind of celebrity. (Symptoms: frequent taking of cat selfies, downloading of the photo app Snapcat, use of the hashtag #CatsofTwitter.) Apparently, living in close proximity to other cats is likely to cause your cat emotional strain too. Here’s how to de-stress your cat.

Cats have excellent poker faces. “They are silent sufferers,” says Pippa Hutchison, a clinical animal behaviourist. “Generally, a dog is referred because it becomes aggressive, but a stressed cat becomes withdrawn.” She cites toileting around the house as a classic sign of stress. Other symptoms include sleeping under the bed, excessive spraying, scratching, sweaty feet, and displacement activities. “You see it if other cats are in their garden. They don’t have appeasement gestures like dogs.” Instead they start licking themselves. This is not a sign of vanity. “If an animal starts overgrooming, especially around its abdomen area, get it to the vet,” Hutchison advises.

Is the utility room really the best place for a litter tray? Would you like to go to the toilet while your flatmate fills the washing machine? Hutchison advises leaving facilities in multiple locations so your cat can use the one that suits its mood or temperament. “If you live in a three-storey house, put facilities on all three levels,” she says. If you live in a studio flat, put facilities in all the corners. “Use cardboard boxes or a hideaway behind the sofa.”

3. Your cat doesn’t want a friend

It’s a classic scenario. Your cat looks a bit down. You want to cheer it up. You get it a little furry friend. Didn’t you know there are too many cats in the garden already? “I would always advise someone with a cat not to introduce another cat,” says Mat Ward, a cat behaviourist in Edinburgh. “It is such a source of stress.”

4. This is a two-way relationship!

This can help with human relationships too. A cat’s purpose is not to help you unwind. “In years gone by, I don’t remember people wanting or making such complex emotional demands of a cat,” says Vicky Halls, cat and human counsellor, and author of books such as Cat Confidential: The Book Your Cat Would Want You To Read. “Don’t assume that if you’re having a relationship with your cat it gives that cat the emotions and thoughts and drive of a human being.” Halls thinks some owners choose to remain oblivious to their cat’s stress because to acknowledge it would be to admit that there are two of them in the relationship, and that the cat has needs too. “Some people would sooner believe that little face is happy,” she says.

5. Lay off the social media

“I imagine a lot of people who genuinely love cats will look at these pictures and roar with laughter” says Halls. “I look at them and see a cat who is not very happy about something.” And an owner who has too much time on their hands. “Ask yourself whether there is anything in it for the cat.”

6. Update your cat’s facilities

If you bought your cat a scratchpad when it was a kitten, it wants a bigger one now. It’s the same principle as children and clothes. “This is five-star stuff,” Hutchison says, “but the litter tray should be one-and-a-half times the length of your cat, from nose to tip of its tail.” Also consider what newspaper you use to line the litter tray. Headlines such as “That’s one freaky feline! Breeders develop a CAT that looks like a WEREWOLF and acts like a DOG” are only going to add to your cat’s stress.

• This article was amended on 17 September 2014 to clarify the broadcast dates of Cat Wars and the Horizon series.

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Topics

• Animals
• Pets
• Animal behaviour
• Biology
• features

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