Mega energy in "middle age" or something else?

My orange tabby Moose, 9 yrs old, has always been vocal, playful and a bit dramatic at times. Lately however, he's seems restless and just cannot relax for long, but this only happens at night and lasts for about four hours before I go to bed. He runs around like an orange tornado & meows loudly. He will stop and lay down for a few minutes and may even sleep for a little while, then he's up and running around again.

I toss toys for him until my arm falls off and he plays with his "siblings", but it's not enough. It seems almost manic to me, as if he can't help himself. He's doesn't seem agitated or upset, just bursting with energy.

He's eating well, not losing weight, using his box and drinking. His coat is in great condition. Outside of this four hour window at night, he's calm, and sleeps with me all night.

Do cats go through a "mid-life crisis" or could it be symptomatic of something else?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by clpeters23

My orange tabby Moose, 9 yrs old, has always been vocal, playful and a bit dramatic at times. Lately however, he's seems restless and just cannot relax for long, but this only happens at night and lasts for about four hours before I go to bed. He runs around like an orange tornado & meows loudly. He will stop and lay down for a few minutes and may even sleep for a little while, then he's up and running around again.

I toss toys for him until my arm falls off and he plays with his "siblings", but it's not enough. It seems almost manic to me, as if he can't help himself. He's doesn't seem agitated or upset, just bursting with energy.

He's eating well, not losing weight, using his box and drinking. His coat is in great condition. Outside of this four hour window at night, he's calm, and sleeps with me all night.

Do cats go through a "mid-life crisis" or could it be symptomatic of something else?

Thanks!

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Well, this isn't exactly like what you're describing, but I understand hyperthyroid can cause excessive meowing at night; might get a simple blood test to be sure!

Boy you ask a tough question. While I've seen middle aged and even senior cats get bouts of energy like that, I always stop myself and wonder if there is something going on healthwise that would trigger it. Any change in behavior should never be ignored.

At 9 years old Moose is at the start of his senior years (yes, I know you don't want to hear that but it actually starts around 8). If you haven't had a baseline senior panel on him, now is probably a very good time to start - most people start between 8 and 10 years old. A senior panel will do a thorough blood work up on him and you can use it to look for changes as he ages. If there is something wrong, it should detect it. If there is nothing wrong, you have the start of his older medical history. And it will rest any concerns you may have about him.

I have a 14 year old boy that has had an auto-immune disease for the last 12 of them and I know that we don't have a lot of time left with him. In the last few weeks he's had periods of extreme mania. It's nice to see him play, but I've had enough testing done on him to know that this is probably a reaction to his disease and the medication he is taking. And he would be at the vet right now had I not gone thru a full round of tests a short while ago.

Hope this helps.

I had the Visiting Vet come over the end of last week and she took blood and checked him over and he's very healthy. I told her about his manic behavior and she recommended I totally ignore him when he gets "goofy". Guess what? When Moose realized I was not going to jump up and make sure he was okay everytime he howled he stopped. He still tries to get my attention, but for the most part he's become very calm. She recommended I initiate play when he's quiet, so as not to reward him for making a ruckus.
I'm so relieved!

Originally Posted by clpeters23

I had the Visiting Vet come over the end of last week and she took blood and checked him over and he's very healthy. I told her about his manic behavior and she recommended I totally ignore him when he gets "goofy". Guess what? When Moose realized I was not going to jump up and make sure he was okay everytime he howled he stopped. He still tries to get my attention, but for the most part he's become very calm. She recommended I initiate play when he's quiet, so as not to reward him for making a ruckus.
I'm so relieved!

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Yay, that's great to know!

That is very good news! Thanks for the update.