crazy behavior

Last night, Mia became very agitated. She was sitting on my bed and all of a sudden she went rigid and began meowing like she does when she is stuck or scared. She was stareing at the ceeling and would not look away even when we tried to pet her and calm her down. Finally, we made her leave the room and she seemed to calm down. But, in the middle of the night, I heard her crying again and went to get her. She was all stiff again and crying and moaning. What in the world was wrong? What should we have done to comfort her? She did not respond to petting, holding or soothing talking. She is a year old female who is fixed and usually has a quiet personality, though she is very afraid of visitors.

Was she in the same spot as before when you found her the second time?

There could be a critter in your ceiling and she is responding to it, it is hard to say. There hearing is so acute, they hear even the tiniest mouse in the walls. I would watch her and if she starts acting off in anyway, I would take her in the vet to get checked out. it could be the beginning of some health issue- or like I said, you might have a critter in your structure.

My first thought was that she is having a seizure (the stiff body and staring in one spot). But, I think Hissy probably has the more parsimonious explanation. Keep an eye on her and see whether she does this at other times and in different rooms AND listen closely to see whether you can hear a critter scurrying around when she does this.

Keep us updated...I'll be curious about what you find.

My first thought was a seizure also. I would take her to the vet.

I agree with Hissy that Mia could be hearing some noises. Maybe mice or squirrels have gotten into your attic??????? Also, take her to the vet just to be safe.

Arent seizures violent shaking, drooling etc?

Sounds like a critter in the ceiling to me.

Well, it's been 24 hours and she hasn't done it again. The first time she was in our bedroom and the second she was in the hall outside our bedroom. She is due for shots anyway so I will ask the vet about it when we go. It was weird because we have two other cats and they were fine. If it was a critter, wouldn't they notice it too? Very strange. Thanks for the advice!

sicy seizures manifest themselves in either subtle or violent ways depending on the reason the cat is seizing in the first place. We had one cat that did this behavior. One morning about 6:00 a.m. I came in to find Scatter sitting on the carpet in the living room, looking up and her whole body was just quivering. She was otherwise motionless and looking intently up at the ceiling. I started to think it was a seizure, as we had just lost her sister to feline hyperesthesia, and before I could panic, I heard a faint rustling in the ceiling. I stood under the spot where she was staring, and I could hear the rustling of what sounded like tiny claws. I woke Mike and he went groaning into the attic, rooted around for about an hour and finally emerged to tell me I needed to go look at something. It was a nest of baby squirrels in our insulation. Mom had found access somewhere under our roof and had her babies there. Scatter let us know about them and we took the babies to the wildlife rehab center because we couldn't have them in the wiring and insulation. I woudn't discount a seizure out of this picture above though, I would ask the vet.

The stereotypical seizure is violent shaking and drooling. That is known as a Grand Mal seizure. (Large seizures) Peti mal seizures(small seizures) can be anything from staring into space,or a rigid body, to a shaking of 1 limb.

When you first described this, my first reaction was a ghost. When my boys are playing with our resident spirit, they stare at the wall.

I would have Mia checked by the vet.

Sandy