Anyone ever heard of a cat having night terrors or bad dreams???

I'm not sure if this is a behavior problem or health problem? So I'm not sure if this is in the right forum. 

I believe cats (& dogs) do dream like we do. I'm sure they have bad dreams like we do. 

I've seen Lynxx, Luna & Midnight twitching their legs or ears in their sleep, like their chasing something. That appears to be normal for cats. Stella's different though. She'll make noises when she's sleeping, she'll toss & turn like she's having a bad dream. Eventually she'll begin a small crying sound, then she'll literally wake up screaming. I've seen her do this a couple of times on the bed with me. I wake her up before it gets to the point of her screaming. She'll climb on my chest curl up & shiver, shake, like she's scared. That happened a couple of times when she was still a little kitten. 

Now Stella's grown up & been here long enough for Luna & Midnight to accept her. She now can go where ever she wants in the house at night. She just celebrated her 1st Birthday. Thought maybe that kind of dreaming or whatever it is, would end when she grew up. But there are nights she wakes up literally screaming so loud she wakes me up. Even though she's on the other side of the house!! I call her name. She comes running to me. Jumps right up on to my chest curls up shaking. 

When this happens, I just hold her close, talk calmly to her, pat her & sing an awful version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. She eventually calms down. Either curls up against me the rest of the night or goes back to where ever she was, before she got scared. 

Luna & Midnight don't respond Stella screaming. They don't even wake up & it's not them she runs to. I know it's not 1 of them hurting or scaring her because Midnight is sound asleep with me, Luna's sound asleep with my mother. So it's not something they're doing to her. 

I've never seen a cat act like this before, never even knew a cat could have bad dreams like this, assuming it's bad dreams causing the problem. 

This only ever happens when Stella's asleep, doesn't matter if it's day or night. It happens mostly at night. It doesn't happen every night, but it seems to be happening more frequently now. 

I don't know what to do for her?

Everyone I've mentioned this to has never heard of a cat acting like this. Neither have I. 

All I know from her past is that she was found at 4 weeks old on the streets. She was rescued by someone who brought her to 1 of the local shelters. They put her in foster care. I know from her foster mother, that she was very scared. She spent a month there constantly belly to the ground, tail between her legs. She was ok with being held by her foster mother though. She also made friends with 1 of the foster mother's cats. When she got big enough she went to the shelter for adoption. When we met her they warned us, that she was very shy. Even carried her out to us inside of a tent. Telling us most likely she wouldn't come out. But Stella came right out to me purring away, playing with a swing toy. We adopted her minutes later.

Stella seemed ok with us from the start. She became best friends with Midnight by day 2. Luna's finally accepted her. By 5 months old Stella has ruled this house. So there's nothing here that's a threat or danger to her. There's nothing here she's afraid of.

That's why I don't understand why she's acting like this? 

Have you mentioned this at all to your veterinarian?  I would be worried she has some sort of neurological disorder that is causing these sleep issues.  They do sound similar to human night terrors, which are usually grown out of, I believe.  But it's possible that something like a low dose of clonidine could help, I wouldn't know if that is safe in cats but was prescribed to me for nightmares related to PTSD.

I would definitely consult a vet...she may have sustained brain damage as a young kitten.  Seizures are another possibility; they can present like night terrors in humans.  I know from experience with my epileptic dogs that they more often had seizures during sleep.  If there is no tonic/clonic presentation (paddling, stiffness) and she does not lose control of body functions, they are minor seizures but still upsetting for her and you.

Sinbad has nightmares. We try to make sure he stays in the bed with us at night, because he completely panics if he has a nightmare and is by himself. He wakes up crying and screaming loudly enough to wake us up even if he's across the house, and is so scared he can't find his way through the house to get to us. He has fewer now after having been with us for over a year than he used to, although when something scares him badly enough he'll have periodic nightmares for a week or two afterward.

Is Stella particularly intelligent? When I mentioned his nightmares to the vet, she said that she wasn't surprised he might have nightmares, given how intelligent he is. 

Kat Hamlin said:

 
Have you mentioned this at all to your veterinarian?  I would be worried she has some sort of neurological disorder that is causing these sleep issues.  They do sound similar to human night terrors, which are usually grown out of, I believe.  But it's possible that something like a low dose of clonidine could help, I wouldn't know if that is safe in cats but was prescribed to me for nightmares related to PTSD.

I would definitely consult a vet...she may have sustained brain damage as a young kitten.  Seizures are another possibility; they can present like night terrors in humans.  I know from experience with my epileptic dogs that they more often had seizures during sleep.  If there is no tonic/clonic presentation (paddling, stiffness) and she does not lose control of body functions, they are minor seizures but still upsetting for her and you.

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I haven't mentioned this to the vet yet. But since this is happening to Stella more frequently, I'm going to. 

Losna said:

 
Sinbad has nightmares. We try to make sure he stays in the bed with us at night, because he completely panics if he has a nightmare and is by himself. He wakes up crying and screaming loudly enough to wake us up even if he's across the house, and is so scared he can't find his way through the house to get to us. He has fewer now after having been with us for over a year than he used to, although when something scares him badly enough he'll have periodic nightmares for a week or two afterward.

Is Stella particularly intelligent? When I mentioned his nightmares to the vet, she said that she wasn't surprised he might have nightmares, given how intelligent he is. 

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Stella's reactions at night seem to be similar to your Sinbad. I'm not so sure how intelligent she is. She can learn tricks as quickly as Midnight (my other cat) But she doesn't "talk" like Luna (my other cat) can.  She loves to be in the windows watching the outside. She doesn't want to go outside. She loves to play with Da Bird.