weird attachment to mirror?

That is the best way I can describe it....

I am positive (but would be thankful if) no one else has this issue...

I am even a little embarrassed to be asking.

My cat, Lovey, 1.5 year old neutered male, has a strange relationship with my vanity mirror (the antique kind that you sit at where the mirror is in a tryptic ( three pieces..both sides are moveable and the middle is stationary )Does that make sense?

He will jump on the vanity and sit there for a quite a long time (until I stop him) and bat at the mirror with his paw. This isn't like a "bat-bat" I-am-feeling things out..This is a repetitive bat-bat-bat-bat. You get the picture.

Its quite loud as the mirror is delicate and it bangs against my wall...The first time I heard it, I was terrified and shot out of bed in the dark tripping over myself to see what it was!

He only does this usually in the morning or when I shut him in my room for some reason (if he doesn't like a certain guest or we are having chicken for dinner as he is crazy for chicken and won't leave me alone until he is almost sitting on my plate)...

Now, I only shut him in my room about once every week for 10-20 minutes or so for this reason.. Its mainly in the a.m's that it bothers me when I let him in...

It really sounds as if someone is hanging pictures or hammering through the wall!

I have tried covering the mirror with a sheet at night-time.
No use as he just gets under the sheet and bangs away to his little heart's content.

I have tried telling him "No". He stops for a minute and then resumes until I finally get up or shut him out of my bedroom. I usually do the latter if its 5 a.m for another hour or get up if its 6 am or later...

(this is why I am up asking you this now )

Any suggestions or insights as to why he does this? Does he see his reflection or does he think its another cat? Can cats see their reflections that well in the mirror?

I may just have to resort to taking the mirror down or find some way of buffering the sound (though I haven't thought of how yet).

So sorry this is so long...!

Thanks
Cin

I can't help you with the reasons why your cat is doing this, but I can say it is not uncommon. My sister's cat reacts the same way, but not with the mirror. He hits the side of the bathtub and it really makes some noise, exactly like someone banging on the wall. He will do this for 10 minutes at a time until she chases him out of the bathroom. It is really funny and weird to see.

I've no idea but it could be because he sees his reflection?!, because if ever i've held mine up to the mirror they reach out with one of their paws.

When Sophie was a kitten, she would paw at the side of the bath panel as if she was having a good old dig in her litter tray?!.

Why she did it i've no idea?, but it was only when i was sitting in the bath

Thanks for the replies!
Yeah, its strange and I have never seen it before!
I am glad Sophie and your sister's cat do something similiar as it may not mean that Lovey is completely round the bend...(though it drives me there sometimes

Its just so strange as its so rhythmic (all I hear is bang, bang, bang, etc)..
He will literally do it until I stop him.
I wonder if he does it as some sort of daze like trance entertainment. Maybe its a comforting thing? Though the sound ISN'T!...or just to drive me crazy!
Maybe he is just vain?

My other thought was that he does it for attention as its every morning before I get up...or when he is in there alone...but then he may do it when I am not here? Who knows?

He's a handsome boy so why not be a bit vain?!

That's a relief to read! LOL Mitz swings the downstairs mirror. He sits on the back of the sofa and pushes it repeatedly, and since it's huge and heavy it swings and grates against the wall. The first time I heard it in the middle of the night I had NO clue what it was - it seems to be nothing to do with the reflection, I think he just likes the noise!

Nano grooms herself in the mirror. She understands the reflection is not another cat, but she just looks at herself and rubs her paw across her face. I also catch her sitting all the way back and closely investigating the fur on her stomach by looking in the mirror. I don't want to attribute human characteristics to a cat, but it almost seems like Nano uses a mirror to actually look at herself. (I know this is very unlikely.)

As for the repetitive noise, if Nano finds something that makes a strange noise, I have seen her playfully repeat it about 5-10 times but she definitely isn't in a trance or doing it for 10 minutes nonstop. More like 30 seconds of curiosity and then she is on to the next thing...or she might re-discover that sound and do it another 5-10 times tomorrow. But definitely not doing it repeatedly for minutes at a time.

Anyway, good luck. Unless a better explanation comes along, I'd guess "getting your attention" is the motivation for this behavior.

it's very common, don't worry. he wants your attention, that is all. Marsh will bang the vertical blinds on my windows, they create a loud rambling noise! As soon i say "Marsh!", he stops, turns around, and looks at me intently. If i move, he immediately jumps away from them and approaches me, tail high and wants to be played with! ... if i say "marsh!" and turn away again, he'll go back to banging. so yes, it's normal, your cat wants attention

If it really bothers you, then purchase a container of Feliway Spray and spray down at the base of the mirror. That should mellow him out with his mirror behavior-