Cat Is Full Of Energy, Doesn't Want To Play?

[heideggar]

Things are a little stressful where I'm at, a few bad roommates has me (and my cat) essentially confined to my room from 6pm-6am, until August when I move out.

When I first got the cat he was really full of energy, wanted to play all the time. He won't play by himself though, which is fine... but lately he gets all this aggressive energy around 10pm, despite me trying to get him to play for hours now... he just runs around the bed, claws out, hurting me and then hides under the bed. I never hit him or yell at him, is this just bc he feels cooped up at night? How else can i play with him? I'm trying all the toys, got him a new one, I tried a laser pointer he just stares at the toy and goes to hide. then 10pm he's running around clawing me up before bed. I don't know what to do, is this just going to be like this till I can move?

 

[abyeb]

It could be that he’s just a bit stressed. Have you tried a Feliway diffuser? I’d also recommend talking to your vet. Behavioral changes can be a sign of underlying health issues in cats.

 

[ArtNJ]

I think this just a cat getting the "zoomies" (aka hyper mode) in a too small space. Its pretty normal for a cat to enter this state at the same time every day. Your cat may do this for years ... many older cats still do this once a day. You can't touch a cat in this state or you'll get play attacked with vigor and might get hurt, but its normally not a problem for most people to simply avoid their cat for 10 minutes or so -- seems your having extra trouble because your apartment is small. You could try toys like the laser pointer -- what he normally wont play with doesn't necessarily mean anything when he is in this state. You might also try a loud "No" or throwing your keys down when he claws you, but cats in this state aren't exactly thinking much. Last ditch, curl up on the bed or go for a walk -- zoomies/hyper mode doesn't normally last long, so if you can stay out of his way for a bit, its over.

 

[Etarre]

Yes, some cats seem to have a really ingrained schedule for things like playtime. Juniper is one of them, and although I'm free and happy to play during TV time, often that's her nap time, and she will ignore me until it's bedtime. Then, of course, she's dying to play! I haven't found a way of enticing her to play outside of her own schedule, but fortunately, she is getting good at amusing herself with her independent play toys (a catnip hedgehog, one of those ball track toys) and with the window.

Does your cat have a window perch? Maybe this would be more fun for him than his toys.

 

[heideggar]

ok, thanks guys! I'll give him some space, it does sound like zoomies, he runs around really fast, claws out and then belts out a weird, sad cry!

He has a lot of toys and 2 windows he usually runs from one to the other, vaults off the bed and tears around the floor, it's crazy lol Some days he wants to play before I go to bed, I think some days it's too hot even with the ac so he just lies around till 5am when it's cooled down and then it's time to RUN. I'll check out feliway and keep my limbs out of the danger zone, thanks

 

[LAL]

Do you have a cat tree? It would add vertical space for him to use to burn off energy